Johnny, your humble servant here has earned two degrees in history, B.A. (British) and M.A. (Canadian). I had the good fortune to study with, under J.F.C. Harrison, from the UK, and one of the world experts on how working class education emerged in response to the Industrial Revolution! I am not kidding. Early in my career, it was my great, good fortune to receive a thorough grounding in the origins of adult education - its issues and dynamics. And, study of the educational response to the Industrial Revolution equipped this writer to better understand how we are now adjusting education - working class, adult learning - to meet the demands of the Information Age! In both cases, Industrial and Information, sociology adjusts to technology, applies it and creates new modes of learning. Harrison was from Leeds, UK, but found his way to my alma mater, the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He later became homesick and returned to the University of Sussex, UK. Before leaving, however, he made sure this reader here received a graduate fellowship to do his M.A. at Toronto!
My M.A. at the University of Toronto built on my B.A. studies, for its focus was the response of Canada to the challenges of the Industrial Revolution in the mid-nineteenth century. In this case, I focused on a Founding Father of Canada, T.D. McGee, who clearly articulated the need for Canada to develop a "Knowledge Strategy" if it wanted to move forward, compete, and prosper. The point is this. History tells us where we have been. If we know where we have been, we can have a better idea of where we want to go - and how to get there.
The Canadians when I got to Toronto said, "Why study British history. It is already written. Switch to Canadian history. It remains largely unwritten." I switched; I have lived happily ever after!
We totally agree on the importance of historical studies; in fact, I am in the process of turning my Toronto M.A. thesis into a book! The best part of history is it does not change! It is always "timely." Forgive the pun there. There, you "hit home" with your defense of the value of history.
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