All my life, it seems, I have been a wannabe. Now, with the advent of New Media, an advent 20 years in the making, I have decided to BE.
For the past 20 years (plus), I have been a student of New Media, of books great and small, of history, of geneology, and of philosophy. I hold two college degrees, both humanistic in nature, the Bachelor’s in History and the Master’s in Religion. I have gotten paid to be a teacher, a techie, a bookseller/appraiser, and even a philosophy professor. Now, I enter my seniority as a self-employed historian and writer. I perceive that New Media allows this.
So, what is a historian? When I began my adult life, that was my career goal. Through the seventies, the eighties, the nineties, I studied, I taught, I adopted technology and New Media, within which I studied and I taught. In the America of the late twentieth century, the term historian seemed to apply to two types of work exclusively, a college history professor and/or a published writer of history books. All other practioners of history, K-12 teachers, students, creators of historical web pages, etc. were mere drones serving the greater enterprise of the historians. Also, another apparent professional fact-of-life in America, at least since 1900, is that the definition of any profession is determined by how many $$$$$$ are gained by the practice of that profession. Mr. Jefferson’s meritocracy is now a $$$$$$ocracy.
So, am I a historian or not? I am certainly a student of history, I am certainly a Bachelor of History, I am certainly a writer of history, I am certainly a teacher of history. And even though I have taught Internet and Ehtics at the college level, I have never taught history at the college level nor, except in New Media, have I published any writings in history. Therein lies my conflict.
New Media Changes Everything. Or, so we’ve been told. Now, in the 21st century, I can claim to be a historian! Follow this blog to http://1718neworleans.com. for my published work. It does not take much insight to see that here, on the Web and in Social Media, lies the future of knowledge and education. For those among us just beginning their adult lives, that future is now.
No more wannabe! I am now a historian, and readers can give meaning and substance to my claim by sending 99 cents to Paypal in my name for a download of my latest essay and lesson-plan from “New Orleans: The First Decade.” But regardless of whether you buy or not, keep The 1718 Project in your web browser. Contribute to, Review, Condemn, Commend, and most of all, Enjoy my New Media-published History Book.
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