(thing) by krok7 Fri Sep 22 2000 at 19:06:53
  1. An area of study wherein students are exposed to colorful characters from the past; political intrigue; and major events, ideas, movements, and themes impacting the direction and development of our modern world.

  2. An area of study wherein students memorize a bunch of odd names and dates.

  3. A field of study naive enthusiasts contemplate pursuing as a career. That is until they find out that you are not only required to learn Japanese and Chinese (if your interests lie to the East), but also German and/or French, and most likely the middle and old versions of all four languages in order to do primary research in the field.
I like it!