Matt Craft: The Man behind the Myth and the Man behind the Legend Part II

Hello, everyone! Matt Craft, AW MML, HI, here. Hope you enjoyed my last post, “Matt Craft: The Man behind the Myth and the Man behind the Legend Part I.” Because the time for “Matt Craft: The Man behind the Myth and the Man behind the Legend Part II” has arrived! So without any further ado, the exclusive interview “Matt Craft: The Man behind the Myth and the Man behind the Legend Part II” begins . . . now!

QUESTION: Do you know any foreign languages and/or alphabets? If so, what are they, and how many?

ANSWER: I say I’m multilingual, but truth be told, I’m not. If I ever was, I was just bilingual: English and Spanish. But that was a long time ago, and I wasn’t a native Spanish speaker, just a native English speaker who was learning Spanish in pre-collegiate school (beginning in fifth grade I might add).  Nevertheless, I do know some random Latin, Greek, French, Italian, and German words – e.g. tabula rasa which is Latin for blank slate, mens rea which is a legal term, but Latin for something like criminal mindset, and Je pas which is French slang for I  dunno – in addition to my limited Spanish. Right after high school, I could write an entire present-tense sentence in Spanish, but not anymore. Nowadays, I just use the translator function on Dictionary.com. However, I did learn the way cool Russian/Cyrillic alphabet for Dr. Schafer’s Russian history classes.

QUESTION: Was it difficult for you to write collegiate history papers?

ANSWER: Yes, it was difficult for me to write collegiate history papers at first. I was just inexperienced and unaccustomed to that writing style. Yes, I wrote some history and English essays before college, but my real expertise was in story-writing. So, I was a good and experienced writer to begin with, which helped me to learn how to write collegiate history papers.

QUESTION: Was it difficult to switch from MLA documentation style to Chicago documentation style?

ANSWER: Yes, it was difficult for me to switch from MLA documentation style to Chicago documentation style. Up ‘til college, MLA was all I knew, like many incoming freshmen. But once I used it, I became accustomed to Chicago. Nowadays, I prefer Chicago style, and it has become second nature, although admittedly I still use a handbook or the Purdue OWL website to double-check.

QUESTON: Speaking of papers, how did you feel about presenting your paper from Writing History for the spring 2013 Phi Alpha Theta conference and BURS?

ANSWER: I felt excited, honored about presenting my “Eugene V. Debs: The ‘Forgotten Red Saint’” paper for the spring 2013 Phi Alpha Theta regional conference. I wished to attend the conference the year before (spring 2012) since I felt I had the right support I needed to embark on this endeavor. Due to such factors as distance and a recent diagnosis, however, my parents and I thought it was better for me not to participate. So, I waited a year. And luckily, this past year (spring 2013), Belmont hosted the conference, so distance didn’t matter.

As for presenting the Debs paper at the spring 2013 Belmont Undergraduate Research Symposium (BURS), I felt pressured or burdened. I had to edit again to accommodate time constraints. I thought, Argh! I don’t want to present again. I just want to focus on my classes. Nevertheless, my academic advisor, Dr. Brenda Jackson-Abernathy, convinced me to participate and said that since I was finally a senior, I should do all the cool stuff, including BURS.

QUESTION: What did you expect at the PAT conference?

ANSWER: I expected to receive a mass audience in a crowded room of history buffs and scholars. So, I prepared a brief autobiography for those who wouldn’t know me. But I didn’t get a mass audience. Instead of one long, continuous session, which I envisioned, the conference had several smaller, simultaneous sessions organized according to topic and period. For example, my presentation was grouped in the “Gilded Age and Progressive Era” session. Students read papers and fielded questions focused on subjects from that period.

QUESTION:  In your opinion, what role does writing play in history and other disciplines? 

ANSWER: In my opinion, writing and other forms of communication play a significant role in history and other disciplines such as sociology, economics, social work, law, and medicine. We humans are vocal creatures; we have been since the beginning. Last time I checked, we aren’t the aliens from the 1996 film Independence Day or the Betazoids from the Star Trek universe with telepathic abilities. Instead, we employ both written and spoken language to communicate. We all benefit, both individually and collectively, from cooperation and exchange of ideas. Such interaction enables us to grow physically, mentally, and emotionally, and the various disciplines we practice are merely vehicles by which we present, express, and exchange our ideas.

QUESTION: Do you think history gets enough attention or focus in all levels of school?

ANSWER: No, I do not believe history gets enough attention or focus in all levels of school.  In pre-collegiate levels, history was and probably is still taught according to standardized testing. Consequently, many students find it boring or uninteresting.  This is an unfortunate and sad view of history and a pathetic and inefficient teaching method for history. History is more than memorizing dates and names. History is a living and fluid conversation among individuals from the past, present, and future, and not every converser must be a scholar. Even the most illiterate person may participate in the great dialogue that is history. As for collegiate levels, the topics offered in history are far greater than those offered in pre-collegiate levels. Unless you are majoring or minoring in history, however, you often choose to enroll in the minimum amount of history classes required. Consequently, many college students’ knowledge of history does not widen as much as I hope it would.

QUESTION: Where is the gap in the average person’s historical knowledge the widest? Where is it the narrowest?

ANSWER: In the United States, the narrowest gap in the average person’s historical knowledge, in my opinion, tends to be the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), the American Civil War (1861-1865), and World War II (1939-1945). In my opinion, the widest gap tends to be everything else, especially the War of 1812 (1812-1815) since it is all but forgotten, the Mexican-American War (1842-1845) because many Americans don’t like the notion of the U. S. being the initial aggressor, and World War I (1914-1918, aka the Great War and the War to End All Wars) because it is all but forgotten and many Americans perceive it as primarily an Eurasian war.

QUESTION: In your opinion, has popular culture ever accurately portrayed history?

ANSWER: No. In my opinion, popular culture has never portrayed history accurately. Even the History Channel and its counterparts have skewed their presentation of history in one way or another. I guess the most accurate portrayals would be on PBS. But that’s not to say that others don’t come close. The lack of complete historical accuracy in pop culture stems from the romanticization and dramatization of events, places, and people. Moreover, adapting history to pop culture is not an easy task; even the tiniest alternation hinders 100% accuracy.

QUESTION: In your opinion, why have the War of 1812 and World War I received less attention in both popular culture and education than say the American Revolution or World War II?

ANSWER: In my opinion, the War of 1812 and World War I have received less attention in both popular culture and education than say the American Revolution or World War II for many reasons. Primarily, though, to me the War of 1812 and World War I seem not to be as deeply rooted in the American consciousness as the other conflicts. Yes, the War of 1812 was once rooted in the American consciousness. That was before the American Civil War, however, and the War of 1812 became forgotten.  World War I has a similar case: it was replaced by World War II. Nevertheless, World War I was primarily a Eurasian war, and America didn’t participate until 1917 when the crumbling Russian Empire, transformed into the Soviet Union shortly afterward, withdrew from the conflict. Plus, America was more involved in World War II as the fateful Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, demonstrates.

QUESTION: What is your opinion or view of the Bible? Are the events depicted/recorded in the Bible history to you? Just the living Word of God? Or both?

ANSWER: To me, the events depicted/recorded in the Bible are both history and the living Word of God. The Bible is history because I believe it narrates past events, some of which other sources verify. For example, the Israelites’ slavery in Egypt and exile in Persia are also recorded in the histories of those countries. Similarly, I read about the Roman occupation of Judea in the Roman World class. The Bible is the living Word of God because John 1:1 states that God himself was the Word and I believe it. I also believe that as the living Word of God, the Bible is a book of truth, an ancient book that tells of true events and true ideas.

QUESTION: What do you read for pleasure?

ANSWER: When I was younger, I did read Hardy Boys and Harry Potter. But nowadays, I read history books such as the historical novels Gods and Generals and The Killer Angels by Jeff and Michael Shaara as well as John Grisham’s mysteries. I haven’t picked it up since the semester started, but I am reading Grisham’s The Testament.

QUESTION: What books of historical nature would you recommend that everyone read?

ANSWER:  I would recommend that everyone reads A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It may be a difficult read – I first read it in seventh grade, I believe – but it is a great redemption story and a clever literary piece with its music/song motif. Moreover, A Christmas Carol is a timeless classic applicable to every time and society since Victorian England, as the numerous adaptations attest.

I would also recommend that everyone reads the graphic memoirs Maus by Art Spiegelman and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi because they both present history in a vibrant, yet bleak, relatable, and accessible way via the graphic novel format. Everyone should have a greater grasp on and appreciation for history than the mere superficial understanding that is commonplace. My sister-in-law, Saba, who teaches a sort of Islamic history to middle and early high school students in a private Muslim academic network, told me that it is easier for her students to understand things via the graphic novel format than via the traditional textbook format.

In addition, I think everyone should read All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. Like A Christmas Carol, it may be a difficult read – I read it ten years ago in eighth grade – but it tells the honest and bleak story of Remarque’s intense physical and psychological turmoil as a German soldier in the Kaiser’s army during World War I. When Adolf Hitler, also a World War I veteran, came to power, he banned All Quiet on the Western Front because he wanted to hide the truth and ugliness of World War I from his people. I believe that no truth, despite however bleak or grotesque, should be kept from anyone. Since World War I is all but forgotten, reading All Quiet on the Western Front will offer you a glimpse and insight into that vanishing world through the eyes of an enemy combatant.

QUESTION: What book would you recommend that any president, prime minister, or head of state should read?

ANSWER: I have not read it myself, but I believe every leader would benefit from reading the Qur’an because many of our adversaries are Muslims – some of whom are extremists I admit.  Nevertheless, reading the Qur’an might help our leaders better understand the Islamic religion and culture. Similarly, I believe they would also benefit from reading Marjane Satrapi’s graphic memoir Persepolis. Though Persepolis narrates just her life story, it also provides insights into Islamic and Middle-Eastern culture for an audience who is unfamiliar with Islam and the Middle-East.

QUESTION: What advice would you give to underclassmen history majors and minors?

ANSWER: Don’t obsess with every little detail; the big picture will reveal itself in due time. And don’t feel like you have to stick with your initial major or minor. You could always change it. Follow your heart, and you’ll find your home. Case in point, I considered minoring in social justice, but my heart wasn’t there – it was with my stories and poetry. So, I decided to minor in my lifelong passion: creative writing. But I’m not saying don’t listen to your advisor. Do listen to your advisor. Follow your heart, but also listen to your advisor. For he or she will guide you along the way to where your heart is.

QUESTION: What advice would you give to upperclassmen history majors and minors?

ANSWER: Continue to follow you heart and listen to your advisor. If you still don’t know what you want to do with your degree or what area of history on which you want to focus, don’t obsess over it.  You’ll know in due time.

QUESTION: What advice would you give to pre-collegiate students interested in and/or passionate about history?

ANSWER: Follow up with your interest or passion! Go to college, or don’t go to college. Just immerse yourself in it. Immerse yourself in it via some sort of way. Don’t feel pressured that you have to go to college. There are other ways to immerse yourself in your interest or passion and follow up with it. But if you do go to college, remember: you don’t necessarily have to major or minor in it. Just follow your heart and satisfy your desire.

            Thanks for reading, fellow lovers of history. Since you now know who I am, I hope to see you next time as our journey through history continues. Stay tuned!

Matt Craft, Award-wining Man, Myth, Legend, Historical Investigator (AW MML, HI)