Reiya Iyub- Tumblr Post 9
This history course dramatically changed my perception of history from when I first started this class. It helped me realize that historical events do not stop and end with the dates given to us, nor are these events as black and white as they appear to be. Since we did not live through those time periods ourselves, we are simply given the details and it is up to us to draw our conclusions based on them. However, before doing so we must analyze all perspectives involved. For instance, prior to this course I never knew George Washington with the depth that I know him now. I was simply told that he was the first President of the United States. In this course we looked at all of the factors that contributed to George Washington becoming such a great President and leader. I was not merely told that Washington was humble and soft-spoken, but I was shown this through the events in his life, such as the death of his mentor in the War of 1812, that molded him into that person. We not only look at some of his best qualities, but also some of his imperfections, such as his incompetence in developing tactics during the Revolutionary War. This is perhaps demonstrates the slant/bias that this class takes on; history is dynamic. More significantly, I like how this class shows us that early events in our nation’s history manifest itself in some way into something relatable today. For example, in the course we examined demagogues in our nation’s past, demagogues like Andrew Jackson that manipulated the political system to gain power. Then our assignments allowed us to get a glimpse of demagogues in our political climate today, and this furthermore shows that history is not as disconnected as it appears to be. It is ever-changing, it is multi-faceted, and it is most certainly relatable.