Mission Accomplished

I woke up yesterday morning and saw this tweet in my Twitter feed. It's times like these that I am reassured that Civil War blogging is making some sort of a difference.

Last summer, at a conference in Gettysburg, an attendee addressed a panel including myself, Kevin Levin, and Brooks Simpson, and asked if Civil War blogging was entertainment or the serious business of teaching history.

My response was (and always will be) that the two should not be separate strategies. Well, I do not think he was happy with my answer (hoping I would side with the latter). I cannot speak for my colleagues, but I intentionally attempt to draw people to Cosmic America with humor, entertainment, silly anecdotes or whatever I can think of. But that does no mean that I ignore historical issues, original research, and analysis. Some of the things I discuss are controversial and can stir emotions - but there is always room for levity.

I believe that historical inquiry is undergoing a paradigmatic shift of sorts. One component of that shift is the instantaneous transmission of thoughts and ideas - all the trappings of a carefully considered historical problem thought through to viable conclusions...and done in short spurts via social media. Like it or not, much of this is happening in a colloquial - perhaps even entertaining - format. History is going viral, my friends. Who knows...we may even have fun with it.

So thanks, Rebecca. I am certainly pleased that you and others like you have found a way to enjoy the study of history. And I am glad I could help.

K

Cosmic America on Facebook

Greetings Cosmic Americans!

So - are social media the future of teaching? Well, maybe not entirely - I find it hard to imagine the classroom...in the traditional sense, ever disappearing in favor of Internet platforms. I will say this however. In terms of the dissemination of resources and searching the historical record, the Internet and its behemoth networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter are not going anywhere any time soon. So at the very least, we teachers should embrace them - and likewise utilize them to their full potential.

In the spirit of getting on board and not rejecting the "nonsense waste of time" that 14-year-olds flock to to get the latest on Justin Bieber, I have been a champion of social media for some time. And in this same spirit, I have created a Facebook "fan" page for Cosmic America. I will be stepping up my game over there - so I invite those of you who like to put in their two cents on the Civil War to join me.

The idea, naturally, is to discuss the various pictures, videos, and articles that I post on the page - and I suppose you can mention Justin Bieber too, if you feel so compelled. I have to admit that I have actually seen his film Never Say Never, and after I managed to get over my hives, I found his performance at Madison Square Garden....interesting. Do what you want with that information - I digress.

Besides the profoundly broad topic of Civil War history and memory, I propose no specific theme for this page - whatever comes up that day (like the picture to the left or this article on the sesquicentennial) will be wide open for comment, whether you love it or hate it or think I am way off base (that happens from time to time), the forum will be open to anyone.

At any rate - I anticipate some good and hopefully even valuable discussion. Civil War students, teachers, buffs, wingnuts...come one come all!

Peace,

Keith