Originally Posted by I3BrigPvSk

I am a genius.

and humble I see

The ACW and the VN conflict are the more discussed Wars of the many Wars this Great Country has been involved in I'm not sure why this is .

Originally Posted by brinktk

I'm pretty broad on WWII, I have studied most areas of that war pretty deep. My areas of emphasis ebb and flow based off of what I feel I am weakest in.

I would say I've studied the Vietnam Conflict the most in depth in my studies and it will likely be what I move forward on in regards to a thesis and eventually a dissertation. There has been kind of a dip in quality writing about the period since Keith Nolan passed and maybe that is something I can rectify someday.

I have also dedicated quite a lot of time to the current (i.e. Last 50 years) middle eastern conflicts....but I'm not sure I can be as objective as I should be as a historian because of my personal involvement in some of these conflicts. I will still keep studying them out of interest, however, I do realize I have blinders in some areas and the only writing I would likely ever do in regards to this time period would be war memoirs and nothing more.

Honestly, I really like history across the board and I wish I was knowledgable on all of it! I suppose I'll keep trying until I either die or time travel is invented lol.

If I were you I would continue to study the Vietnam war. The Second World War is enormous and you might can write things about it when you have received the PhD title. I would avoid the middle east, it might be a trap with going there when you might be biased. I think we cannot completely avoid the bias problem, but the conflicts there are too close to your own experience.

Originally Posted by JOC

and humble I see

Just stating a fact and we cannot argue against facts.

Moltke said the ACW were armed mobs fighting each other .

Originally Posted by I3BrigPvSk

If I were you I would continue to study the Vietnam war. The Second World War is enormous and you might can write things about it when you have received the PhD title. I would avoid the middle east, it might be a trap with going there when you might be biased. I think we cannot completely avoid the bias problem, but the conflicts there are too close to your own experience.

I agree, for all the time I have put into trying to understand WW2 I have not even scratched the surface which I kind of find rather deflating.

I remember speaking to a professor at a local university about what we would do if we had our time all over again and oddly enough we both picked engineering of the Greek and Roman periods.

I think if I could pick a war to focus on it would either be the American Civil War or the Boer War, I have always had an interest in the ACW because it was unique in many ways and the Boer war because it is the first overseas war New Zealand took part in and it is not well known in these parts.

Originally Posted by I3BrigPvSk

Just stating a fact and we cannot argue against facts.

No but we can interpret them to the point of disagreement.

Originally Posted by brinktk

I have also dedicated quite a lot of time to the current (i.e. Last 50 years) middle eastern conflicts....but I'm not sure I can be as objective as I should be as a historian because of my personal involvement in some of these conflicts.

I would think a birds eye view would only prove useful in having to elaborate a conflict. Unless you feel personally prejudiced by the experience? A 10K feet viewpoint often misses key points. Often the best books, etc. interview soldiers, commanders etc. The old adage their is no substitute for experience.

Originally Posted by JOC

I would think a birds eye view would only prove useful in having to elaborate a conflict. Unless you feel personally prejudiced by the experience? A 10K feet viewpoint often misses key points. Often the best books, etc. interview soldiers, commanders etc. The old adage their is no substitute for experience.

The danger with having your own experience of the matter might be the objectivity of the conflict. In all fields of science, the bias problem is always presence. We can try to reduce it's impact on the science, but not remove it completely, especially in the field of humanities. (history belongs there and not within social science) As long as the academic adviser for a Master thesis and a dissertation knew about it, he or she might be able to avoid the issues.

The Days of when a War solves anything has long been over .

Originally Posted by tetvet

The Days of when a War solves anything has long been over .

War is foreign policy with other means