Why Historians Drink Beer

I was at a party with a number of history grad students and one young innocent commented to a rather jaded 5th year PhD student that historians like to drink beer. I wonder why that is, he questioned. The answer, given swiftly and in a matter-of-fact tone which can only come from a 5th year PhD student was simply, “because otherwise we would have to read.”

He was right of course. Reading and reading and reading. I need new glasses and I’m only 2 months in.

I started thinking about why historians, and history Grad students in particular, drink beer and this is what I came up with:

• In a word, Foucault!
• It gives you something to blog about. You may have an epiphany or pick up a unique insight or two from a colleague.
• They don’t really make martinis at the Grad Club. (actually, they don’t make martinis because they don’t have olives!) Stick with the beer.
• Dotplot Visualisation Technique - ????
• Lorcan Dempsey - again I say - ????
• It’s social. When we crawl, mole-like, from our windowless hovels at the end of the day, it’s nice to share a pint with someone who understands.
• It’s the less expensive option. Who can afford single-malt on a student budget?
• Research! You never know when you will get an Archives assignment that requires you to research the brewing industry and the evolution of beer and ale.
• Artificial Intelligence - It freaks Bryan out!
• Digitization of historical sources. What ever happened to good ol’ dusty, allergy-causing, hold- em’- in- your- hand books?
• Books and articles - Why can’t people get with it and digitize sources so that we can access them online?

So maybe we drink a little beer. Truth be told, however, it’s the collegial aspect of getting together and chatting over a pint that is the real draw. When you’ve spent hours by yourself , reading article after paper after monograph, it’s nice to blow off some steam with like-minded individuals. Procrastination? Maybe. But it’s no different than say, blogging about strangely random topics when you should be reading!