Rule Britannia

I shall refrain- as I sit outside in 29-degree weather in Indianapolis- from rambling on in some academic Freudian slip, like this was just another mindless, ‘deadline approaching’, ‘I better actually do this’ piece of coursework. As, well that’s just dull. No, this is not remotely academic…… Per se.

I thought I’d share how ‘History’ is taught here in the comfort of our transatlantic colonial cousins. Or if you will: ‘ those republican (small ‘r’ in part), federal, gun loving colonial commoners’, (sure that’ll give Simon a few laughs).

From the go things are dramatically contrasting to the academic norms to which I am now accustomed to at Derby. Take for example; a class I find myself in Monday’s and Wednesday afternoons enabled ‘From Prohibition to Pearl Harbor- America from 1917-1945’. “Monday’s and Wednesday’s”, I hear you say? Yes. Here at IU it is the practice to have a class split over two days. Two blocks of two hours, resulting in a total of 4-hour class time (good to see my math[s] is still in check). This split - whilst a surprise at first - really does work. It allows for a greater degree of debate and the eluded ‘discussion’ in class, we often are lectured to on a Monday, and those topics are debated and discussed on a Wednesday. Whilst this discussion and debate is far from academically and historically in depth, grandiose, opulent and rollicking as it often is at Kedleston Road it is however insightful to witness just how our cousins - as gun loving and Rick Santorum loving as they are - perform compared to the folk back in Ol’ Blighty, when wielding their historical arsenal.  As this class requires on average an entire book a week, - which cannot be avoided as we are required to submit reading reflections, and our ‘tests’ are based directly to the text - in class often the historiography of a topic is lost, and replaced with analytical book review talk.  Sigh.  I fear this is the danger of ‘over emphasizing the need to study excessive text’ week - in week - out by a Professor, oh sorry; I meant ‘lecturer’ - saying that, the texts are wonderful.  We used ‘Grapes of Wrath’ as a set-text for our debate on the ‘Great Depression’, which is just an incredible, illustrious and overly glorified commentary on ‘The American Dream’.  I’ll refrain for now from trailing off in to just how oxymoronically developed that statement is in 2012….. For now.

Whilst the debate and discussion of the average History Major class is a divergence from its Monarchial governed counterpart, and whilst I personally find the system and atmosphere of debate in ‘Derbados’ to suffice greater, things aren’t all that bad. What is wonderful here in the US are Humanities Students (or ‘Liberal Art’ students here) political positions, and political expressionism. Twice now I have been branded a ‘socialist’ by fellow classmates. Simply for expressing support for entities such as universal healthcare, and state funded and governed education! Yes, the US is still so retrogressive in certain social and socioeconomic practices, but that really is another story. The political atmosphere of debates here in US in classes is due to the politicization of education. From a young, ‘Elementary School’ age kids are taught the systems of Government, the Constitution, and all 43 Presidents I have discovered. Oh, for the record there have been 44 Presidents in theory, but Grover Cleveland held the office twice before the 22^nd Amendment was added in 1951 to prevent this…… (#pubquizknowledge). Anyway, whilst discussions and debate is often lost in the midst of ‘book reviewing’, the political weight of discussion seems to be greater than what I have experienced at home. However, being here I have missed the glorified and sought after ‘Fascism’ module with everyone’s favorite Anglo- German since George I, Tom Neuhaus.  So I may be wrong when I comment that I have experienced greater political weight in discussions here in classes that what I have in Derby, I hope I am.

I look forward to returning to Her Majesty’s shores in terms of academic life - oh and being able to legally buy beer - and a number of other ‘home comforts’. Yet I shall ‘miss’ the craziness of US college life, just not the constant Tornado drills. Not to worry, I can always revoke their Independence; they’ve had it for long enough after all.

Rule Britannia.

Daniel Matthews