As a fellow history BA/history lover, I cannot let this pass by.
Dates are boring? The year that someone was elected president or the date a war was won is boring? WHAT?!?!
Facts are interesting, sure, but what makes history fascinating is not facts — it’s context. And we learn the context when we look at the time period that events take place!
I mean, Stonewall Jackson ate lemons on the battlefield. Interesting fact! But what does that tell me about the Civil War, the abolitionist movement, the politics that led to the Civil War (and U.S.-trained officers defecting to the Confederacy), the way in which our country viewed loyalty to one’s state as opposed to the United States, etc? Knowing *when* the Civil War took place — and the history of the people who lived during that time — is crucial to understanding how and why the war occurred.
A guy who eats lemons? I mean, I could go home and do that every night, but no one really cares…because I’m not leading a country or winning a war. 🙂
But you’re a writer — you write a story with context! 🙂 That’s what makes history interesting, too!
I wasn’t disagreeing with you. I only meant that whatever serves Story was what I loved. Sometimes it’s context and sometimes things are better without!
JACKIE LEA SOMMERS 
As a fellow history BA/history lover, I cannot let this pass by.
Dates are boring? The year that someone was elected president or the date a war was won is boring? WHAT?!?!
Facts are interesting, sure, but what makes history fascinating is not facts — it’s context. And we learn the context when we look at the time period that events take place!
I mean, Stonewall Jackson ate lemons on the battlefield. Interesting fact! But what does that tell me about the Civil War, the abolitionist movement, the politics that led to the Civil War (and U.S.-trained officers defecting to the Confederacy), the way in which our country viewed loyalty to one’s state as opposed to the United States, etc? Knowing *when* the Civil War took place — and the history of the people who lived during that time — is crucial to understanding how and why the war occurred.
A guy who eats lemons? I mean, I could go home and do that every night, but no one really cares…because I’m not leading a country or winning a war. 🙂
To me, it’s all about Story. 🙂
But you’re a writer — you write a story with context! 🙂 That’s what makes history interesting, too!
I wasn’t disagreeing with you. I only meant that whatever serves Story was what I loved. Sometimes it’s context and sometimes things are better without!