Backbencher

Lecture 10 was a short one but in the end it made me think a great deal about two items. Firstly about Clark and Sinclair and how their books helped "make" their countries. I'd never considered that kind of nation building yet, when you consider it, it makes sense. These two men, at the right point in their nations history decided to compile a history of their nation to "make" it a nation. There were also some interesting questions listed about Clark dealing with his possible personal views on Aborigines and communism, among other things. The second part of the lecture, dealing on why exactly do we do history. Being the history major I am, this part really caught my attention and made me do some serious thinking about my views on history and drove me to make the question quite personal. Do I do it for guidance for my future decisions? Do it do it for fun? Do I do it for a source of identity? As much as I would love to say that I do it for fun, I can't say that it would be my only reason. I would have to say this lecture left the biggest impression upon me, mostly because it gave me the right questions to ask myself at this point in my education. Who would I serve once I graduate? Why do I do history? Excellent questions.

Lastly, I am curious about both nations in regards to Clarks' and Sinclair's books. We've talked about nation building and such in regards to the books, but how did the people of Australia and New Zealand look at themselves and their countries before these two published their books? Did the people see themselves as being part of a bigger picture in their country? Or did the books give them that opinion?