Finneran's Wake - The Death of Boring History

Oct 31, 2022

The Death of Boring History | The Pop Historian

Play • 1 hr 6 min

The Pop Historian is a general historian with an exciting, eclectic new channel on YouTube.

“The historian must serve two masters: the past and the present”.

In compliance with Fritz Stern, the late German-American professor of history at Columbia University by whom the above statement was issued, the Pop Historian has undergone to do just that. In a highly original, accessible, and entertaining way, he has packaged fascinating bits of history in a series of compelling videos, using the technology of today to tell great stories from the past.

From this episode, you’ll learn…

The advantages of homeschooling for the curious mind; the importance of learning about different faiths as a child; the role that video games (like Assassin’s Creed) can play in instructing you in history; the potential of virtual reality, both for education and entertainment; the reliability of Wikipedia; the necessity of “transhistorical” sympathy; the difficulties in becoming a documentarian; Hitler and the Third Reich; George Washington and whether he should be celebrated or condemned, and much more!

TIMESTAMP

0:00 Introduction

2:54 Home School v. Private School

5:15 Passover in a Universal Church

9:56 Assassin’s Creed: Do video games have a role in teaching history?

15:12 Virtual Reality: Entertainment and education

21:17 Wikipedia: is it a reliable source?

23:15 Becoming a documentarian

26:46 Hitler and the rise of the Third Reich

28:25 “Trans-historical” empathy and the moral superiority of today

33:06 Slavery

34:29 George Washington: Do we condemn or celebrate him?