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Re: When is the Past history
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From: bookmarch_at_aol.com
Date: Thu, 08 Nov 2012 11:44:14 -0500 (EST)
Speaking as a person who always loved history, I don't think this is as def ined by direct family connections or proximity in time. Many of us grew up loving archaeology -- which was interesting b/c it was about the ancient wo rld. Think of dinos, mummies -- the far, far past. I see a different connec tion to history: both of my parents were immigrants. Anyone who has close l inks to lives and experiences different from modern America knows about tim e, change, and the layers that build from one reality to another. Historian s famously say that "the past is a foreign country" and for many of us imme rsion in the foreign because it is foreign is a great pleasure, whether in fiction or nonfiction. I think we overvalue kids' connection to the present and underestimate the great appeal of the long ago and far away. Dead End in Norvelt is, in so many ways, a paean to history, and glorious for being that.
Marc Aronson
Date: Thu, 08 Nov 2012 11:44:14 -0500 (EST)
Speaking as a person who always loved history, I don't think this is as def ined by direct family connections or proximity in time. Many of us grew up loving archaeology -- which was interesting b/c it was about the ancient wo rld. Think of dinos, mummies -- the far, far past. I see a different connec tion to history: both of my parents were immigrants. Anyone who has close l inks to lives and experiences different from modern America knows about tim e, change, and the layers that build from one reality to another. Historian s famously say that "the past is a foreign country" and for many of us imme rsion in the foreign because it is foreign is a great pleasure, whether in fiction or nonfiction. I think we overvalue kids' connection to the present and underestimate the great appeal of the long ago and far away. Dead End in Norvelt is, in so many ways, a paean to history, and glorious for being that.
Marc Aronson
---Received on Thu 08 Nov 2012 11:44:14 AM CST
