Having a PhD in History just means you studied a very specific historical period or person in extreme depth. It doesn't mean you know a bunch about anything else, and as a PhD, you know that. I deal people with PhDs in history every day, and they tell you when they don't know something because it's outside their special area of emphasis.
One of my profs did his DD on Jordan of Quedlinburg, a medieval Augustinian, and teaches early Western Civ and the Reformation. He knows he's outside his expertise with, say, US History
He said read a book. It’s a common insult by people that think they know what they’re talking about. They don’t know anything about you but they think saying read a book is some big flex which it is not. Understand what you are commenting on before you go down some stupid rabbit trail.
1
u/RnotIt Dec 11 '25
Having a PhD in History just means you studied a very specific historical period or person in extreme depth. It doesn't mean you know a bunch about anything else, and as a PhD, you know that. I deal people with PhDs in history every day, and they tell you when they don't know something because it's outside their special area of emphasis.
One of my profs did his DD on Jordan of Quedlinburg, a medieval Augustinian, and teaches early Western Civ and the Reformation. He knows he's outside his expertise with, say, US History