Historical Time Periods

[pac_halo]

I don't know about you, but I am one hell of a history buff. Just learning about people's past fuck-ups and successes is somehow exciting for me, and heck, maybe for some of you as well. This thread is about your favorite (and/or least favorite) time periods of all time (Literally).

Personally, my favorite period is the time of the Roman Republic. I love it because of it's relevance to today- Sure, what wars J.C. was poopin' out seems irrelevant, but the outcome of these wars would decide Rome's position in history FOREVER. My favorite wars of this period have to be the Punic Wars. The dynastic wars between the Barca family and the Scipio dynasty are extremely interesting, and the rivalry was one to last the ages (Not for Carthage, however).

My least favorite is the Colonial Period, but that's not because I dislike it. I love the colonial period a lot. It's just that since I live in the good ol' US o' A, the Revolutionary War is STUFFED down our throats, at least at my school. I just ended up getting sick of it eventually.

So, what are your favorite periods, and why?

 

[Shiny Motley]

I REALLY love learning about the World Wars and the Cold War. I'm not sure why, they just fascinate me a lot. Even the stuff in between, like the Great Depression and Roaring Twenties, the Space Race, the Vietnam and Korean and Afghanistan wars, all very much interest me, and I love reading about them. Perhaps it's not really history to some people as they lived through the times themselves, but yeah.

I'd love to learn more about other histories, though, like Africa and island nations in the Pacific. I know some limited history of Hawaii, but that's about it. ^^;

 

[Carmen Lopez]

I was a history major myself!

My favorite area and historical period to study is the United States after WWII--specifically the social movements (I know, I know, I'm so stereotypical). The Civil Rights Movement and Second-Wave feminism are two examples. It's powerful to see how people fought and sometimes gave their lives or more (see Viola Liuzzo) for things and rights that had been denied to them or to the people they allied with. And this is all in living memory. It's not like those movements ever truly ended either--they've just changed their dimensions and scope in many cases but the struggle and therefore the story continues.

 

[SparkyLewis949]

I loved learning about the Old Kingdom in Egypt, specifically the Egyptian gods of the time, especially Set. It's just so simple in my mind.

 

[ToxicSwamp]

As much as I like feudal Asia, I'm gonna have to go with the Celts.
My reasoning:
1. I listen to a lot of folk metal, which is a genre with a lot of history behind it. The folk part does, at least. Eluveitie's Slania's Song is actually a remix of a Swiss folk song.

2. My ancestry has roots in Ireland, Scotland and Scandinavia.

(Side note: I love the Scottish accent, but I can't figure out how to use it for the life of me. The Gaelic language is also probably the sickest language ever to grace the earth.)

 

[FalChromiforme]

... first off, I love learning about history, so this wasn't an easy choice
I like learning and fro some reason, making jokes about the cold war. As I call it, it is simply "a gigantic pissing contest between the US and Russia." but it was in reality, a fascinating time in terms of economics, sociology, and in general worldview.
Besides that, victorian england is one I came across. I was writing a steampunk fic, and the ideals of the era just kinda of caught me.
Old China. I don't actually know what draws me towards it. Maybe it's sheer longevity. The pure fact that it's been there for the longest time any civilization has lasted makes me interested in learning about them and their culture.
And the two last ones, the industrial revolution and the 1939 world's fair. The Industrial revolution I loved because I found it so interesting that an almost static world int terms of technology could just pick up a few inches of speed, and the wheels got turning. The '39 world's fair was the most amazing world's fair yet, and by far the most well-known. It's interesting by what it was - and the politics of it. With an impending Nazi war, this was a good way to start bonding with other countries-and was a tense point b/c of it.

OH~~ I forgot about the renaissance/enlightenment. I love these two partially because some of my favorite books came out of it. Don Quixote and Candide are hilarious satires of the time period, but The Divine Comedy, The Prince, Spirit of Laws and other books there were good books to read too. I loved them.

 

[Linkachu]

I'm admittedly not a big history buff, and usually struggle to keep specific historical dates and names in my head, but I heavily enjoy learning about time periods in the ancient past: the ice age and earlier time periods. Obviously that includes the various ages of the dinosaurs (because dinosaurs!) but I also enjoy learning about prehistoric mammals and the like as well. Learning about the evolutionary links between our present day animals and those that existed millions of years ago utterly fascinates me and always has.

I can't say that I'm much of a fan of human-related history. Certain time periods interest me more than others but all in all I'd rather be studying about animals, dinosaurs, or the earliest days of our planet and solar system/universe. It's just more interesting to me.

Likely the only reason that I'm not more geeky and chatty about prehistorical information and research is simply because of my shoddy memory. I can read the same historical information over and over again (Latin or Greek terms and such) yet not be able to hold a proper conversation about it a week later. For that reason I'll rarely turn down an interesting lecture or documentary, even if it is covering stuff that I already know. Reinforcement is all that really works for me. xp

 

[Chidzz]

History is the most fascinating subject in the world. I could literally read up on history every minute of every day till I die.

Modern history is great as it has this kind of relevance in our world to this day and I love interpreting sources and trying to play Freud and dissect the minds of the victims/perpetrators of big events, such as the Great War (operative word: trying)
Medieval history is the period of time I'd most want to experience and live. I don't know what it is about the bubonic plague and gruesome torture methods, but I just need to be there and see it.
Ancient history, however, is the most interesting to learn about and read up on. I just love it!

In respect to a specific time period.... Ancient Greece or Rome would probably be it. There's just something about learning of the life lived back then that I just love. It's fun looking at sources and analysing the life in ancient Greece/Rome, finding evidence of economic, political and recreational activity, and noticing that they're not so different from us after all. There's also that element of knowing that all this information is not 100% accurate, and that nobody knows what the real truth is.

I don't really hate a certain historical period, but my least favourite would probably prehistorical times. That's not to say I don't enjoy it, but it can get a little boring at times.

p.s. Did I mention that I LOVE history???

 

[lil_lady_mew]

I like medieval period if only for the class division and the gender dichotomy. It is one of the only periods that separated ages, sexes, and classes so perfectly that a character from one class would meet a hard ceiling when impersonating the other class.