Fred Altensee

Fred Altensee graduated in 2013 from American Public University with his Master of Arts in History with Honors- selected as the class of 2014 Outstanding Graduate Scholar for the School of Arts and Humanities. He previously attended Columbia College of Missouri, graduating in 2007, with his Bachelor of Arts in History, Summa Cum Laude. He maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout his studies at Columbia College and APU. He is particularly interested in indigenous cultures, tribalism, Paganism, and pre-Christian European society. A former police officer, he is a martial arts practitioner with over forty-years of experience and is the founder of the Kantetsu Ryu Karate system. An avid musician and performer with the Flammable Babylon Percussion Ensemble, Fred plays all sorts of drums (except for kit), 6 and 12 string guitar, hurdy gurdy, shetland gue, banjo, mandolin, harmonium, autoharp, and also finds making noises with his Viking horn especially gratifying. He particularly enjoys making music while his wife, Erika, and other beautiful dancers lose themselves in the music. Fred is deeply interested in exploring the concept of performance as being ritual a la Wendy Rule and Wardruna. Fred lives in Orlando, Florida with his family and numerous pets. Fred is a member of the Gold Key International Honor Society, the American Historical Association, Academia.edu, the Saber and Scroll Historical Society, the Columbia College Alumni Association and the APUS Alumni Association. He is the author of "The Orlando, Florida Civil Rights Movement, 1951-1971: A Case Study in Communication and Cooperation." and "Recollections of the Orlando, Florida, Civil Rights Movement."