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	<title>Love of History &#187; constantina katsari</title>
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	<link>http://loveofhistory.com</link>
	<description>A historical perspective of current events</description>
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		<title>Academia.edu : Another Review</title>
		<link>http://loveofhistory.com/academia-edu-another-review/</link>
		<comments>http://loveofhistory.com/academia-edu-another-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 03 Jul 2010 07:50:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[constantinakatsari]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[academia.edu]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[constantina katsari]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[facebook]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://constantinakatsari.wordpress.com/?p=623</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When I am wrong, I do not hesitate to admit it. And this is the case with my views on the excellent site of Academia.edu . A few months ago I wrote a not so positive article on its operation. I was in Greece back then and the speed of the connection with the site was so low that I have not even managed to inspect its innermost pages. When I complained about it, some researchers answered that they never used it anyway and that they only checked out PHD Comics. At about the same time, the Academia.edu people contacted me to find out more about the problem. I described it to the best of my abilities and then I dismissed the site as another bankrupt platform. I have never been so wrong. A few weeks ago I decided to give Academia.edu another fighting chance. I logged into the site, became a member, built a rudimentary profile and started following people. Within the space of a few hours I easily found around 70 academics, whose research I was interested about, and at least 35 journals. The search has been easy and straightforward. And so was the uploading of my articles. Some of them were already up and running, before I even stepped into the site, and they just needed my approval! I actually found this a very impressive application. But most impressive of all was the fact that a substantially large number of my colleagues were already members and they welcomed me accordingly! Apart from the artistic design of the site, which does not please me, I have no other criticisms for the time being. But then, this is just a matter of personal taste. Therefore, I would like to recommend strongly Academia.edu to all of my colleagues, who are not already members. Please join, and let me see your research! Apart from Academia.edu you can also find me at the Facebook page “Love of History” (it is different from the blog, though I advertise most of my posts there) and my twitter account c_katsari. Please, follow me!]]></description>
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		<title>Burn History Books!</title>
		<link>http://loveofhistory.com/burn-history-books/</link>
		<comments>http://loveofhistory.com/burn-history-books/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:06:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[constantinakatsari]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[constantina katsari]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[greece]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nationalism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[schoolbooks]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://constantinakatsari.wordpress.com/?p=21</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[No doubt the call to burn History books reminds us of some the darkest times in European History of the 20th century. I am very well aware that such calls led in the past to perverse actions and heinous crimes, nothing short of sacrilege. And yet, some books trigger such strongly negative feelings in me that I would rather see them burned. These are the History books produced by the Greek government and distributed to innocent schoolchildren. Once the books reach the classroom the teacher has no option but to agree with the content. Plurality of opinions is not allowed and in some instances it is punishable. Recently a friend, who informed her pupils of the fact that the Kryfo Scholeio (underground schools organized by the Orthodox Church in the Ottoman empire) was a fiction. The result was a caution from the Headmaster. If she repeated the comment she would lose her job. As historians are not rebels, she complied. A question to be explored is how are these “official” opinions formed? It is evident that schoolbooks are written by professional historians. And there is no doubt that they have the qualifications to deliver work of the highest standard (well, at least some of them). However, we should not forget that schoolbooks are commissioned by the Ministry of Education and Religion. The minister himself is appointed by the government after the elections and, in principle, he reflects the wishes of the electorate. Let us see, though, who manipulates the opinions of this electorate. On March 25th 2007 I was teaching in Leicester. Spring was arriving late and I started feeling homesick. I wanted to reconnect with my home country. So, I decided to attend mass in the Orthodox church in Nottingham. After all, 25th of March is both a religious and a national holiday back home. Upon arrival I rejoiced in the familiar scent of incense and I relished the chance to speak Greek again. But my happiness did not last long. The priest decided to preach us against the new fifth grade history school book. Among his statements there was one that hit home! He claimed that historians are not qualified to write history. Only the Church can really know what happened in the past. As I looked around me I noticed that nobody reacted. I stood up and left in indignation. Later I found out that the debate about the new book has caused hysterical fits among the Greek population. It still does! In several internet forums you will find comments by doctors, lawyers and other members of the Greek intelligentsia, all of them attacking the poor fifth grade book (which has been “burned” in a way). An intelligentsia brought up with already obsolete (and even dangerously nationalistic) views of our historical past. It is obvious that the well-known academic authors insulted some vital part of Greek psyche. A psyche formed by religious propaganda and governmental policies. An ideological web whose origins we trace in previous history schoolbooks, written by extreme nationalists. And I am wondering if it is not the right time for historians to leave their comfortable nests and try to reach people. It is never too late to explain their views, analyze their data and even try to teach some of these analytical skills. Internet certainly expands our horizons and provides new opportunities. Along these lines all schoolbooks should be withdrawn from circulation (OK, burning them maybe somewhat extreme). Instead, teachers can use a variety of ancient sources and modern bibliography, which present different views of history. The sources should be approved by an academic committee without political affiliations, which will safeguard the quality of the material. Then, internet can be used not only as an information platform but also for extensive discussions. Only this way, our pupils will start developing their analytical thinking. Unless, of course, this is what governmental and religious institutions in Greece are afraid of.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>10</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>The Beginning of History</title>
		<link>http://loveofhistory.com/the-beginning-of-history/</link>
		<comments>http://loveofhistory.com/the-beginning-of-history/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:58:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[constantinakatsari]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ancient]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[classics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[constantina katsari]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://constantinakatsari.wordpress.com/?p=5</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My friends assume that I always wanted to become a historian. Well, I am fairly certain this is not true. I have a vague memory that when I was seven I was infatuated with surgery. At that time, my baby brother was admitted to hospital with hernia. Since then, I was determined to become a baby surgeon. Cutting up little people became the sole purpose of my life. My parents encouraged me to follow this path, hoping that one day I will become a rich and famous doctor. The “doctor” part may have been achieved but the “rich and famous” part is still in its infancy. The turning point came in my young life when I was nine or ten. At elementary school they distributed our new books. Among them I spotted a shiny white book with an odd looking boat painted on the cover. This was the first year of teaching history and religion at school. Religion was not the one to attract my attention, and so, I turned to ancient history. (The aforementioned boat was a trireme, by the way). Within a week I have already read the book twice. The battles between the valiant Greeks and the wicked Persians became my favourite bed time story. And this is when it all begun.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hello world!</title>
		<link>http://loveofhistory.com/hello-world/</link>
		<comments>http://loveofhistory.com/hello-world/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:49:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[constantinakatsari]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ancient]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[classics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[constantina katsari]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://loveofhistory.com/?p=1</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For the past few years I have been publishing through traditional means (articles or books). It is now time to explore the new mediums internet provides. I hope that bloging will not just be an exercise in narcisism but an attempt to reach a wider audience. Constantina Katsari]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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