Welcome – Prof. Kovarik

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These pages are for students and anyone else who might be interested in my historical work or  links to publishing projects. By way of introduction, here’s a photo taken by Linda Burton in the science fiction gallery of the Seattle Museum of Pop Culture. 

Gort was the robot from a movie called The Day the Earth Stood Still. Despite the uncanny resemblance, I’m the handsome one on your right. The museum is  extremely cool, and if you don’t see it next time you’re in Seattle, Gort will know where to find you.

So — Why do historians  like science fiction?  It has something to do with what history is and what it ought to be.

Most people suffered through their history classes, struggling to stay awake as   Professor Dryasdust t0ld them what dates to memorize.  But if history is a guide to the future, as Thucydides once said, it ought to be the most interesting thing in the world.   So part of what concerns me is how to present history in a way that catches some of that interest.

I think part of the problem is the agenda — that is, what we actually study.  Conflict has been a huge part of our past, and is usually the main area for historical studies.  But most wars are similar in nature, in heroics, and in lessons learned and not learned.  Amazingly, there’s very little attention paid to our attempts to avoid conflict, to seek justice and to build a successful future.

For example, there is (for some historians) an inevitable clash over limited resources.  But what have people done in the past to find alternatives and optimize resource use?  Consider Middle Eastern petroleum: what if there are vast reserves elsewhere, and lots of other liquid fuel alternatives?  (There are actually.) Why isn’t that part of conflict history?

Another example: How do we organize communication systems and what interests do they serve? What questions do journalists and researchers ask? Why?

These are some of the questions that don’t get enough attention, and they are serious questions that affect our future, at least, far more than the insufferable droning about civil war battles and all the great heroes.

Yes, now I’ve said it. History is more than Great Men and Great Machines and Great Battles !!

Holy cow !  Ill bet the historical society is going to sic Gort on me.

Too late, though. Me and Gort go way back.