Welcome to Inherently Interesting 2010, the most wonderful, most interesting, and most important blog at this particular URL. Your comments and questions on this blog will help make the class even more wonderful and interesting--and occasionally earn you a bit of extra credit!To get started, here's a test of the History 121 extra credit system. Click the "comments" link below and give me your honest answer: what's the first thing that comes into your head when you here the word history?
When I hear the word history, I immediately think about the past and all that took place. I think of the numerous people who have had triumphs and failures. Like George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
ReplyDeleteNichole Anderson
Santayana's line is quoted a lot--for good reason! See my "Welcome" mpeg presentation:
ReplyDeletewww3.northern.edu/marmorsa/615welcome.mpg
When I hear the word "history" I think of stories of the past. All kinds--distant past and not so distant past. Some remarkable to a lot of people and some known only to a few. I also try to think of something I can learn from
ReplyDeleteeach story I hear.
When I hear the word history, I think of the past and how things began. Everything and everyone has some kind of history and it's always fun and useful to know how and why things are the way they are today.
ReplyDeleteWhen I hear the phrase "world history" I think of the wars and conflicts humanity has had. A lot of human history involves civilizations conflicting with competing civilizations and, while interesting in and of itself, it can teach us what we should and shouldn't do when fighting and shows us some of what a civilization values.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of the word history, I think of the common heritage that we all share. Ancient history is the building blocks of all cultures and countries that we have today. For example, if one studies the history of China and it's long cycles of governments based on a Unitary Bureauacracy followed by periods of regional/factional fighting and civil war one can see how Communist China, and its current form of a more opportunistic State Capitalism, is a continuation of the Imperial model of a single ruler (the State Government) and the nation, China. This triumphed over a more anarchial period, from the collapse of the empire around the year 1900 through World War II and the Chinese Civil War. Similarly Europe and the United States share their similar Greek and Roman cultures in their governments and affairs, fluctuating between maintaing a balance of power between forces, whether they be a Polis, Nation, State or Alliance Bloc, and then going into period of Hegemony, such as the current European Union, or attempts at European Hegemony. And these two traits of Eastern and Western culture are eerily similar.
ReplyDeleteI love learning about history, because it is something that everyone has in common.
Hmmmmmm....what I think of when I hear the word History. Well, first off is fun. I love history! I swear I was born in the wrong century, although I'm not sure which one I was supposed to be born in! I think about my family history. What my family had to endure to make sure that my generation has all that they did not. National history is important. We need to know where we came from as a nation to know how to proceed in the future. We really need to learn from our mistakes. Some of those lessons are 100's of years old!!! Slow learners...lol. World history is a more broader range of history. I chose two events in world history that I really enjoy, the French Revolution and the brutality the Europeans had to endure in the concentration camps of WWII, and unfortunatly, they are not taught in this class. The history of world civilization goes back a tad too far for me. But as I learn more about it I find it to be a very interesting subject.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of the word History I think of the Myans. They have predicted the world to end in 2012 by natural disasters. I think this is true because other history documents have said the world is going to end in 2012. I also believe this because the government is spending a lot of money on underground "labs" but I think they are underground bunkers to survive. I am interested in this because I want to know the true. I know this is also part of the future, but it starts with history.
ReplyDeletesheniel brownlee is sayin i liked what obama was talking about in his speech he had some good points and i deals. about cutting some of the goverenment programs for three years until they get out the whole but its ot going to start until next year. and more money for student loans and grants and it will get wipped aways after 20 years and u dont have to start payin it back right aways. and in class when you said that if he said something good everybody would stand up. so i thought that is was so funny that everybodystood up every min so i was like they might as well just keep standing up . so i think that what he talked about was a good ideal.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the first things that comes into your head when you hear the word history?
ReplyDeleteMy initial thoughts upon hearing the word history are 'Oh dear...now I'm going to hear the same stories I've heard for the past 13 years about how men with huge egos think they have to have (for lack of a better term) a pissing contest to see who can have the biggest chunk of land in order to force people to remember who they are'. Not the best impression, but it's how I view it. It seems like history is just the same story repeated with a different main character and a different setting. Usually, this gets very..very..boring. However, I have to be honest, thus far History 121 has taken this rather dull concept and made it inherently interesting. Kudos to you, Art!
However, when reading the above-given question which initialized this comment, the first thing that popped into my head was 'he used the wrong form of hear' (it was 'here' in the blog). You have to love being anal retentive.
When I hear the word history, I immediatly think of the blending of fact and fiction, myth and reality, and how it all forms the civilizations we have today. History is a mucky mixture that we can only interpret relying on the recording methods of the past (ie-wet clay..papyrus..hyrogliphics..etc) from unreliable sources. History is influenced greatly by who is telling the story..religion, politics, and other things that mold the way we think even today. Learning history in one country is completely different from the history you will be taught in another country, and thus, I have come to decide that history is very much subjective.
ReplyDeleteRebecca Bartels
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ReplyDeleteWhen I hear the word history I don't know why I automatically think of the past like the civil war canons, slave days, or it's like the covered wagons and the old days like that. I know there is more to it than that. I just think of more of the American history more than anything.
ReplyDeleteWell at first i was like world history. I didnt think of anything that you been taught us like Greek, Rome and more. SO at first i thought was Civil War and all the amazing history behind it. Like you said history made us wise and we are still learning the history because it is important because made who we are. If no history then nothing at all for us to learn and we might get all lost. BUT sometimes its bad to hear some of history because some are distarous happenings in past which is aweful to hear but for us so can inspire us to think how we been fought hard through it never give up.
ReplyDeleteThats what my thought about it at first. Also all of the famous people in past is important to remember. it will be soo weird for about 50 years later from now will might learn all the stuff happening NOW..but not happening that much as past. Future is getting not interested ha.
Thats all yup.
When I hear the word history I think of war. All history is interesting and important but war sticks out to me the most. American history is especially what I think of. It seems to interest me the most, though, I also think about the Reniassance period and kings and queens.
ReplyDelete