###TL;DR at the Front
Over the next several months, we are doing a Flair Drive with a series of broad Floating Features that cover the timespan of human history. These are intended to be open-ended prompts for people to share stories from the past, even if they might not being seeing the question(s) that it answers. We hope to see you contribute!
In 1935, Will Durant's Our Oriental Heritage was published, the first volume of The Story of Civilization that would finish half a century later with Will and Ariel Durant's The Age of Napoleon. A magisterial collection of stirring prose, it recounted the story of human history through eleven volumes (of thirteen planned), ten of which were all about Europe.
Our next Flair Drive and series of Floating Features seeks to highlight the real story of humankind, one that spans many millennia, but also the entire globe! Over thirteen features which work their way through semi-arbitrarily defined eras of human history, we invite everyone to contribute and help illustrate the vibrant and varied breadth of our collective, human heritage.
We most especially hope to hear from users who have stories to tell, but never the perfect question to tell it. We know that there is no lack of questions about Napoleon, Nazis, or Caesar, but that doesn't mean someone isn't eager to share something fascinating about childhood in Ancient Korea, or trade and commerce in 13th c. Madagascar. The aim of the Flair Drive Floating Features thus is not only to give our wonderful readers new and interesting content, but also to provide a space for possible flair seekers to show off and build up their portfolio for an application!
The prompts are open-ended as can be, bound only by time, and what you share is your choice! Happy stories, sad stories, ones that just really have stuck with you, or perhaps just talking about your research, it is up to you.
###Schedule of Features
As we want to see as many people contributing as possible, we also are sharing the schedule of each Floating Feature now. There is nothing wrong with having something pre-written, and in any case, be sure to mark it on your calendar. All features are linked to Google Calendar events for your ease, and you can also follow the Feature Collection if you use 'New' reddit, which will alert you to each new installment (Bolded events have already run):
We hope to see lots of contributions!
Now to cover a few likely questions y'all still have:
###What are you going to be looking for in these posts when they are put into a Flair Application?
The core things that we look for is the ability to provide in-depth coverage of the topic you are choosing to write about; the ability to draw on good sources and utilize them well; and the ability to handle follow-up questions when they arise. Although Floating Features have looser rules enforcement so everyone can participate, if you are thinking about doing an App, be sure that your post shows off those elements! If you want a better sense of what we're looking for, check out the Flair Application thread for a longer discussion of what goes into an App, and take a peek at what applications get approved and what don't.
###Why should I want flair?
It allows you to join an amazing community of several hundred historians from around the world! And of course it looks fancy! But seriously, we have found that having flair in obscure topics can sometimes increase interest in that topic by others when they see it. I've seen several instances where a Flair posting on something else has sparked another user's interest in what that specialty is all about. Additionally, you do get a few neat perks, including access to the Flairs Only subreddit that brings together a community of hundreds of historians from around the world, one free shitpost per month, manual alerts by mods when an interesting question in your field pops up, and coolest of all maybe, advance notice of what is happening for April Fools.
###Where do I apply?
Don't apply here. Instead, post your application to THIS THREAD, which gives out a bit more info on the process.
I love these floating features, and really to hope to see a good turn out of people. This is your chance lurkers and want to be writers! Whatever topic you know, whatever theme you want to write about, make a note of the features and come tell me all about it! I want to hear whatever you want to write!
Fall/Winter Flair Drive
cries in Southern Hemispherean
uses the tears to cool down in the blazing summer sun.
Are there any areas in particular that the mod team have noticed lack coverage among flaired users? Whether that's a niche topic, a specific era/region, etc.
looks around in amazement I... I got a message from the mods, and... you like me! You really like me!
I'll try to cough up some Mandarin tonogenesis and modern "English only" movement.
I hope you are all ready to learn more than you thought you ever wanted to know about the history of the American suburbs and their effect on public transit/housing.
I appreciate the head's up from the mod team. I don't know if I'll ever actually put a flair application together, but I'm always willing (when I have time) to weigh in on the history of science and history of plant-human interactions (which is far more interesting than most people realize!). Thanks for all the work you all do! I genuinely think this is the best sub on reddit.
I’d love to share some of the stories I’ve gathered from my work translating Holocaust survivor testimony. I’ll post in January!
Great idea! My masochist spirit laughs at the idea of more work to fill my weekends with.
Neat! I can find some interesting religion and history stories. Hopefully I’ll have a laptop by then.
Wait, the mod alerts are manual? I genuinely had no idea - I'm sorry for the alerts I haven't paid attention to!
Thanks for the heads up!
I've so far limited myself to the questions on the never-ending cycle of russian espionage history, but perhaps this would be a good opportunity to release my older fascinations and obsessions with the history of Russian political thought.
But so many interesting angles to choose from...
Sounds awesome! Hope I got time to contribute :)