Monthly Archives: February 2013

Always a researcher, never a writer

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First Tuchman, now Marius. This is the second time I’ve read an academic horror story in which someone becomes so wrapped up in research that s/he never gets around to writing. Tuchman recalls “a lady professor” in her seventies who had been doing research all her life. Marius, too, writes of Frederick Jackson Turner, who was only able to write one of the many books he had promised to publishers (A Short Guide to Writing About History, 88-89). These individuals – both the lady professor and Turner – knew so much, but were they ever able to share even a fraction of their knowledge with the world? Tuchman is right when she says “Research is endlessly seductive; writing is hard work” (Practicing History,21).

The black hole of death. Stop researching or you might end up on an episode of Hoarders. From http://www.oddballdaily.com/.

The black hole of death. Stop researching or you might end up on an episode of Hoarders. From http://www.oddballdaily.com/.

I was somewhat afraid of following in their footsteps and becoming a perpetual researcher while doing our archive assignment. As I explored the collection of General James Gordon Steese – Dickinson College Class of 1902, Army engineer, WWI witness, Panama Canal builder, Alaska Road Commissioner, Prospector of South American oil, and all around adventurer and world traveler – I was amazed at what I found. The artifacts included a flirty goodbye letter from 1910 made with magazine scraps; an elaborate certificate signed by Presidents Roosevelt and Taft; and photographs of men wrangling alligators and sea lions, among other items. Still, with twelve plus boxes of documents pertaining to some of the most important events of the first half of the twentieth century in front of me, it wasn’t too hard to see how the situation could turn from an interesting class assignment into a black hole of death. Once I’d rummaged around a bit and picked four fairly interesting pieces (but oh, there were so many!), I got out of there, knowing that my incredible ability to get distracted would get me nowhere.

I also found that recording not just my findings, but also my thoughts and questions as I went was really helpful both to guide my research and simplify the end task. I’ve realized that it’s important to be conscientious of your thought and not let yourself slip into that sort of absentmindedness that comes with casual reading. Thoughts are fleeting, tie them down to a piece of paper so that they don’t disappear into your nether regions of your brain again! Writing as I went made putting the whole piece together at the end that much easier. Writing is a process. This is something that we’re constantly told but, at least for me, is a lesson I’ve had to learn the hard way and am only now beginning to understand and apply. So here’s to knowing when to stop researching and start writing, to the writing process, and to our ability to change, learn, and grow from it!

Approaches to the past with Schivelbusch and Davis

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Schivelbusch gathers a handful of first hand accounts on the innovation of railway travel, some positive and some negative. He looks at the social effects and reactions of this world-changing form of transportation. Some viewed railroads as a “guarantor of democracy, harmony between nations, peace, and progress” and others viewed it as bad for health. By examining the perspectives of people and countries at the time of the train’s incorporation into society, Schivelbusch is able to hash out a depiction of railway travel which is unique to the nineteenth-century.

Davis argues that riots, contrary to their inherent chaos, were sometimes believed in the sixteenth-century to have a “kind of system or sense.” She compares views on riots in modern times with those of centuries ago, using a myriad of other writers as her evidence. By looking at the goals, causes, and “occasions” of France’s religious riots, Davis is able to categorize and define them. For example, she makes the conclusion that most religious riots occur “during the time of religious worship or ritual in the space which one or both groups were using for sacred purposes.” Davis manages to take one of the most chaotic recurring events in human nature, a riot, and categorize it through analysis and evidence.

Electronic History

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In a Short Guide To Writing About History I was struck by Marius’ statement that history and the research/writing of history has changed significantly because of modern technology, but history as a whole (when you get down to the bare bones of the stuff) has remained essentially the same over time.  Even with modern technology at our fingertips that gives us an almost unlimited resource in terms of secondary sources, there is no replacing studying and handling a primary document, and, in a larger sense, technology is only a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. A historian cannot obtain a true appreciation or depth of understanding from technology; there is no substitute for sitting with and getting to know a primary source.

Manipulating History: Week 4 readings

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One theme that I want to pick out of the readings for this week is that of creating history to say what we want it to. This idea was first introduced to us by the historians in the first week, and later propagated by Tey in her novel Daughter of Time. Grant’s nurse tells him that it is her personal belief that people hate changing their opinions on something. If they were raised thinking one thing, it is almost impossible to get them to change their views, even if faced with historical facts. In our readings for this week, this theme is also incorporated. In Wolfgang Schivelbusch’s article on trains, he writes: “The carriage…remained, in spite of all obvious shortcomings and dangers, the European standard for half a century thereafter.” I think this quote explains the phenomenon that Grant’s nurse talked about in Daughter of Time. People are afraid of change, they like what is familiar. Because of this, people are hard-fixed in their ideas and ways of life.

I also want to focus on the argument put forward by Natalie Zemon Davis in her article “The Rites of Violence: Religious Riot in Sixteenth-Century France” because I think it is a very interesting argument to make. Davis attests to the fact that riots are not chaotic mobs like they are normally viewed, but rather have a very coherent sense of order in them. When I first read that as her goal of the essay on page two, I did not believe that she would be able to convince me of what appeared to be a ludicrous argument. By the end of her essay, however, I completely agreed with Davis’s argument. This just goes to show that if a historian, or any writer backs up their claim with solid evidence and well-written conclusions, they can convince their audience of their point of view.

Constructing History

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In “The Railway Journey” Wolfgang Schivelbusch compared and contrasted the forms of travel prior to the 19th century, to the railway introduced in the 19th century. Schivelbusch organized his paper around the ideas of the changing concept of “natural”, the effect of class boundaries on travel, and the evolution of a distinct European train ride experience despite American influence. Schivelbusch utilized primary sources, such as journal articles from travelers of the time, to depict the people’s reactions to the novelty of the railroad. Although as we have learned it is wise to consider the sources used by an author. These journal entries were written by the upper-middle class and wealthy who were both literate and had the leisure time to write about their experiences. This means we lack the experiences and reactions of the lower and working classes to the introduction of the railway. Schivelbusch mentioned the drastic difference between the experiences of the upper and lower class on the train due to the separated compartments, and it would be interesting to read an account of a third class travelers experience.

In “The Rites of Violence” Natalie Davis explains the potential reasons behind religious riots in sixteenth-century France and compares and contrasts the motivations and actions of the Protestant and Catholic mobs which took part in these riots. Davis refutes the popular argument of sixteenth-century religious riots as being caused by economic crises and rising bread prices. Instead Davis argues religious riots can be caused by prior acts of violence against the church by another religious group, a general feeling of the government passing inadequate judicial sentences, or a desire to “cleanse” the community. Throughout her article Davis utilizes primary sources such as, both Protestant and Catholic sermons of the time as well as a source called “Memoires” written by Claude Haton. I was curious who Claude Haton was, as Davis cites his work multiple times, and he was a Catholic who chronicled the religious issues of France during his lifetime in the sixteenth. Therefore as an article about the religious battles between Protestants and Catholics, we should be aware that Haton could have a biased point of view on the series of events as a Catholic and could affect Davis’ article. I found it interesting that Davis chose to use a table depicting the numbers of male victims killed in the 1572 massacres and included the tallies based on both city and occupation. While this data chart is most likely misrepresentative of the actual number killed, it does help to give the reader a semblance of the distribution and to further Davis’ argument.

Writing History

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In chapter 3 of Marius’ book, he writes about certain skills every writer should have. He discusses the importance of reading over the question giving when writing an essay, or on the syllabus, because in that prompt or description of the paper is what the professor or teacher is truly looking to find. Finding a concrete, specific topic is discussed, as many students today get caught up in topics which are too broad for a paper. Marius also discusses how students, when writing, need to exercise extreme caution with a source because a lot of the sources used, are not necessarily well checked sources. The example given is Wikipedia, which as most students know can be edited, or added onto by anyone at all. Therefore, although it is a good place because it has information on everything, do not rely on it as a source of evidence in a paper. Finally, Marius discusses the use of primary and secondary sources and the importance of making a pathway of all sources used, so that when the bibliography is made, one can trace their steps back to the beginning where they got the information and create a working bibliography or works cited page.

In  Natalie Zemon Davis, “The Rites of Violence: Religious Riot in Sixteenth-Century France”, the violence between the Catholics and the Protestans is discussed. It is stated that “Our sources will be contemporary Catholic and Protestant accounts of religious disturbance , from which we will do our best to sort out utter fabrication from likely fact.” (Davis pg. 55) The statement made above is very important for writers of history because as we have discussed in class, history cannot be written without bias, although every writer must do their best to eliminate their bias and write from an objective point of view. This is essentially what Davis is trying to do; to present the facts about the violence took place in the sixteenth century between the Protestants and the Catholics, without having emotions.

 

Tradition of the Coup

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I saw a little blurb on the NYTimes.com website on Friday about a former Soviet intelligence officer recently jailed for organizing a coup of ultra-nationalists against the Russian government and assassination plot against the architect of the market reforms in 2010.  I thought it was interesting that Russia maintained this tradition of revolution, especially those stemming from a small group like the Blosheviks, even in the present day.

I researched a little about Russian nationalism in the modern world to find that it contains a resurgence of the “Russia for Russians” movement that aims to reverse some of the equality granted to citizens under the Soviet program.  Despite its super negative connotations, I was surprised at my ability to draw a parallel to a similar anti-immigration movement taking place in the United States in the wake of the financial crisis.  Without the insurance of a socialist program in Russia, some people are just as concerned as Americans about the threat immigrants pose to the already suffering domestic job market.

It is especially understandable for this to be the case in Russia, where the Soviet government forced a change and reorganization of national identities on its people.  The re-emergence of the nationalist party is possible an attempt to preserve the glory of Russia as its long-ago status of empire, but it is frowned upon with the same disdain that any attempt to convey national pride in England is, for example.  The fear of holding one’s country as supreme after the fall of imperial policy makes national pride for the larger power moderate and makes the national pride of the “victims” heightened.  Having grown up in America and having spent my fall semester in England, I was surprised to find that so many parallels could be drawn between these two western European countries and a “fallen” eastern empire that is always portrayed as the antithesis of the western ideals.

Here is the article:

Russia’s Hangover

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In looking for something to blog about for this week I discovered an article titled “Russia’s Hangover: How to curtail a serious drinking problem?”. In the article, the author, Janet Davison of the Canadian Broadcasting Corportation (CBC) discusses how the Russian government has enacted a new law declaring that beer is an alcoholic beverage and not a food, which could theoretically limit its sales.

Upon first reading this subtitle, I was instantly confused, if not somewhat amused. I never thought of beer as a food, and seeing a law enacted just to declare something that seems so obvious struck me as slightly odd. However, through reading this article, I learned that imbibing in alcoholic beverages is something intrinsic to Russian life and culture, and in fighting a battle against alcoholism, the Russian government was essentially waging a battle against a psycological habit that has transcended centuries.

A quote that specifically epitomizes this theme was made by Yuri Leving, chair of the department of Russian studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He stated that “In Russia, the drinking culture has long been established and historically justified… No holiday is complete without a feast with the obligatory presence of a large amount of alcohol.” Leving also mentioned that “life in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia has never been easy, and often the cause of addiction to alcohol can be explained by man’s desire to suppress strong emotions and escape from stress.”

When I read that line, I instantly associated it with the alcoholism problem with Native Americans in the United States. Similarily to the Russian situation, the Native Americans within American society have always had issues with alcoholism, or at least have been stereotyped as having these problems. History may have instigated the prevalence of alcoholism in the United States. Early demand, with no regulation and strong encouragement, may have contributed to a “tradition” of heavy alcohol use being passed down from generation to generation, which has led to the current high level of alcohol-related problems. The Russian population has a similar issue in that the government has never regulated alcohol in the country, and is only just acknowledging it as an issue. Drinking is not only legal, but also easily accessible and portrayed in a positive light. The problem, according to the article, lays in the very denial of a problem with alcoholism.

What I also found interesting in this article were the statistics used to argue just how intense this issue was within Russian society. According to the article, alcohol contributed to the deaths of about 500,000 Russians annually, and consumption was double the World Health Organization’s critical level. Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev stated that, “In Russia, each person, including babies, accounts for about 18 litres of spirits per year. In the opinion of World Health Organization (WHO) experts, consumption of more than eight litres per year poses a real threat to the health of the nation. Russia has long exceeded this level.”

I think that in reading this article it would be interesting to see if this upward trend of alcholism was a worldwide trend. Especially regarding the current state of many national economies, it would not surprise me if the world as a whole was facing a problem with alcoholism. I remember reading at one point during my AP World History class sophomore year of high school that Russian soldiers during World War II were actually allotted alcohol daily. That only goes to show that alcohol within Russian society stretches back at least as far as World War II, certainly longer than that. I really am glad that I found this article to read. I might even see if I can do something along these lines for my final project. One of my only gripes about being at a school like Dickinson is that I constantly find myself disconnected with the outside world while on campus. Reading articles like this really is helping me to become more globally aware, and realize that the world is so much bigger than Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

 

Soviet Propaganda

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The Soviet regime was masterful in the use of propaganda in order to further the support of their cause. One such example of this is the movie that we all recently watched, Chapaev. Chapaev tells the story of a Red Army commander during the Russian Civil war who was eventually ambushed and killed in the Ural River by White Army troops. This film was used by the Soviet regime as propaganda for many years to great success. Even today, Chapaev is viewed as one of the greatest films of all time and is shown all over the world.

Chapaev was a soldier who came from a peasantry background and had very little education. This was made apparent by his statement during the movie “It’s only been two years since I have learned to read.” Despite this, he was still able to advance in the military and escape his modest upbringing. This is exactly the kind of story that Soviet officials would want to promote. The Soviets believed that every man had his worth and by immortalizing a man such as Chapaev in a film, they were able to subconsciously promote this ideal in the people.

However, this film held many Soviet ideals other than the rise of the peasantry. Equality among the sexes was another Soviet ideal that was placed into the movie. In the beginning of the movie we are introduced to Anka, a woman that is attempting to learn how to work the machine gun. At first, she is not taken seriously by Petka, who makes moves that have nothing to do with operating a weapon. However, Anka eventually becomes proficient with the gun and is instrumental in repelling the Whites, as she realizes that she can inflict more damage by waiting for them to draw within reasonable range of fire. For this, Chapaev thanks and congratulates her, treating her as an equal among men. This idea of equality among the sexes was, at this time, a uniquely Soviet idea. In placing it in the movie, the Soviets succeed in showing one more way of how they are different from the capitalists.

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So far, we have encountered Rakhmetov and Chapeav. Both are, in a sense, ideal revolutionaries. However, the two characters are extremely different. Rakhmetov relies entirely on his physical and mental well being in order to strive for success. He works out consistently, trains his mind through reading and exercise and fights nearly every carnal human vice (such as sexual desire). He is well read and comes from a mysterious yet somewhat affluent background. Chapeav, however, is illiterate. While he is also a revolutionary, he only recently began the process of learning to read. Indeed, he clearly represents a peasant class. The social differences are apparent between the two characters, yet they rely on themselves similarly. It is noted that Chapeav despises taking advice from others and regrets that decision nearly every time he does so. Like Rakhmetov, he warrants great respect from his peers but does not socialize with them in a classic or accessible sense.

I would be curious to see a “hybrid” character or rather a fusion of Rakhmetov and Chapeav. This character would, in my opinion, be the best revolutionary. They would have the struggle and perspective of a lower class citizen with the opportunities and learned mindset of an upper class citizen. Perhaps this hypothetical character would best understand the concept of leadership as he or she would be able to empathize with all sides through an academically and socially educated perspective. Leadership is crucial to a revolution and I would be curious to encounter a character such as this in historical or fictional readings in the future.