Von Blog

I am sitting in Hyperion. With a short mocha. Listening to the Decemberists. Blogging. I’m even wearing glasses. Now if only I had a Religious Studies book beside me.

On second inspection, I have found that I, too, have one of those.

I am a double major in History and Religion. But because this is a History 299 Blog and not a Religion 299 Blog, it is my decision to be a history major that requires some explaination. I decided to become a history major for two reasons: Mr. Marr and Mr. Savino. Mr. Marr was my sophmore history teacher at the Humanities Specialty Center at my high school. He was the first teacher I ever had that taught history because he was passionate about the subject. He would grow angry and incensed at what he saw as horrible historical occurances, and he would become fascinated and appear almost child-like with wonder at those individuals in history that were able to overcome, outlast, or outlive. In short, Mr. Marr lived the history he taught, and instilled that same passion in his students. Not to mention his penchant for revealing some of the more violent or scatological aspects of history that other teachers would frown upon.

And Mr. Savino. He was my 20th Century American History teacher my Junior year in high school. It was an entire class devoted to a step-by-step, chronological narrative of the History of America in the 20th Century. Savino also had a passion for his work, although it wasn’t as fiery. Instead, Savino instilled in his students his passion for history through his impossibly objective point-of-view. From the factors that lead to WWI to the attacks on the World Trade Center, Mr. Savino was able to teach his course through an objective lense that was nevertheless colorful and entertainning. He was able to step-back and deliver, as Joe Friday requested, “just the facts.”

These two educators inspired me to choose History as a major.

And as I sit here, enjoying a beverage that will keep me wired long into the night, I am kept grounded by a single, solitary fear: What am I going to write my History 299 paper on?

 Last year, I took two classes with Professor Moon: History of U.S. Sexuality and U.S. History and Popular Culture. In these two courses, I wrote papers on Wonder Woman and Captain America respectively; research choices that came with the personal caveat that the resulting papers had to contain more than simply rehashed fanboy antics. And, despite my personal fandom, being scholarly came easily. Yet I would be amiss if I didn’t tell you that writing papers on the aforementioned topic feels like an uphill battle.

    For instance, when was the last time you ever heard of a scholarly article containing an in-depth study of the evolution of Batman’s relationship with Talia Al-Ghul? Or a Professor delivering a lecture on the finer points of Kryptonian civilization as depicted in the Silver Age of the Superman title? Or even a well-reviewed book explaining the femenist ideology apparent in the early years of the Wonder Woman title? I’ll venture a guess and say “never” on all three counts.

   And therein lies the problem. American comic books, as pervasive as they are, are not seen as legitimate forms of historical documentation, nor are they seen as legitmate forms of art, and that includes both the written and drawn aspects of the medium. And even for those few wizened souls who see comic books for what they truly are (Modern Mythology in so many words; Our own Pantheon of Gods, who have simply traded in their togas for brightly colored spandex) there are a plethora of naysayers and cultural critics who snub their noses at the very idea of such ” pulp trash” being passed off as worthy of any meaningful historical study.

Perhaps a decision of this magnitude requires another coffee.