The History Blah

The reflections and rantings of one obsessive history student

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Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor

 

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.

Thomas Jefferson [Many people forget to add the second part for some reason…]

I realize I don’t do Tumblr right. I guess you’re only supposed to post pictures and gifs or something? I also realize that it has been like months since I’ve updated. But I will continue to ramble on here GODDAMN IT! Because I drank a Red Bull that I shouldn’t have! Since I’ve last updated, I believe I have articulated my historical POV and my future historical studies. For one thing, I have found a mentor (ish) in history. Granted, he can’t officially be my mentor because he is a Chinese history professor (not my focus) but I have really learned a lot from him. I mainly started talking to him to unravel my own family history. Finding out more about what my mother and grandparents experienced in China during the Mao years has become sort of a pet project of mine. I have no idea in what academic sense I could use this information but I’ve already started writing reflections on things I’ve found out. I might put some of it on this blog. Now with my professor, we mainly talk about Chinese politics and he gives me advice on grad school. Right now I’m mostly focusing on how much I am sucking at this quarter. Mostly because I’m really behind on my reading (like every other quarter). I’m pretty sure I am taking on more than can handle right now and not taking any of it seriously. For starters, I am in a class on the golden age of Chinese silent film (1920’s-1930’s) wherein we are required to actuallymakeour own film modeled after films made in that time. So therefore it will be shot in black and white, I’ll be wearing a qipao, and the film will follow will touch on the urban/rural divide in China. Plus, my awful and ancient chicken will make a cameo. In addition to that, I am in a fifteen person discussion course on constitutional history. We meet about once a week for three excruciating (yet oddly exciting) hours of debate on whatever landmark court case we’re studying for the week (this week: M’Cullough vs. Maryland). My professor in this class is probably one of the most well-versed individual on the history of the Supreme Court in the country. This makes this class terrifying. He once asked me to “explain to the class how Marbury vs. Madison made it to the Supreme Court”. Now, I know this answer but it is an extremely complex question that involves talking about the divide between the Adams Administration and the Jefferson Administration and why they didn’t like each other which then gets into me explaining about the Federalists and the Republicans. Then, there’s the whole Judiciary Act of 1789 that you have to go into… Explain Article 13 and what a writ of mandamus is, then go on to talk about how John Marshall forgot to issue Marbury’s confirmation as a justice of the peace (he was NOT a judge), and by that time it’s been 15 minutes and he’s still staring at me like I have more to say. Also, there is only one graded assignment in the class: a 15 page research paper on one of these landmark cases In addition to all that…. I am considering writing a 15 page research paper on the obsession with Anastasia Romanov following her execution for my class on the history of the USSR. This sounds really interesting to me but where would I find the time?!?! Anyway, that’s my ramble for the day. Here’s a picture of Joseph Smith since I just watched that Mormon episode of South Park and the song from that episode is stuck in my head….

I realize I don’t do Tumblr right. I guess you’re only supposed to post pictures and gifs or something? I also realize that it has been like months since I’ve updated. But I will continue to ramble on here GODDAMN IT! Because I drank a Red Bull that I shouldn’t have! Since I’ve last updated, I believe I have articulated my historical POV and my future historical studies.

For one thing, I have found a mentor (ish) in history. Granted, he can’t officially be my mentor because he is a Chinese history professor (not my focus) but I have really learned a lot from him. I mainly started talking to him to unravel my own family history. Finding out more about what my mother and grandparents experienced in China during the Mao years has become sort of a pet project of mine. I have no idea in what academic sense I could use this information but I’ve already started writing reflections on things I’ve found out. I might put some of it on this blog. Now with my professor, we mainly talk about Chinese politics and he gives me advice on grad school.

Right now I’m mostly focusing on how much I am sucking at this quarter. Mostly because I’m really behind on my reading (like every other quarter). I’m pretty sure I am taking on more than can handle right now and not taking any of it seriously.

For starters, I am in a class on the golden age of Chinese silent film (1920’s-1930’s) wherein we are required to actuallymakeour own film modeled after films made in that time. So therefore it will be shot in black and white, I’ll be wearing a qipao, and the film will follow will touch on the urban/rural divide in China. Plus, my awful and ancient chicken will make a cameo.

In addition to that, I am in a fifteen person discussion course on constitutional history. We meet about once a week for three excruciating (yet oddly exciting) hours of debate on whatever landmark court case we’re studying for the week (this week: M’Cullough vs. Maryland). My professor in this class is probably one of the most well-versed individual on the history of the Supreme Court in the country. This makes this class terrifying. He once asked me to “explain to the class how Marbury vs. Madison made it to the Supreme Court”. Now, I know this answer but it is an extremely complex question that involves talking about the divide between the Adams Administration and the Jefferson Administration and why they didn’t like each other which then gets into me explaining about the Federalists and the Republicans. Then, there’s the whole Judiciary Act of 1789 that you have to go into… Explain Article 13 and what a writ of mandamus is, then go on to talk about how John Marshall forgot to issue Marbury’s confirmation as a justice of the peace (he was NOT a judge), and by that time it’s been 15 minutes and he’s still staring at me like I have more to say. Also, there is only one graded assignment in the class: a 15 page research paper on one of these landmark cases

In addition to all that…. I am considering writing a 15 page research paper on the obsession with Anastasia Romanov following her execution for my class on the history of the USSR. This sounds really interesting to me but where would I find the time?!?!

Anyway, that’s my ramble for the day. Here’s a picture of Joseph Smith since I just watched that Mormon episode of South Park and the song from that episode is stuck in my head….