About a month ago I posted about the Final Frontier for those interested in an M.A.in History from the University of Texas at Tyler. The Frontier is full
of reading books, writing reviews on them, discussing their relevance and
importance, and finally constructing a complete historiography on the gathered
information. But why do you care? Why do I care? Is anyone honestly still
reading this or am I beating a dead horse?
To be perfectly honest I am not the least bit offended if
you are bored. Most people are when it comes to history. For most there is a
general disregard of important facts that may bore but still are of vital
importance. We are a society of which lives on LEGEND and MYTH.
What does this mean? Well, I take this from Robert Wuhl and his “Assume the Position with Mr.Wuhl” film in which he lectures a freshman 1301 course and debunks several myths and fallacies concerning American history. Such as the legend of Paul Revere and his midnight ride. In high school classrooms we base our entire understanding of this event through a poem written nearly 100 years after the fact. If that was the way historians critically analyzed historical events we would be using the musical 1776 to better understand what Thomas Jefferson sounded like when he spoke.
What does this mean? Well, I take this from Robert Wuhl and his “Assume the Position with Mr.Wuhl” film in which he lectures a freshman 1301 course and debunks several myths and fallacies concerning American history. Such as the legend of Paul Revere and his midnight ride. In high school classrooms we base our entire understanding of this event through a poem written nearly 100 years after the fact. If that was the way historians critically analyzed historical events we would be using the musical 1776 to better understand what Thomas Jefferson sounded like when he spoke.
