Smithsonian Journeys Experts

Dr. Paul B. Sturtevant has been enthralled with the Middle Ages since he began building balsa wood castles for his toy knights when he was eight years old. Fast-forwarding just a little, he has now become an expert on the contemporary public’s understanding of the Middle Ages. In the intervening years, after a brief career as an actor, he moved to the United Kingdom where he earned his master’s and his Ph.D. from the Universities of York and Leeds, respectively. He then taught for universities in the United Kingdom, the U.S., and Portugal on subjects as diverse as medieval history, film theory, and museum studies.

Paul has published widely on the intersection of contemporary issues and the medieval past both in academic books and also public venues like the Washington Post and BBC News. He is particularly fond of two of his stories, one in which he successfully debunked a pernicious ghost story about one of his ancestors, and another on the history of American barbecue. He founded and ran an award-winning medieval history online magazine called The Public Medievalist, and worked for a decade for the Smithsonian Institution as an audience research specialist. Paul now lives with his partner in Portugal, where they are developing cutting-edge, historical study abroad-style experiences for visitors to Europe.