A profile to get us started!

 Maybe I shouldn’t be as surprised as I am to report that there are quite a few blogs out there that talk about US History. I suppose I’m not surprised that many of them are quite academic and professional, functioning mostly as forums for writers, editors, researchers etc to pre-publish their work or pieces of it and get feedback. It seems as though the internet has become a sort of international gathering ground for professionals and amateur buffs alike to come together and exchange ideas and information.

            One of these blogs that I came across is entitled Today’s History Lesson, produced by a user named Joel Mundt. His personal profile is relatively limited. He seems to prefer to keep most of that information anonymous, but his posts speak for themselves. He is prolific, posting almost every day and thoroughly on topics as wide ranging as the Rape of Nanking before the Second World War, to one of his personal favorite stories of the close call atmosphere that absolutely pervaded the era of the Cold War.

These posts were also two of my favorites of his. His writing style really draws the reader in, allowing them to participate in what’s being said without sounding preachy. He also manages to give a lot of information in his posts, as well as draw the interest of the reader. After I read his post on the Rape of Nanking, I was definitely curious to know more; not necessarily of the atrocities themselves, but of the differences between Japanese and Chinese military culture, the involvement of Hitler in actually stopping these human rights offenses, etc. I was also, however, quite keen on following his advice about reading the book; “Today, I use the word “recommended” loosely,” he says. “There is incredible courage and strength detailed in this book, but also unbelievable suffering and awful violence.” Maybe I’ll save this book for another day.

In terms of how this blog relates to the blog I’m hoping to produce here, the model is almost perfect. Joel addresses lots of different questions, confining himself to loose parameters and boundaries that allow him free range over the realm of American diplomatic and political history, as well as questions of culture and international relationships. It is exciting to be able to click onto his blog and know that I’m going to get something different each time, something that really excited him enough to provoke him to write rather than just something that fit into a narrowly prescribed theme. I think this broadness of topic also helps ensure a broadness of audience. Because his posts are well-thought out and well-researched, he appeals to an academic or professional audience. Because his tone is casual and conversational, he appeals also to a more amateur or popular audience as well. And because he writes on many different topics rather than going very deeply into a single one, many different fields can find something to relate to in what he writes.

I have to admit that before I created this site, I was highly skeptical of the role of blogs, their usefullness or even the level of enjoyment possible for a reader or a writer. It was basically an online diary. I was not impressed. But I may be on my way to becoming a convert. The ease of the medium is hugely seductive. The ability to respond so quickly necessitates your involvement. But it’s more than that. In a class of mine today, we were having a discussion on the importance of the free flow of ideas between scientists regarding the development of the atomic bomb. After having done even this cursory research, I wonder if the internet, and the forum that it provides to those willing to look for it, may one day provide that kind of saving-grace tool for thinkers around the world.