Loving history in a world that is apathetic towards it...
I guess that makes me a weirdo doesn't it. Oh well.
I have a habit of bringing up random historical topics of interest to me when I’m in conversations. I like to pop out with an odd fact every now and then, like how Louis the Sun King almost never bathed or how mummified people in Ancient Egypt had their organs removed and placed in jars.
Oftimes though, I get rather surprising and frustrating reactions from certain people I converse with.
I have had a total of two colleagues at the same workplace who nonchalantly gave me the same answer when I happened to bring up my interest in Cleopatra.
“Who’s that?”
Both times, I simply stared for several seconds in utter disbelief. I didn’t want to be rude and snap at them for not knowing who this historical figure was. But a few seconds into explaining who Cleopatra was, I quickly figured out that my colleagues had virtually no interest in a little history lesson.
Those experiences have stayed with me to this day because I think they are an unfortunate example of the mindset of the current generation of young people. Both of my colleagues were young women in their late teens - college age really.
Though I know it’s unfair and wrong to assume that thats the same for that entire demographic, I think it says a lot about the younger generations and just how much my generation (Gen Z) in particular have been failed by the education systems and adults in their lives.
So where did we go wrong? Why is there is a worrying lack of historical knowledge, or even interest in learning about our history in this day and age. Why the distaste towards anything that involves dates and names of dead people?
I admit maybe my outrage at the lack of historical knowledge a person possesses may come across as snobbery.
But is it though?
Is it so bad to express discomfort at the fact that some people in their late teens to early twenties have never even heard of the last Pharaoh of Egypt? A Queen who famously had affairs with two Roman leaders and allegedly committed suicide with a snake bite? The ruler whose death marked the end of the Ptolemaic dynasty, the legacy of Alexander the Great?
Now there are many reasons why there is a serious lack of education in history among people in Gen Z and the younger generations. But I think the main answer to that question comes down to one global phenomenon and the most obvious reason why education standards are so low.
Social media.
In this current day and age, young people are obsessed with the endless video feed on TikTok and Instagram. Their brains are absorbing mindless dribble that feeds their dopamine levels. That’s not to say all social media is bad. It’s great free advertisement for businesses and it can also be an educational resource. Especially for history. You can learn a lot about a particular historical period in just one thirty second video.
But lets be honest here. Most of social media is nothing but brain rot, and it’s not intended to educate people at all, but to make them stupider.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of benefits when it comes to these platforms, like forming communities based around niches and hobbies, making new friends and staying in regular contact with people across the planet. There’s a lot that you can achieve with social media.
But now when I see young children prancing around on Instagram doing make-up tutorials, with their parents nowhere in sight, or young women filming themselves howling and weeping fit to wake the dead when a Taylor Swift song is playing on the radio… I honestly think we would be better off without it.
Teachers have been reporting how their young students are drawing pictures of them being influencers and video game players as their desired career. Back in my day, there was no such thing. All the kids in my class wanted to be soccer players, mechanics, doctors, fashion designers, singers, and more. I wanted to be an archaeologist once upon a time - before I found out that finding ancient lost treasures is unfortunately a rarity of course.
The only type of stimulating conversation I want to have with people at social events is about archaeology, languages, films, literature etc. But the average Joes in their twenties aren’t interested in that. I’ve learned to accept that as an unfortunate fact of life, but it certainly makes the social gatherings feel much more tiring and lonely.
It seems to me that most people in Gen Z (that I am aware of) just want to do is gossip about other people, current events and their own personal lives. There’s very little diversity in thought and conversation, and next to no curiosity to learn anything new. And most of the time, I get bored quickly.
I’ve also encountered many who have shockingly little concern about their lack of education regarding history. It doesn’t concern them what rebel leaders fought and died for Irish freedom, nor the layouts of Stalin’s multiple Four Year Plans, nor the rise in power of Caesar Augustus. It’s disheartening and frustrating to say the least.
Am I a middle-aged lady trapped in young body? Perhaps. That would certainly explain a lot.
So my hot take today is this - bring history back to education. Proper history. Make it mandatory for students to learn and study fot it up until the age of 18. And if kids find it to be unmanageable, the curriculums and teachers need to change their style of teaching. Schools and universities should be encouraging students to go onto social media and YouTube to watch short videos breaking down historical topics.
If students these days can only absorb short form content, then of course they won’t respond well to reading 1000 page textbooks or sitting through two hour long lectures. Teachers and schools need to up their game in encouraging students to not only learn about history, but to be more open and enthusiastic about it.
Obviously the saying goes, that if we do not learn from history, we're doomed to repeat it.
In the meantime, I’ll keep yapping about Cleopatra to everyone I’m striking a conversation with.