This is my last blog of the semester, and the subject we're studying right now has been one of the most interesting to me. However, pretty much everything that we have studied has been of some interest to me - that's why I signed up for a 20th century European history class. Not because I knew everything about the subject, but because I was really interested in learning more about it.
I especially enjoyed learning about the history of France and Germany. The sheer magnitude of information contained in the history of Nazi Germany amazed me - before studying it, I had no idea there could possibly be that many perspectives on a single event in history. I think that's one of the things that has been most interesting to me this semester - viewing history as what it is, a story. This was my first history class at UGA, and I didn't really know what to expect. I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I have learned, not just about European history but history in general.
For my last post, I guess I will comment on the topic of the past couple weeks that has been most interesting to me - the uprising of Polish workers. Throughout history, at least what I have studied, the successful revolts are almost always aided by some sort of intellectual or "enlightened" class. To read about what happened in Poland was really interesting and was something I had known nothing about prior to this class. Even though the original movements of solidarity were not "successful", they eventually led to the overthrow of the Soviets. It serves as a nice reminder that anything can be possible, no matter how unrealistic it seems.
I have enjoyed this class, and blogging bi-weekly has been a nice way to interact with my classmates regarding the material covered.
i agree with everything you are saying and especially the perspective of looking at history as a story. There is always room for different interpretations of history and I too never realized there were so many perspectives on Nazi Germany. The Polish strike, in particular, caught my eye. It showed that labor unions and the "unintelligent" are not all rowdy and violent as they are so often characterized. They had a deeper, more political agenda in mind and were very aware of what they were doing. I too enjoyed learning about this.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that this class has been fantastically interesting. The way the class was structured, with us having so much discussion, really made the material come alive. The story of Solidarity is one of my favorites as well. I think it is empowering to see an example of a group of people that did something amazing when everyone on the outside never gave them a real chance.
ReplyDeleteI love the story of the revolutions in Eastern Europe for the same reason. The idea of so many average people standing up to defend what they believe in really inspires me.
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