Let's Go Set a Desert on Fire

[fearedeyepatch]

Since I tend to think of Veteran's Day as more of the end of WWI, I decided it might be a good time to finally pick up Hero by Michael Korda, the biography of TE Lawrence that came out last year to quite a bit of acclaim

Comments

[vital_signs1719]

Yay, history convert! :D (Hell, I'm a history convert as of this year; before I was just "a history major." Now I'm a "historian.") I really respect you being able to study WWI; I personally can't study anything violent or senselessly tragic, and WWI is one of those things to me. (God, that book I read about the WWII massacre in Rome, I was crying and had to watch really silly music videos every few pages to keep myself going.) I have this interesting essay that I'm writing in my head about why I love studying the 18th (and okay, a bit of the 17th) century. Someday I'll write it out for real. Might be helpful for my PhD program application in a couple of years.

And context, omg. It's hard being a history/law major, because I have to take some poli sci classes, and I just want to SHAKE THOSE PEOPLE because they're so not contextualizing!!!!

[fearedeyepatch]

I've been calling myself a historian for the last two years or more. XD I love History, and I like it as a discipline more than I like English. But yeah, I feel like in history especially there's this point where you go "Oh yeah, I'm a history major" and then somewhere it switches to, "Oh yeah, I'm a historian." I was talking to a dear historian friend of mine one night, saying I almost felt silly calling myself that without even a BA to my name, but she reinforced what I already thought which was, it's really a way of looking at the world. A degree helps of course, but you don't need it to be a historian

[vital_signs1719]

It absolutely is a way of looking at the world. :D I just feel like I think about EVERYTHING differently than the average person because of my history background. This all ties into my 18th century essay, which I will get around to...someday. Hopefully this summer when I actually have a moment to breathe. I'll send it to you (or post it on lj) when I get it done.

Oh, Hiroshima is hard for me to think about to. The thing that makes me furiously angry EVERY SINGLE TIME I think about it is the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. Especially the fact that once they were sent to the camps, the men were given the opportunity to sign up for the US military service, and THEY DID. And tons died proving their bravery. I mean, UH. D:<

Yay, huggable department. :D Undergrad history majors are a rare breed here, but I adore all my TAs and know like half the grad student population in history here, so I think grad school would be so much fun. :D

[fearedeyepatch]

Yeah, some days it really does feel like no one else sees certain things....

Yeah, it's a mess entirely. Also, the Japanese USA regiments had some of the highest death rates... and awarded the most honors. Go freaking figure.

I like huggable departments...