Original sentence: Films and novels often use the term Dark Age with its implied meaning of a time of backwardness
Edited sentence: Films and novels often use the term Dark Age with its implied meaning of a time less civilized than our own.In modern times the term Dark Ages is still used in popular culture.Students of education systems today are familiar with the canon of Greek authors, but few are ever exposed to the great thinkers of the Middle Ages such as Peter Abelard or Sigerus of Brabant.The humanists' goal of reviving and revering the classics of antiquity was institutionalized in the newly forming Universities at the time, and the schools over the centuries have remained true to their humanist roots.Therefore, while the negative connotations of the word dark destroy its usefulness as a description of any part of medieval history, Petrarch's concept of it, like that of other early humanists after him, as a discrete period distinct from our "modern" age, has endured.Thus the term still finds use, through various definitions, both in popular culture and academic discourse.While the classics programs remain strong, students of the Middle Ages are not nearly as common: for example the first medieval historian in the United States, Charles Haskins, wasn't recognized until the early 20th century, and the number of students of the Middle Ages remains to this day very small compared to those who study the classics