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It's a long long journey

    As the plan of studying for a history master's degree failed, I went back to looking for a job. However, this road is not easy as well. Who knows if this is a detour or a shortcut before you ever try it?

    Meanwhile, I decided to continue my research as a sociologist and amateur historian. I will try to discover free sources to support my research as soon I could not access to the university's library system. Also, I created this blog in case I want to become a writer. 

    So, welcome to my first practice of writing!

    Last night, I read a book called a little history of the world by E.H. Gombrich. It is a birthday gift from my best friend to celebrate my new passion for history. Yes, at that time, I was busy writing my thesis proposal on my birthday for the application to the master of the history program at KU Leuven. 

a little history of the world by E.H. Gombrich


    A fun fact: this master of history program is the only history program taught in English. God knows how difficult Dutch and French are and now I am studying Dutch (by Duolingo) and French ( language courses) at the same time to survive in Belgium. 

    After reading the preface and first chapter of this book, I realize that this book is for everyone without difficult jargon. The tone of the book is like telling a story, "once upon a time". That's a good point for everyone who wants to have a brief idea of history -- our stories of the world. 

    In French, "Histoire" means history or story, which implies the storytelling nature of history (h is muted for sure).  The story has the power and magic to connect the past to the present. Not everyone's story can be the dominant story. When there is a dominant story, there is a suppressed story. When we talk about the history of the world, we focus more on Western stories. 

    Also, by telling stories, we distinguish good and evil. Witches are evil and Scientists are good. Or the stories can be the other way around. Modern science and Supernatural magic are not natural enemies. Science can be seen as magic when we first invented the computer. According to the journal article venerating the black box: magic in media discourse on technology by William A. Stahl, media uses the magic discourse to introduce scientific inventions such as personal computers which implies the elective affinity of science and magic. Science can be used as a tool to disenchant the world but also to reenchant the world. Modern science starts in a period of conflicts where scientists hope to bring back orders. When the world is extremely chaotic and messy, we rely on science to reshape an organized world (though the world is never organized and stable), then science becomes a belief and a religion. 

    I think that content analysis is a good research method for both sociologists and historians to see how we come to the present. We will be amazed when the research results challenge what we take for granted. Then we realize that we keep telling the wrong stories of the past and believe them without a doubt. Anyway, humans are believing animals but it may be better to hear different versions of stories to make you question yourself and understand the complexity of the world. For me, I realize that it's okay to be not okay because there is not a golden time once upon a time and everyone in different historic periods deals with internal and external struggles.

    Final word for today's blog: it's a long long journey to search for more stories to tell. 


Reference: 

Stahl, W. A. (1995). Venerating the Black Box: Magic in Media Discourse on Technology. Science, Technology, & Human Values, 20(2), 234–258. http://www.jstor.org/stable/689992

    


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Location: 比利时鲁汶

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