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History Channel Launches College Course While Telling Its TV Viewers Professors Are Suppressing the Truth

10/29/2014

27 Comments

 
I’m sure that you’re getting pretty sick of the giants, and frankly so am I. But since the History Channel wants us to take giants as serious topic of study, giving Jim Viera a weekly giant-hunting TV series, it’s only fair that we return the favor. This is especially vital with news this week that the History Channel is moving into the education business. The History Channel has partnered with the University of Oklahoma to offer “the very first TV Network-branded” for-credit $500 online history course, according to a press release. The course is worth 3 semester credits. It will cover American history from the Civil War to the present and will be taught by Steve Gillon, the network’s scholar in residence.

Registration for the course opened yesterday.
University of Oklahoma president David L. Boren lauded the network-branded course as a dynamic way to engage students: “When The University of Oklahoma’s tradition of academic excellence is combined with the storytelling ability and content from HISTORY Channel, students everywhere will have an opportunity to enroll in a new, high-quality course that is designed to be interactive and engaging.”

According to course materials, the University entered the partnership as a branding opportunity. “This partnership combines the academic rigor of an OU course with the quality of a HISTORY Channel production.”

Since the University cites the History Channel’s content—specifically on American history—as a selling point for their course, it is incumbent upon all of us to point out time and again that the History Channel is selling a bill of goods based on creationism, New Age mysticism, conspiracy theories, and lies.

One wonders what happens when academic honesty comes into conflict with the entertainment imperative of the History Channel. What happens when the facts contradict History Channel content? For example, a few days ago History Channel personality Scott Wolter called two scholars, Robert Mainfort of the University of Arkansas and historian Mary Kwas, “frauds” and “hit men” (his words in an Oct. 24 comment) for disagreeing with his revisionist history of the Bat Creek Stone. How would a History Channel course handle such claims? Do students get credit for calling their professor an agent of an Illuminati-Freemason conspiracy?

On the plus side, if History is serious about growing its brand into a line of college courses and, perhaps, a Kaplan-like educational organization, they may find that a steady diet of anti-historical programs like Search for the Lost Giants, Ancient Aliens, and America Unearthed will damage their ability to profit from the education sector. It certainly isn’t making it easy for them to argue with a straight face that History is actually devoted to history… In fact, an official from parent company A+E Networks claimed only that History looked at the past in “compelling, entertaining and groundbreaking ways”—pointedly not accurate, truthful, or insightful ways.

I wonder if History’s pivot toward education is behind some of its recent marketing changes. I noticed, for example, that unlike previous years, History declined to serve as a sponsor of the Paradigm Symposium fringe history gathering. It would be rather hard to credibly offer an American history course while giving money to a gathering of revisionist fringe historians.

None of this is stopping History from launching its fringe series on Bible giants next week. In anticipation of this, I’ve started collecting some of the newspaper accounts of giants that fringe historians cite as “evidence” that a race of prehistoric basketball players once traveled America. These accounts will form the bases of the new Search for the Lost Giants series. Since these newspaper stories are primarily from the nineteenth century, they are in the public domain and require no permission to reproduce. It’s especially interesting to see that the stories of “giants” in the nation’s newspapers explode after the Cardiff giant hoax, and many stories are reported from a biblical framework, and often from secondhand or third-hand sources. Some are obvious hoaxes.

That said, I can’t vouch for the accuracy of each transcription since I have not viewed all of the original sources. Where I have attempted to verify the originals, I’ve found that Nephilim researchers and gigantologists have been deceptive and selective in their presentation of the newspaper stories, sometimes editing out inconvenient facts or literary flourishes that indicate that a story was meant as entertainment rather than news. In one case, for example, Richard Dewhurst removed wording indicating that the newspaper was not reporting on a “giant” from its own observation but rather was writing about the memory of an “informant” who claimed to have seen a giant skeleton at some unspecified earlier point years before—and who also said he couldn’t remember most of the details!

That same article begins with a disclaimer that all but admits that the story is semi-fictional hearsay, one that is rarely (but sometimes!) included in fringe reproductions of the story, such as the one in Richard Dewhurst's recent compendium of giant stories:
The statements which we make below, and the facts detailed, are so strange and almost incredible, and so like the many roorbacks and canards that have from time to time appeared in the press of Europe and America, that we premise them with the declaration that they are strictly true, and that we have not exaggerated what we have seen, one iota. With this much as preface, we will proceed to our story.
And speaking of Bible giants, I received a tip today that a man billing himself as “the Nephilim Hunter” claims to have found a living Nephilim Bible Giant in a cave in Douglas Shire in Queensland, Australia and filmed—well, it doesn’t look like anything to me other than light bouncing off the rock walls. 
According to the Hunter, Nephilim can be identified by their smell. “Normally I know the smell of these things but one of the guys had a flaming torch so I couldn’t catch his scent over the kerosene.” Apparently the Necronomicon is actually about Nephilim rather than the Old Ones, for Lovecraft made the ancient book to say: “By Their smell can men sometimes know Them near.” Either that or the Nephilim are really Bigfoot.
27 Comments
spookyparadigm
10/29/2014 06:14:49 am

"Either that or the Nephilim are really Bigfoot"

Well, yes. I believe that is in fact where much of what you've been documenting is going. Tying Nephilim in with Bigfoot in with hidden conspiracies.

The Creationists claimed Nessie long ago. Did you really think they wouldn't claim Sasquatch?

Reply
EP
10/29/2014 06:25:54 am

There is only one problem with that. Aren't the Nephilim extremely strongly implied to be extinct? I mean, not that Biblical literalists ever had much difficulty ignoring the literal meaning of Biblical texts, but still...

Reply
spookyparadigm
10/29/2014 07:07:44 am

First five returns for googling nephilim bigfoot

Exactly what I expected
http://www.fallenangels-ckquarterman.com/nephilim-seen-alive/

Bigfoot is a myth, Nephilim are real
http://www.gotquestions.org/Bigfoot-Sasquatch.html

More of what I expected (Steven Quayle, when he wasn't peddling "security info" about the likes of Red Mercury, is to blame for much of this)
http://bigfoottheory.wordpress.com/

This block of yellow
http://ronmorehead.com/the-nephilim-theory/

And Melba Ketchum

http://beforeitsnews.com/paranormal/2013/09/are-bigfoot-nephilimannunaki-2456696.html

EP
10/29/2014 07:17:01 am

The first link you list (came up second for me) is worth visiting just for this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGz8qqRgTVQ

Heroes of old, Ladies and Gentlemen. Men of Renown.

spookyparadigm
10/29/2014 07:42:41 am

That video is amazing.

I don't like the website People of Walmart. But you know, some kind of mashup of the Patterson film and People of Wal-Mart, something like Everyday Nephilim Life, could be amazing.

EP
10/29/2014 07:53:37 am

I agree about People of Walmart. I feel like I'm supposed to like the concept, but something about the execution leaves a bad taste in my mouth...

By the way, whatever enjoyment I got out of Knobby was more than spoiled by Ron Morehead. I just can't desensitize myself to illiterates holding forth on topics like the quantum theory.

spookyparadigm
10/29/2014 08:15:00 am

It's mocking the poor. Just like middle class college students who used to watch Ricki Lake or Maury Povich for the same reason. No real way to sugar coat it.

EP
10/29/2014 08:25:58 am

That's part of it, though I think it goes beyond that. (Besides, it's not like poverty is automatically an excuse for gross vulgarity or stupidity.)

It's hypocritical exploitativeness perpetrated by people who should know better and would certainly proclaim that they do. For some reason, the image it immediately conjures up is Fox News executives launching a network to cater to the tastes and prejudices of their idea of what the "socially progressive" liberals are like, with all the cringe-worthiness that would be sure to ensue.

EP
10/29/2014 06:29:50 am

"Scott Wolter called two scholars, Robert Mainfort of the University of Arkansas and historian Mary Kwas, “frauds” and “hit men” (his words in an Oct. 24 comment)"

That's not even the most ridiculous part of that comment. How about the part where he says that the Smithsonian "can't pick and choose which digs are good, or fraudulent, based on what was found"?

I mean... What?!?!

Reply
Luke
10/29/2014 08:21:01 am

I don't see a bible giant.

Reply
Shane Sullivan
10/29/2014 08:30:51 am

"...well, it doesn’t look like anything to me other than light bouncing off the rock walls."

Oh, Jason, you are such a skeptic. You can only see the Nephilim if you truly believe!

Reply
EP
10/29/2014 09:10:02 am

I see a Beholder. What does that make me? :)

Reply
Shane Sullivan
10/29/2014 11:46:47 am

Beholders, Displacer Beasts, Kobolds, Pit Fiends--all the D&D mainstays are really Nephilim.

Except Mindflayers. Those are just Cthulhu in a dress.

EP
10/29/2014 11:57:13 am

Bullshit, Mindflayers don't got no wings!

A.D.
10/29/2014 08:34:12 am

"I’ve found that Nephilim researchers and gigantologists have been deceptive and selective in their presentation of the newspaper stories, sometimes editing out inconvenient facts or literary flourishes that indicate that a story was meant as entertainment rather than news."

Yeah the typical charlatanism to be expected from these pseudohistorians.

Reply
EP
10/29/2014 10:56:10 am

Jason, from what I can tell, HISTORY's involvement with the course is limited to providing its brand name for marketing purposes and access to its audiovisual assets. I can't see anything that says what HISTORY's cut of the course fees (if any) would be and I doubt that this information is readily available (though since OU is a public university, it might be obtainable).

Everything else is produced and controlled by OU. In particular, the content of the course is determined by OU faculty, just like any other course. In this case, this is the task of Steve Gillon, who may not be a leading expert on American history (as he's being billed somewhere in relation to all this), but who seems to be an engaging, though perhaps excessively theatrical, undergraduate teacher.

Also, according to their FAQ, OU is far from the only respectable organizaiton one would have hoped would think twice about associating with von Daniken and Tomy Tsoukalos, not to mention giants:

"HISTORY Channel’s extensive reach in the education space includes partnerships with prestigious history education organizations, such as the Library of Congress, the National Archives, National History Day, the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians and museums, including the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. HISTORY Channel’s award-winning educational initiatives reach a network of more than 350,000 educators, and the network’s short-form videos are featured in over 70 historic sites including Gettysburg, Pearl Harbor and the Tower of London."

OU is just another entry on the list of organizations to have paid this unsavory cost in integrity. But their involvement strikes me as much less shameful than the Smithsonian's, which is politically imprudent to boot. I mean, it's kinda like NASA sponsoring a conference of Moon landing deniers...

Reply
Byron DeLear
10/29/2014 06:23:57 pm

I think its also worth mentioning that History Channel provides quite a bit of support for meetings for the Organization of American Historians (OAH), the national group comprised of historians and educators. It seems that they [History] are deft at negotiating the murky waters between mythhistory and real, actual academically sound, peer reviewed history, like what's found in their journal.

Reply
spookyparadigm
10/30/2014 04:56:23 pm

Cave of Forgotten Dreams is an excellent documentary on Paleolithic archaeology, especially Chauvet Cave.

It was produced by History. I was stunned when I saw the credit image roll at the beginning. There were no Americans in the movie, it featured numerous scientists and academics (some quite eccentric) instead of blue-collar manly jobs, it was accurate, and it was well-made and compelling.

It did feature one scene of blackface (the Fred Astaire dancing with his shadows scene), though this is not obvious in the snippet they used.

EP
10/30/2014 05:31:45 pm

spookyparadigm, why must you ruin everything for me, man? :)

ncle_ron@comcast.net
10/29/2014 10:56:13 am

"The History Channel has partnered with the University of Oklahoma to offer 'the very first TV Network-branded' for-credit $500 online history course, according to a press release. The course is worth 3 semester credits."

Who else, beside UO, will accept these credits? If they're not careful they could become the Wikipedia of academia.

Reply
Uncle Ron
10/29/2014 03:47:55 pm

"Everything else is produced and controlled by OU. In particular, the content of the course is determined by OU faculty, just like any other course."

Thanks, EP. By coincidence I posted my question at exactly the same time you answered it. Still, as you suggest, it's an unholy alliance.

Reply
EP
10/29/2014 04:28:06 pm

Wait, I answered your question? I thought your question was about transfer credit (though I guess it's more general). Anyway, since OU is not going to risk its own accreditation for a little extra cash and publicity, their course is certainly going to satisfy the minimal standards of entry-level undergraduate survey courses (at least formally).

And no one really looks at what specific courses you took en route to your fancy OU degree anyway, so it won't make a difference. (Unless, perhaps, you're one of the many good OU undergrads pursuing graduate education, in which case your case won't stand or fall with a three-credit gimmicky course and you're probably not going to take it anyway.)

Only Me
10/30/2014 04:11:34 am

I hate to tell the "Nephilim hunter", but what he saw were rocks making up the back wall of the cave. They only appeared to have a particular shape due to the interplay of shadows produced by the sweeping movement of his flashlight.

Yet another example of the observer seeing what he wanted to see.

Reply
Only Me
10/30/2014 07:41:15 pm

This "living Nephilim" made me think of other fine examples of pareidolia (a word Mike Bara hates): the oddly formed rocks on Mars.

According to AATs, and others, there's a "thigh bone" on Mars. Thanks to the link Jason provided in his Twitter box, there's a clear photo of it, supplied by the website. Now, what reason is there to *not* say the "thigh bone" isn't really the fossilized core of a giant apple? None! So why haven't Creationists jumped to the conclusion that this giant, fossilized "apple core" is proof that Mars was the location of the mythical Garden of Eden?

I understand how easy it is for the fringe to brew up new batches of snake oil for their customers; I just don't understand why it is so easy for them to *get* customers.

Reply
EP
10/30/2014 07:46:01 pm

SHUT UP IT IS A BEHOLDER!!!

Reply
Only Me
10/30/2014 07:51:49 pm

Are you *sure* it's not a...cave fisher? Drider? Roper? Gelatinous cube?

EP
10/31/2014 05:53:19 am

Oh, yeah... Well.. Your FACE is a gelatinous cube!!! :P




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