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I am fairly certain that IF I continue my education beyond a BA I will go into the Classical history field (Greek, Roman, Medieval). What I am doing now is #1 by choice and #2 by luck (it just happens to work out). For instance, even in courses that aren't Greek or Roman history, I am doing papers that relate to Greek or Roman history. Now of course when I start taking American or British history this will no longer be the case.I may be told that I should get out of my comfort zone. I agree, but my argument against this would be that doing a paper on Aristotle's political philosophy in my Philosophy class is nowhere near my comfort zone. Also, doing a paper on the Battle of Marathon in my historical research methods course may have been in my "interest" zone, but it was not in my comfort zone. Another argument against this is, since I am going for post-grad studies in these areas, I would benefit greatly by taking every advantage I have now to do research in those areas if the chance is there. Disadvantages perhaps could be when I am learning or studying an area that has nothing to do with Greek and Roman history. My attitude is this: I will try to learn as much as I can and go for that A in a course on the French Revolution or the Jacksonian America for instance, but I'm not that concerned if I remember as much from those courses as I did from my Greek and Roman history courses. I'm also not going to try and tie in things that shouldn't be...like I'm not going to write a paper about the American Civil War and compare it to the helot revolt in Sparta. I'm not that insane. I also realize that the line up of courses I will eventually be taking from this point on have really nothing to do with Classical history. It's not like I ONLY want learn classical history, I also look forward to learning modern European and American history as well. Am I approaching this correctly and do I have the proper attitude?
I'm not entirely clear about your plan based on your post, but I will tell you this: part of the study of history includes how history has been interpreted by subsequent generations and influences politics, architecture, etc. I bring this up because you sound like you know what time period you want to focus on and are concerned that you will need to study time periods that fall well outside this focus.A few things: first, I'm guessing that your education thus far has focused mostly on the classical period, right? It may be the case that the more you study subsequent periods, the more you will begin to like them (maybe even more than the classical period). Proceeding with an open mind to this possibility may turn out to be very beneficial for you.Second, there are several time periods that you could study that closely relate to the classical period. That is, throughout time civilizations have looked to Greece and Rome as paradigms and have sought to emulate them. You could well do research on European and American history and answer questions about how people in history have interpreted the classical age and have tried to incorporate that into their contemporary societies.Basically, just because you study a non-classical time period does not mean that the classical age is forgotten. Were there classical sources of inspiration in the French Revolution (hint: think David's painting of the Oath of the Horatii)? What classical ideals played into the growth of young America? If you want to continue studying the classical age after your current studies, you'll have a better understanding of how Greece and Rome went on to influence the world long after their respective civilizations crumbled.
I'm not entirely clear about your plan based on your post, but I will tell you this: part of the study of history includes how history has been interpreted by subsequent generations and influences politics, architecture, etc. I bring this up because you sound like you know what time period you want to focus on and are concerned that you will need to study time periods that fall well outside this focus.A few things: first, I'm guessing that your education thus far has focused mostly on the classical period, right? It may be the case that the more you study subsequent periods, the more you will begin to like them (maybe even more than the classical period). Proceeding with an open mind to this possibility may turn out to be very beneficial for you.Second, there are several time periods that you could study that closely relate to the classical period. That is, throughout time civilizations have looked to Greece and Rome as paradigms and have sought to emulate them. You could well do research on European and American history and answer questions about how people in history have interpreted the classical age and have tried to incorporate that into their contemporary societies.Basically, just because you study a non-classical time period does not mean that the classical age is forgotten. Were there classical sources of inspiration in the French Revolution (hint: think David's painting of the Oath of the Horatii)? What classical ideals played into the growth of young America? If you want to continue studying the classical age after your current studies, you'll have a better understanding of how Greece and Rome went on to influence the world long after their respective civilizations crumbled.
Ditto,Phid, you have said it better than I can. No age of history is independent by itself. Every age was influenced by what came before and itself influenced subsequent generations. The Greeks and Romans did not exist in a vaccum anymore than we do today.
I'm not saying they were in a vacuum and I do have an open mind and want to learn as much as possible of other times. I'm looking forward to any Renaissance or US history I'll have to be taking. I'm just wondering if I should “expand” my horizons instead of choosing what interests me when it comes to a paper assignment in a course that is more general. (note: to me, doing a paper is the best way to learn a topic in depth). In Philosophy I could have chosen any subject, but I chose to do Aristotle. In the Research class I could have done one of ten topics, but I chose Marathon. Should I get out of this frame of mind? Like if there is another opportunity to do a paper, and Greek or Roman history is one of many options, would it be more beneficial to choose something other than that next time if the choice is available?
I'm not saying they were in a vacuum and I do have an open mind and want to learn as much as possible of other times. I'm looking forward to any Renaissance or US history I'll have to be taking. I'm just wondering if I should "expand" my horizons instead of choosing what interests me when it comes to a paper assignment in a course that is more general. (note: to me, doing a paper is the best way to learn a topic in depth). In Philosophy I could have chosen any subject, but I chose to do Aristotle. In the Research class I could have done one of ten topics, but I chose Marathon. Should I get out of this frame of mind? Like if there is another opportunity to do a paper, and Greek or Roman history is one of many options, would it be more beneficial to choose something other than that next time if the choice is available?
My advice is write about what interests you within the constraints of the class. I do the same thing except I always manage to weasel my way into writing something about Prussian history because that is my area of specialty/expertise. I have found that if the topic does not interest me I do not put the effort into it that I probably should. I generally do enough to get by in these instances but I dont do more like I do when writing or researching Prussian history.
I'm not saying they were in a vacuum and I do have an open mind and want to learn as much as possible of other times. I'm looking forward to any Renaissance or US history I'll have to be taking. I'm just wondering if I should "expand" my horizons instead of choosing what interests me when it comes to a paper assignment in a course that is more general. (note: to me, doing a paper is the best way to learn a topic in depth). In Philosophy I could have chosen any subject, but I chose to do Aristotle. In the Research class I could have done one of ten topics, but I chose Marathon. Should I get out of this frame of mind? Like if there is another opportunity to do a paper, and Greek or Roman history is one of many options, would it be more beneficial to choose something other than that next time if the choice is available?
Ah, I see. It's a scholar's dilemma - do you continue to research the same general topic/time period, thereby making yourself a quasi-"expert" in the field? Or do you branch out and research something that is new and unfamiliar, yet possibly more interesting because of its newness to you?Different people may say different things, but if it were up to me I would probably do something different than what I was used to studying. It would give me a broader perspective of history and would provide me with fresh ideas. I might choose something chronologically next to the time period of my choice, so if I already knew a lot of Greek/Roman history I might pick the early Middle Ages. But that's me, because I like to see the cause and effect "progress" within history.From a practical standpoint (and this may be different for different people), researching something new/different can help because it can potentially make you more marketable. You're not "locked" into a single time period but have some moving room that can sometimes be a benefit when looking for history-related jobs.
The lesson may be different for studying history but when I write papers for Eng. Lit., I'm stepping out to new areas but leaving a clew connected to where my strengths are. Pysch. papers lend themselves well to connections in History or Lit. Example, I tied in the Battle of Shiloh to Herman Melville, and Kholberg's Universal Ethical Principle, did a lot of reasearch and got three papers, for three classes out of it. Saves time and gives you a full 360 degrees on several topics. Maybe this approach is possible for you to maximize time and a more complete understanding of your subjects, just a thought. Good on ya mate! Very glad to hear that your living the dream, man.
