There may or may not be a new revisionism, but the idea has been around a while. I first remember coming across this idea in Timeline by Michael Crichton:
And I doubt he came up with the idea. I also think I heard that this debate has been going on in medieval scholarship for a while.
That said, the debate is unlikely to be a strawman that glosses over the very real collapse in certain types of knowledge. I doubt the scholarly debate explains whatever is currently happening on the popular level.
http://www.amazon.com/Timeline-Michael-Crichton/dp/034541762...
And I doubt he came up with the idea. I also think I heard that this debate has been going on in medieval scholarship for a while.
That said, the debate is unlikely to be a strawman that glosses over the very real collapse in certain types of knowledge. I doubt the scholarly debate explains whatever is currently happening on the popular level.