Dale McGowan has a terrifically thoughtful piece on OnlySky about how difficult it is for artifacts of social history to survive our censorious impulses.
The Diary of Samuel Pepys is a tremendously useful document for studying the quotidian in another era (plague, civil war, drinking, adultery, domestic violence, early weather reports, bowel movements… you know, a Tuesday!).
But it almost didn’t make it to us in its full, messy “glory”.
#History #Literature #Reading https://onlysky.media/dale/sam-pepys-and-the-damned-shredders-of-lowercase-history/
Oh, you're in for a treat! Glad you enjoyed the read. It's a fascinating reminder that we humans haven't much changed - for better and for worse.
Social history is a wonderful field. I only feel bad for the future historians who'll have to wade through our social media for similar!
@MLClark Those little windows into daily life are my favorite. Imo it's the best way to view history. We've had the same nervous system and biology for such a long time, If there's ever a question about the motives of someone who was born after the last ice-age, it's probably going to be love or greed or jealousy etc. Old customs can be mysterious but people gotta be people!
I'll bet future academics put their undergrads to work on decoding 21st cent. social media. Its too crazy!
@MLClark It's a miracle the original survived. I'd never heard of Pepys before, thanks for the article and author. Romanticism vs. historical record is a great take and explains alot.