I Just Want to Time-Travel, is That Too Much to Ask?

There are few things more depressing to me than hearing students say they hate history because it's "boring."

Granted, not all historical texts are riveting, but history itself--boring?! Now that's just ridiculous.

History is everything but boring. It's not some ancient, crumbling tome, engraved in dusty rock and stuffed away in a basement. It's flexible, it's vibrant, it's ever-changing, it's fresh, it's new. It's a living record of everything that has existed and a reflection of everything that will come to exist. It's a story that never ends. Better yet, though, it's all real. 

People will scoff, saying things like, "You can't live in the past, you know." And it's true (though a certain Jay Gatsby would beg to differ) -- and that'd be a good argument, if historians were trying to live in the past!

But studying the past is not the same as trying to live in it. Studying the past is about seeking, asking questions, trying to expand our knowledge and comprehend the human experience in ways which we will never truly understand. What was it really like to be a Pilgrim, in that first winter on the cold shores of Massachusetts? What weighed on the minds of kings--what were the thoughts, the troubles, the hopes that never came to the light? How did Egyptian slaves feel when they opened their eyes each morning? Why did a cup of tea mean so much more to a colonist than it ever will to you or me?

Historians ask these questions to understand people, not to relish a time long gone. At the end of the day, studying the past means living a more vibrant present, enhanced by the knowledge and awareness of those who came before. It's a beautiful field of study.

Now tell me it's boring again--or try opening your eyes!