Whether it 麻豆精品 S檚 solving the world 麻豆精品 S檚 biggest problems or investigating the potential of novel discoveries, researchers at UCF are on the edge of scientific breakthroughs that aim to make an impact. Through the, student and faculty researchers condense their complex studies into bite-sized summaries so you can know how and why Knights plan to improve our world.
Name:聽John Sacher
笔辞蝉颈迟颈辞苍(蝉):听Professor of history
Why are you interested in this research?
As I tell my first-year students, if you think history is boring, you just haven 麻豆精品 S檛 found the right teacher yet.
History is about understanding why things happened. Generally, people are all interested in some 麻豆精品 S渨hy? 麻豆精品 S� question. Now, the 麻豆精品 S渨hy 麻豆精品 S� questions each person might find fascinating are different, but there 麻豆精品 S檚 something for everyone. I might wonder, 麻豆精品 S淲hy does the United States have a two-party system? 麻豆精品 S� or 麻豆精品 S淗ow did the Confederacy manage to fight for four years in the Civil War? 麻豆精品 S� You might wonder, 麻豆精品 S淲hy do we have 50 states? 麻豆精品 S� or 麻豆精品 S淲hy do we have an interstate highway system? 麻豆精品 S� or 麻豆精品 S淲hy is the Middle East so important? 麻豆精品 S� or even 麻豆精品 S淲hy do brides traditionally wear white? 麻豆精品 S�
Regardless of your 麻豆精品 S渨hy 麻豆精品 S� question, history can provide a lens to help you answer it.
Who inspires you to conduct your research?
My initial inspiration to study history came from my parents. They encouraged me to pursue a degree in whatever interested me, not necessarily one that led to a traditional occupation.
More recently, I think that my inspiration comes from my students. UCF students have great questions. They keep me on my toes. Every semester I 麻豆精品 S檓 asked something I 麻豆精品 S檝e never been asked before.聽 Also, they are entering adulthood at a time when there are a lot of big unknowns out there 麻豆精品 S� what 麻豆精品 S檚 going on with politics, with foreign policy, or with technological changes.聽 While I can 麻豆精品 S檛 answer all of those questions, I can give them some tools to help them formulate their own answers and maybe some comfort to discover that they are not the first generation to face 麻豆精品 S渂ig 麻豆精品 S� questions in their immediate future.
How does UCF empower you to do your research?
UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Department of History (and the College of Arts and Humanities and UCF in general) certainly empower my research agenda. As a traditional historian, I don 麻豆精品 S檛 need fancy, expensive equipment to conduct my research. That said 麻豆精品 S� teaching can be a different story. I was recently turned into a hologram to teach patrons of about the Constitution!
The most valuable commodity any historical researcher needs is time 麻豆精品 S� time to research, time to think and time to write. I finished my most recent book thanks to a sabbatical which provided that time. The university has also repeatedly given me a teaching schedule that aligns with my research. So, I 麻豆精品 S檓 working with undergraduates and graduate students to help them understand the same issues that I grapple with in my research. That synchronicity keeps me on track and energized.
What major grants and honors have you earned to support your research?
I have received several major grants and honors in support of my research. My book A Perfect War of Politics: Parties, Politicians, and Democracy in Louisiana, 1824 麻豆精品 S�1861 (Louisiana State University Press, 2003) won the 2003 Kemper and Leila Williams Prize for the best book on Louisiana history.
Why is this research important?
Historians provide invaluable contributions to understanding today 麻豆精品 S檚 political world. We live in a world of a rigid and hostile partisan divide where people are reluctant to trust the media. Historians can fill a void by delivering context for often debated topics such as the electoral college, redistricting, foreign policy, the second amendment, etc. We don 麻豆精品 S檛 tell people how to vote, but we grant them the tools to come to their own informed conclusions.
The more one understands founding documents such as the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights, the better one can make their own assessment of 21st century political issues and candidates.
