Follow-up on bridging the gaps and making history appealing to the masses

A comment on my blog yesterday got me thinking about how many television shows incorporate and use history and historical elements. We are surrounded by history but yet not everyone notices the historical elements- you can train your mind to be on the outlook for aspects of it. I seem to use/take many events and find the historical implications/context as an important aspect.

Television channels include Spike, Discovery, The History Channel, and National Geographic are prime examples **showcasing some interesting shows, documentaries, movies, and they have extremely useful websites as well.

Media has really opened our eyes to the importance of history and how we deal with history on a daily basis. For example, the internet has allowed us to search and find old editions of magazines or magazine articles and newspapers.

The comment on my blog also brought up the idea of making history hands-on. Being able to feel, hear, see, smell, and even taste history make's history come alive. History is more than dates and historical figures but is also about experiences. Becoming a tourist in your community- getting out and walking an old cemetery or church or even a museum allows history to become more concrete and allows you to be a detective/explorer using all your senses to explore history.

Bridging the gap- making history appealing to the masses

History can be interesting, fun, wide-ranging appeal if varying approaches are taken. History is not just about dates.

History can take a wide variety of forms and you can approach it from a lot of different topics and this will allow you to provide a connection with history.

- Do you like politics? Than maybe studying the history of political elections or looking at a political figure would interest you.
-Do you love crime shows? Than maybe studying crime, crime patterns, or a specific criminal would spark your interests in crime and bridge the gap with history.
-Do you like women (feminism) or family stories? Maybe you could look at the history of family? How has family changed over time? Or look at a specific event from the perspective of women and family.

You can study why our country is the way it is? For example, look at political relations (why do we get along with certain countries more than others), government and elections, justice system, health care, education.
Use current events/media for ideas and look for connections with the past to link up with the present.

History is not useless facts- they provide context for other areas of your life. Like reading the newspaper (history is useful background information).

History provides connections to yourself (places your life in context), your family (how did you come to live in area and why), and your community.

History isn't just reading in a book but it is also about experiences- act like a tourist in your own town. What can you explore for a low cost and learn something important about your community?

Another area you could study with family heirlooms and artefacts --research a special piece (your grandmother's china or photographs).

Look at form and function of events, people, and also things.

The History of Cruise Ships

The History of Cruise Ships

Cruise ships are also known as a cruise liner and are used for passenger ships for pleasure voyages. Transportation is not the primary focus since they often return to the same port but instead it is about exploring, adventure, luxury, and relaxation. Cruise ships are a large part of the tourism industry.

The world's biggest cruise ships are Royal Caribbean International's Oasis of the Seas and its sister ship Allure of the Seas.

The earliest ocean travelling vessels were not concerned with passenger traffic but instead with the volume of cargo they could care.

Black Ball Line in New York, in 1818, was the first shipping company to offer regularly scheduled service from the United States to England and to be concerned with the comfort of their passengers.

By the 1830's, steamships were introduced and dominated the transatlantic market of both passenger and mail transportation.

The dawn of cruises for pleasure has been linked to the year 1844.

During the 1850's and 1860's there were remarkable improvements to the quality of the voyage for passengers; as ships began to cater solely to passenger traffic.

Prior to the dominance of air travel (commercial success in the late 1960's) passenger liners were the preferred mode of travel. The habit of cruising grew gradually out of the practice of transatlantic crossings, which never took fewer than four days. In the competition for passengers, ocean liners added luxuries—the Titanic being the most famous example—such as fine dining and well-appointed staterooms.

By the early 20th century the notion of the superliner was developed and Germany led the market in the development of these immense and elaborate floating hotels. These superliners tried to abolish the discomforts of ocean travel (minimize the movement of the sea). The Mauritania and the Lusitania, were both owned by the Cunard Line of England, started the custom of dressing for dinner and promoted the romance of the voyage. But of course, speed was still the deciding factor in the design of these ships.

The White Star Line was owned by American financier J.P. Morgan. White Star Line introduced the most luxurious passenger ships ever seen in both the Olympic (complete with swimming pool and tennis court) and the Titanic. The sinking of the Titanic on its maiden voyage devastated the company. Cunard bought out the White Star Line in 1934.

World War I interrupted the building of new cruise ships. Many older liners were used to transport troops. The years between 1920 and 1940 were considered the most glamorous years for transatlantic passenger ships. During World War II cruise liners were transformed into troop carriers and all transatlantic cruising ended until after the war.

The 1960's witnessed the early stages of the modern cruise industry. Cruise ship companies concentrated on vacation trips in the Caribbean, and created a “fun ship” image- a need to appeal to a wide market including young families (a need for entertainment for children and teenagers). Cruise ships focused on creating a relaxed and a laid-back environment and for providing wide-ranging on-board entertainment. There was a decrease in the role of ships for transporting people to a particular destination; rather, the emphasis was on the voyage itself. The new cruise line icon/picture was solidified with the popularity of the TV series “The Love Boat” which was popular from 1977 until 1986.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruise_ship

http://www.jobmonkey.com/cruise/html/a_brief_history.html

http://www.cruiseshipodyssey.com/timelinemain.htm

http://cruiselinehistory.com/a-brief-history-of-the-cruise-ship-industry/