Greetings, everyone. Welcome to The Bruin History Blog, a young forum sponsored by Belmont
University’s History Department. And to those of you who are freshmen, welcome
– welcome to Belmont and to the History program. I am Matt Craft, a graduating
senior here at Belmont majoring in history and minoring in creative writing (or
if you want to be hyper-technical: writing with an emphasis on creative
writing). I hail from Brentwood,
Tennessee, twenty to thirtyish minutes south of Nashville; my family and I have
been there in the same house since summer 1989. I am the creator of and writer
for this blog, and I shall be your guide as we journey through history. So,
without any further ado, let our journey begin.
The
following is a self-interview. If we
can’t talk to ourselves, then whom can we talk to?
QUESTION:
Were you always interested in history?
ANSWER: Yes. I remember when I was a
kid, I liked imagining myself in the future, but I also liked imagining myself
in the past. When I started writing fiction in 1997, I started creating a
history of my own, the history of my fictional world. I still write fiction,
and I am adding more events to its history.
Nevertheless, I still occasionally build on previous history. For
example, although they fall into opposite ends of the timeline (the distant
past versus the distant future), my Primus
and Crime Emperor eras are two
new additions to the history that rest on my previously established Alliance of Justice era. To elaborate, I
strive to make my more recent stories stand on their own, but knowing a lot of
the fictional history enriches the reading experience, just as reading/seeing
all or several books, movies, or shows of the same series increases your
enjoyment.
QUESTION:
Why history? What first got you
interested?
ANSWER:
As stated above, I liked imagining myself in the past, particularly medieval
and early modern times as many of my old stories attest. Nevertheless, I first
got interested in history because of my brothers and a good family friend named
Larry. My brothers Alec and Zach were
into Civil War history and World War II, receiving a multitude of related
books, calendars, and pictures, almost all from Larry. So yes, the Civil War intrigues Larry, having
been raised as a Confederate patriot, and he likes many other time periods.
However, Larry’s real passion is ancient Greece and Rome. So, I guess I
inherited their combined interest in history. Larry introduced my brothers and
me to the Greek and Roman myths although they could be distortions of true
history.
QUESTION:
Do you bring history home with you?
ANSWER:
In a sense, yes. When I go home to my parents’ house, I strive to do some of my
homework, both my history and other classes. For example, in my sophomore year,
my parents and I were all in our former playroom working – I use a special
software on my computer to read my textbooks aloud – and when he heard Masood
Farivar’s Confessions of a Mullah Warrior,
which I was reading for Dr. Schafer’s Islamic World Since 1800, my dad found it
intriguing and enjoyed listening to it.
QUESTION:
Does your family share your passion for history?
ANSWER:
In a sense, yes. But I consider myself the only true history enthusiast in the
family. My dad may have an interest in history, but being a lawyer, he would
rather watch and talk about politics and law. Also a lawyer, my brother Zach
more or less shares the tendency to talk law like Dad.
QUESTION:
What role did history play in your
pre-collegiate education?
ANSWER: History played a major role in
my pre-collegiate education. English and history were my favorite subjects. The
personalities intrigued me. I told myself, since
you love history so much, why don’t you major in history at college? So, I
did, and the rest is history.
QUESTION:
Why did you decide to go to Belmont? Why not Vanderbilt, MTSU, or any other
university?
ANSWER: I decided to go to Belmont as
opposed to Vanderbilt, Middle Tennessee State University, or any other
university for many reasons. I have
visited MTSU twice – the first time on an astronomy class field trip during the
first semester of my senior year of high school and the second time being a
campus tour during my college search –
and have driven through Vanderbilt numerous times, and both universities are
humongous. With my vision impairment and limited stamina, I cannot easily
navigate or traverse long distances such as the entire stretches of MTSU and
Vandy; I knew I would be better off traversing the campus of a smaller school
like Belmont. Plus, Belmont offers more personalized services versus the
greater, but impersonal resources of MTSU. I didn’t select David Lipscomb
because I wasn’t familiar with the area of Nashville in which it is located.
But I am familiar with Belmont’s location, and it felt like home. Ultimately,
however, my friend and former tutor Liz Timbs was a history major here at
Belmont and, whether she meant to or not, she influenced my choice of
university and of major. Plus, most of my other former tutors (Liz’s
predecessors) were Belmont students.
QUESTION:
Is there a person you admire or model yourself after? [excuse atrocious grammar
LOL]
ANSWER: Yes. I admire many people – for
example, my professors Daniel Schafer and Douglas Bisson and my close friend
Diana. I admire Dr. Bisson for his enthusiasm toward history and his ability to
recall dates and lecture from memory without any notes; I hope to achieve his
level of memorization someday. I admire Dr. Schafer for similar reasons – his
enthusiasm and passion for history, especially his interest in less familiar
history, i.e. Russian, Islamic, and Central Asian history, and in alternate
history – and I once thought to myself that maybe
I might turn into a version of Dr. Schafer when I’m older because he and I
share similar interests in science fiction and alternate history. I will, however, have to expand my hat
collection to include some groovy Russian headwear. I admire Diana for her persistence, honesty,
maturity, and boldness – that is, she’s a nursing major who challenged herself
and survived Dr. Peter Kuryla’s 1920s America class. Ultimately, however, I
model myself after my older brother Zach (who is married to my sister-in-law
Saba) as he showed me a path toward maturity. Thus, Zach embodies my notion of
the ideal man: educated (high school graduate, college graduate after three
years, and law school graduate), successful (an environmental lawyer
representing the Exxons of the world), and married. I strive to claim my own
road to success but with Zach’s mile markers. And I’m pretty close, for I
graduate from Belmont this December.
QUESTION:
Did you join the international honor history society, Phi Alpha Theta?
ANSWER: Yes, I did join Phi Alpha Theta.
Dr. Cynthia Bisson, head of the Belmont chapter, tried to recruit me since
maybe my sophomore year (fall 2009-spring 2010) or junior year (fall
2010-spring 2011) – I don’t remember – but I wasn’t inducted until fall 2011
along with my good buddy Seth Granda.
QUESTION:
Did you join the, non-majors-exclusive campus social club, the Belmont History
Society?
ANSWER: Yes, I joined
the History Society in my very first semester here at Belmont (fall 2008). My
parents and I agreed I would benefit from being a member of at least one campus
organization. But truth be told, I wasn’t very active in it, and I’m still
not. It’s not that I don’t care or am
uninterested; I’m just really there along for the ride.
QUESTION:
What do you want to do with your history
degree(s)?
ANSWER: After reading Lies My Teacher Told Me for First Year
Seminar back in fall 2008, I said I wanted to write “unbiased” or less biased
history books, which would present all sides of history. By history books, I
didn’t mean textbooks, which often are dry and boring; I meant lively
narratives along the lines of Michael and Jeff Shaara’s works, but grounded in
more history as opposed to fictional dramatization with a historical backdrop.
But nowadays, I guess I want to author lively narratives presenting more than
one side of history in perhaps a vibrant and more accessible medium such as
graphic novels or digital comics.
QUESTION:
What is the next stop in your educational journey?
ANSWER: Honestly, I’m not sure. I want
to pursue my Masters’ degree and earn a Ph.D., but that’s not anywhere in the
near future. My parents tell me they have paid Belmont long enough and
understandably so. My parents and I agree I would benefit more from working in
the real world and making money at this point than continuing school. So, if I
earn my Ph.D., it is way off in the distant future somewhere.
QUESTION:
What is the final destination in your educational journey? Teaching? Archiving?
ANSWER: Honestly, I’m not sure. But I do know I have no interest in teaching,
not even possibly giving online lectures. If I were to teach, which I highly
doubt, I would rather be in a physical classroom with real people as opposed to
administrating an online course. I could be archiving since I have performed
some clerical and data entry tasks for the YMCA on Maryland Way in Brentwood,
TN, and I’m considering working at the Metro Nashville Archives after
graduation. But nothing is set in stone as many science fiction pieces, such as
the Terminator franchise, espouse.
QUESTION:
Is there a specific avenue/focus of
history you find most interesting, and why?
ANSWER: Yes and no. I often say I like
all points in history, which is true since I have placed or considered placing
stories in any time period from ancient Greece to the Cold War. At the same
time, however, I prefer European history nowadays since I had plenty – or too
much if you ask me – of American history in my pre-collegiate years. In fact,
in my junior year of high school (2006-2007), I considered switching from
standard U.S. history to honors U.S. history. I felt like I wasn’t learning
anything new; it was just a repeat and review from years past. I sorta got my wish
in the second semester of my senior year of high school (2007-2008) when I enrolled
in honors U.S. government. Anywho, European history is more expansive and
ancient than U. S. history – I’m not saying that pre-Columbian U. S. history
isn’t just as ancient. I just prefer European history.
QUESTION:
Who is your favorite American president and/or politician, both past and
recent/current, and why?
ANSWER:
For my favorite past president, I am torn between the first and seventh
presidents – George Washington and Andrew Jackson respectively. They are not my
favorites because of their 21st-century romanticized
images, but because of what I’ve read of them. Washington was the first
president, but he’s my favorite because he earnestly tried to lay stable
foundations from which America could spring and grow. And like Washington,
Jackson certainly had his faults, but he repaid France for the money Louis XVI
gave the Patriots for their cause during the American Revolution. Ending debt
is a big deal, both then and now. Maybe the Federal Government today should
take a page from Jackson’s book. LOL! My favorite contemporary president shows
my political leanings: Barack Obama. Obama is charismatic and articulate, and I
respect him for that. But truth be told, every single one of the 44 American
presidents, from Washington to Obama, has his strengths and weaknesses.
QUESTION:
What and how many history courses have you taken here at Belmont?
ANSWER: I took fourteen history courses:
HIS 3895 – America Viewed from Abroad
with Dr. Peter Kuryla;
HIS 4670 – The Tudor Monarchy, 1485-1603
with Dr. Douglas Bisson;
HIS 3700 – Central Asia with Dr. Daniel
Schafer;
HIS 3895 – Jacksonian America, 1815-1848
with Dr. Brenda Jackson-Abernathy;
HIS 3050 – Writing History with Dr.
Brenda Jackson-Abernathy;
HIS 3990 – Japan in the Shogun Age with
Dr. Cynthia Bisson;
HIS 1300 – The Roman World with Dr.
Douglas Bisson;
HIS 3510 – Russia and the Soviet Union
since 1900 with Dr. Daniel Schafer;
HIS 2050 – The Craft of History with Dr.
Daniel Schafer;
HIS 3500 – History of the Russian Empire
with Dr. Daniel Schafer;
HIS 2990 – The Islamic World since 1800
with Dr. Daniel Schafer;
HIS 2010 – World History since 1500 with
Dr. Deborah Back;
HIS 2020 – The American Experience since
Reconstruction with Dr. Deborah Back;
HIS 1400 –Medieval World: Kings, Queens,
Commoners, & Crusaders with Dr. Douglas
Bisson.
QUESTION:
If you can remember, what history did you learn in your pre-collegiate days?
ANSWER: Like I said previously, I was
mostly taught American history over and over again. But I did learn some world history and world geography –
the operative word being some – and I
do remember studying European geography and memorizing maps of the entire
continent all the way to Turkey in sixth grade. Also in middle school, I
remember studying Tennessee state history and geography.
QUESTION:
What is the most important thing your collegiate history classes leave with
you?
ANSWER: The most important thing I took
from my history classes is a broader base of historical knowledge than before,
an increased ability to think and assess critically and the exercise thereof,
and a deeper insight into yesterday’s and today’s societies and maybe a glimpse
into tomorrow’s.
Thanks
for reading, fellow lovers of history. That’s all, folks. LOL! But do not fret.
“The Man behind the Myth and the Man behind the Legend, Part II” shall
materialize next week. Until then, stay tuned!
Matt Craft,
Award-wining Man, Myth, Legend, Historical Investigator (AW MML, HI)
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