by Mohammed Alnaqeeb, BGSU History major. This is one in a series of posts written by students in HIST 4800 in Spring, 2020, putting our world into historical context for the public.

Historical facts eventually come to light despite any mass media deception, but do we learn from history’s lessons? War is an extreme action that begets the most serious of consequences, it is not a decision to be taken lightly. Yet, time and again, people are fooled into thinking that war is the only alternative. A prime example of such a deception is the drive to convince the American people of one of the most unnecessary and calamitous conflicts in modern times and that is the 2003 Iraq War. This illegal war, that was supposed to bring freedom and liberty, plunged the whole of the Middle East into a bottomless pit of anarchy and chaos flowering into nightmares like ISIS. This pattern of deception, However, is neither unique nor isolated as it was practiced throughout history in almost every country and every war.

by Olivia Cotterman, BGSU History major. This is one in a series of posts written by students in HIST 4800 in Spring, 2020, putting our world into historical context for the public.

I have always been interested in the personal side of history. The personal accounts of an event, the artifacts people make, and their diaries and journals. My latest research project has been about the Japanese Internment Camps and the way in which it has been remembered among the survivors. The xenophobia that pushed Japanese Americans into internment camps continues into the present day.

by Edward Belofsky, BGSU History major. This is one in a series of posts written by students in HIST 4800 in Spring, 2020, putting our world into historical context for the public.

There are a few people who are interested and choose to study history, and then there are those who are generally not interested until they come across something particular. This should not be new information as most of us have known for a while that if something is interesting or relatable, the more likely are to connect with the topic and find it enjoyable. In my opinion the best way to make history relatable, and therefore interesting to most people, is through comedy. Comedy might be one of the most relatable things on the planet, because most everyone likes a good laugh. For instance, most people are familiar with the funny graffiti that is sometimes scribbled around in public restrooms, and how interesting it can be some time to say the least. 

by Haley Hoffman, BGSU History major. This is one in a series of posts written by students in HIST 4800 in Spring, 2020, putting our world into historical context for the public.

Artists often take their inspiration from the world around them, meaning that major events affect their work. Tragedies such as plagues and pandemics have shaped the art that has been produced both during and afterwards. This is something that has affected not only the past, but also what we are going through today with the COVID-19 pandemic.  

by Brett Lance, BGSU History major. This is one in a series of posts written by students in HIST 4800 in Spring, 2020, putting our world into historical context for the public.

My four years of undergrad at Bowling Green State University has been the best years of my life so far. College has brought me friends that I will have for a lifetime. Most importantly though I have received a wonderful education. At first, I was only a Political Science major but I decided to make my minor of History a second major. It is one of the greatest decisions I’ve made here in my time at BGSU. 

by Weston Bensman, BGSU History major. This is one in a series of posts written by students in HIST 4800 in Spring, 2020, putting our world into historical context for the public.

Recent events have shown that video games may have other uses besides entertainment. In April 2019 Notre Dame cathedral caught fire and the structure was damaged extensively. Immediately after this disaster people in France and around the world called for a restoration and rebuild, but the difficulty of rebuilding the cathedral as close as possible to the original design was quickly realized. One of the biggest questions was whether the spire should be rebuilt after it collapsed during the fire. This is where Assassin’s Creed Unity can help as the creators of Assassins Creed attempt to be as historically accurate as possible when designing their games including architecture.   

by Jack Riegert, BGSU History major. This is one in a series of posts written by students in HIST 4800 in Spring, 2020, putting our world into historical context for the public.

While the thrill of local and world history can be one hell of a goose-chase, genealogy DNA test kits are growing to be a popular medium for people to pursue this. Genealogy isn’t just a study of the run of the mill tax records or census records; being in the 21^stcentury DNA testing is a new way to try to get an accurate analysis of your family’s history!  In the past five years, the growing industry of genealogy welcomed many new businesses and startups into the industry, businesses like 23andMe and Ancestry being the two largest. America is the melting pot, and most people have a general idea where their family comes from, sometimes indicated by last name, oral history, and skin color. 

by Anne Mier, BGSU History major. This is one in a series of posts written by students in HIST 4800 in Spring, 2020, putting our world into historical context for the public.

COVID-19 has been a stressful and scary time for a lot of people because their entire lives have been practically taken away from them. This virus is different from others because it can infect anyone, so there is no avoiding it.  In a time like this, it can be easy to put the blame on someone or a particular group. Especially when the first cases were being diagnosed and there wasn’t a lot of information, it was easy to jump to conclusions. Rather than blaming those who aren’t following the rules of social distancing, a lot of people have been blaming Chinese people or anyone that is perceived to be Asian for being the source of the virus.