natalieraymond replied to your post: Where exactly do you get your historical opinions?
I’m also an academic & I hate when people do this…. an educated “opinion” or theory is more than just “I think pink is the best color because REASONS”. ������
Like, I always try to field these kinds of questions lightheartedly, while also giving an answer, because I know that anyone can pretend to be anything on the internet and heaven knows there’s a crapton of questionable stuff out there. But I’ve also never pretended to be an all-knowing oracle? Believe me, nobody is more painfully conscious of how little they ultimately know than a PhD student. We think about it all the time. I just finished my conference and my major feeling is “oh my god everyone is so much smarter than me, I NEED TO READ SO MUCH, BUT I PROBABLY CAN’T, I AM DESTINED FOR ABJECT FAILURE UNEMPLOYMENT AND LIFE UNDER A BRIDGE!”
But at the same time, my historical education now represents the last ten years of my life, two completed degrees and one in progress, countless hours of effort, even more countless hours of anxiety, tens of thousands of dollars/pounds, and numerous writings/texts/essays/projects on my part. That is a big investment. I am still struggling with insecurity with the fact that I did not take a “traditional” historian’s career path (go to school specifically and strictly for history, do a dedicated/traditionally structured MA in medieval history, etc) and to actually and confidently call myself a real bona fide historian who Historiates for a living is something that I am still working on. Yet I’m also not just pulling stuff out of my ass when I say things on the internet. There is a LOT of real life work and academic study at many levels involved, so... I mean. It could all be batshit wrong. But there IS a method and reason to it, and not just an ‘opinion.’
