Yeah, That Happened: Topics in History

[tabby]

americanchai, I read The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes many years ago, and enjoyed it a lot.

[GinFizz]

Just curious, is the 100th anniversary of WW1 being treated as a big deal in the US? (Obviously you guys have tons of other stuff going on at the moment *sigh*)

[Deleted]

Not as far as I can tell. The US didn't enter the war until 1917 anyway, so it's not really a 100th anniversary for us yet. But I don't think WWI has ever been as big a deal here as it is in Europe.

[biondetta]

My BA is in art history, with a focus on the architecture of the Italian Renaissance. I enjoy history in general, though, and since moving to the Netherlands, I've become fascinated with the history of Utrecht, the city I live in. Romans built a fort here around 2000 years ago and the spot where that fort stood is now one of the major squares. Best of all, the city does a good job of finding new ways to display the history, while still keeping the city vibrant and modern. There are markers in the street that show where the old Roman fort walls were, and they light up at night, and occasionally emit vapor for a very cool effect. There's also now a new underground exhibit in the square that covers the area's 2000 years of history (it's been the site of cathedrals for the past 1300 years or so).

I like to go through the city's archive website and look at old photos and then match them up with current photos that I take. I post the comparisons on my blog and call them time travel posts. It's fun to see how some things have changed quite a bit, while others haven't changed at all. Being able to stand in a spot and think about all that has happened there for hundreds and thousands of years really does bring history to life.

[tabby]

Not as far as I can tell. The US didn't enter the war until 1917 anyway, so it's not really a 100th anniversary for us yet. But I don't think WWI has ever been as big a deal here as it is in Europe.

Yeah, there has never been a lot of interest in WWI in the US, nothing like WWII. We were only in the Great War for about a year (officially; there were Americans who went earlier). The war wasn't popular among many Americans - a lot of Irish and German immigrants, for example, were convinced that anything negative about Germany was British propaganda, and others just didn't want to get involved in Europe's problems. We don't have Remembrance Day. We have Veterans' Day, on the same date, but it isn't much of a deal for most people. Most of us don't have the day off, and those that do usually go shopping.

[chonies]

Aug 21, 2014 4:59:30 GMT -4 GinFizz said:

Just curious, is the 100th anniversary of WW1 being treated as a big deal in the US? (Obviously you guys have tons of other stuff going on at the moment *sigh*)

Hard to say. I follow a lot of UK/non-US news, so I see a lot of it and forget it's not local. I think it's kind of a buried-lede thing. The long-form news shows have pieces, and the public radio has had news stories about the places that are memorializing. The classic movie channel has had a few WWI-themed mini-marathons, but other than that, I don't think it's really a thing. Like roisin said, the US didn't have a role until later, and I doubt the 100th anniversary of the US getting involved is going to be a big thing.

I mean, it's there if you want to commemorate it, and I'm sure some towns are doing things, but the short is no.

[NappingAthena]

There are a lot of books coming out about World War I (I swear every time I go to the library there is a new one) but its not gotten much play in the media.

[Deleted]

I remember in high school the only real study we did on WWI aside from learning the basic facts was on a literary level, we read A Farewell to Arms and some poetry about the war but that was about it.

As an aside, I learned more about a paternal great-grandfather from his WWI draft registration card than I did from any other source. Before that I had no idea how old he was or where he was from. I suspect he immigrated from Austria-Hungary when he did in order to get away from the war. He was from a town in the border lands between there and Italy, and the town is actually now part of Italy.

[chonies]

I agree--most of my info about WWI comes from popular culture sources, especially All Quiet on the Western Front, the Singing Tree, and that infographic from the Onion. Of course, I can barely remember what the US was up to at that time, but that's a conversation for another time.

[chitowngirl]

I can see there being a big deal made when the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI rolls around in 2018.