History Qualifications?

[Knight of the Rose]

As to qualifications, I hold a MA from Lancs in Historical Research, as well as a "cand.mag" (2-year master level) in general history from Copenhagen Uni. My thesis was on statebuilding in the renaissance with special emphasis on colonial companies.

As for amateur vs. professional I believe that: Knowing something about a period / topic is something everybody can do by reading books and watching TV. I'm sure that *many* people knows more facts about history than I do. But actually writing history is something for the professionals, as it is a craft just like carpenting or engineering. It just seems, for the unaware, as a simple procedure of collecting facts and putting them together, but there is much more to it.

Does that make me a better person, or make my posts more intelligent? I must confess the answer is "no" i both cases But I will claim to be more trained in answering questions about "why" something happened, as that is my profession. Amateurs will be excellent in answering questions about "who", "where" and "when", and there is a time and a place for that as well.

/KotR

[naut]

Well fortunately, I am going to the most prestigious arts-related University in Australia (Sydney), which should hopefully give me a leg-up. I'll probably end up teaching or something, but I remain optimistic about a professorship (Pending completion of a PhD of course...).

USyd? That's one nice Uni, especially in Arts/Law/Med.

Mostly I just have the History Channel on all the time or a good book on Loan from the State Library.

PS:

perusings

So you study in detail. Very nice indeed.

[Adrian II]

I grew up in a house were my bed time stories were of hamburger hill or the run up iwo jima or Riech the first step towards conquest.

I'll bet ninety percent of historians grew up in such homes.

Seriously, story-telling is an essential tool for historians. From Herodotus through Gibbon, Le Roy Ladurie and Huizinga, great historians have always been engaging story-tellers.

Nice to know by the way, that so many young Orgahs are historians or History students. The fact that in these forums we mingle with computer nerds, gaming addicts and bloody amateurs from all walks of life makes the Org. a unique meeting place.