20 reasons why we study history essay

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Why Study History? More Than Ever, a Question that Needs Answering

Peter N. Stearns is University Professor of History at George Mason University and once served as American Historical Association Vice President for Teaching. He has written widely in world and social history, with a recent book on Time in World History (Routledge); he also teaches undergraduates in both areas. Long active in the field of history of emotion he is currently working, Condorcet-like, on a book on Happiness in World History. His latest book, co-authored with Marcus Collins, is Why Study History? (July 2020).

One of the few bright features of the past two months has been the extent to which the pandemic crisis has clarified the real public need for historical perspectives. Specific columns by historians have been amplified by the number of press releases incorporating historical findings (in Germany historians are even serving on reentry committees). Among many topics, here are some of the questions which require historical answers: how serious is this crisis compared to others in the past; what features of past plagues are cropping up or might crop up today (including attacks on minorities and social violence); what kinds of structural change, if any, do epidemics generate (alas the most recent overall analogue, the Spanish flu, changed almost nothing in the United States despite impressive outpourings of altruism during the crisis itself). And of course, what seems to be novel in our present situation?

Here is ample evidence of why history is essential – which all of us historians have known all along. And coincidentally, it provides a framework in which a new effort to explain history’s blessings to interested students may be particularly timely (among other things, thanks to flexible publishers, the new book I’ve co-authored on history even includes a brief comment on the implications of the pandemic).

History departments, and historians within them, have been spending a lot of time in recent years trying to lay out the reasons that interested students should go on and major in history. Many of us, raised in earlier times when the decision seemed far less problematic, have had to put a lot more effort into this than we ever anticipated. When my British colleague Marcus Collins and I were invited to write up the current rationale, it seemed an ideal chance to put the quite varied, though complementary, arguments into a form that, among other things, can be offered directly to those most concerned: students, their sometimes more difficult parents, advisors and teachers.

The resulting short book, obscurely titled Why Study History? , has just been issued by the London Publishing Partnership and may be acquired through bookstores, Amazon, etc. Because so many of us are concerned with protecting and advancing the discipline, it seems worthwhile to call this publication to wider attention -- for it is really intended to help the ongoing effort.

We try to do several things in the book. First, we very consciously combine the arguments about the skills history imparts with the really encouraging evidence about career outcomes. On the skills side we emphasize both capacities that history promotes such as writing and critical thinking, AND more distinctively historical skills such as evaluation of the phenomenon of change. The book has given us the chance to advance our thinking on these points, including some new praise for the sheer experience in dealing with ambiguity.

On the more narrowly pragmatic side, we note of course that history graduates get a wide range of jobs (teaching recruits only about 13% on both sides of the Atlantic), which superficially complicates the picture but actually adds spice. The discussion of skills is intended not only to be persuasive but to help students themselves, when they enter the job market, explain their strengths, an area where many remain somewhat deficient despite our best intentions. We are careful to note problems: this is not meant to be a sales blitz, particularly for a discipline that contributes so much to the evaluation of fake news. Thus: history graduates end up making as much money as business majors, but less than engineers. While history really trains well in most of the skills employers seek, it lags in advancing group work. But we also take the occasion to highlight the massive expansion of the topics and methods that history programs deal with (including digital and environmental history), something that high school and even college students may not realize.

The book also deals with history’s contributions to citizenship and public understanding, which must not be forgotten amid utilitarianism. And, as Mary Lindemann kindly notes in her contribution to the cover blurb, it also “successfully conveys the joy” of doing history, something we also hoped would shine through.

Anyway, the book is available, and we truly hope it will prove useful. And, back to the introductory point, a final suggestion: maybe we should be collecting the evidence on the various uses of and appeals for history in the current crisis, as another way of invigorating the argument for relevance that our new book seeks to enhance.

Editor's note: this essay was accepted for publication prior to announcements that at least one public university is closing its history department due to financial distress; HNN is more enthusiastic than ever to promote arguments for the necessity of history in our universities and our society.

Stephanie Effevottu

WHY STUDY HISTORY: THE RELEVANCE OF HISTORY TO THE MODERN WORLD

“Even if you slash my throat, our brushes will not stop writing. If I die, another historian will take my place; if you kill that historian, another will take their place. Even if you kill every historian in this land and take away all the papers and brushes, you won’t be able to stop us. From mouth to mouth, teacher to student, elder to child, history will be told. That is the power of the truth- (Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung, Episode 20)”

History is indispensable. In centuries past, this statement would have seemed self-evident as ancient cultures devoted much time and effort to teaching and recording history. Although drawn from a fictional movie, the above quotation expounds on the importance of history and historical records to traditional societies. However, in modern societies, there has been a paradigm shift in the relevance attached to the study of history as historical studies. To some critics of history, man is much smarter now than he was even twenty years ago, that anything from the past is outdated and irrelevant. They prefer to define themselves in terms of where they are going rather than where they came from, believing that the past is already past and should therefore be forgotten. To some other critics, while some things about the past may prick their curiosities such as: Who were those people that existed in the past? What were they like? How did they live? they did not believe that such inquisitiveness was enough to warrant a devotion to the study of history as a full-fledged academic discipline.

As someone who actually studied and is still studying history, I am always faced with people asking me questions such as: why are you studying history? or what future does the study of history holds for you in terms of career choices or job prospects especially in a country like Nigeria where history has been relegated to the background? Against the background of these views, this article attempts to highlight some of the relevance of the study of history to the modern world. It begins by providing a brief definition of history and the various perspectives related to the study of history. The article then offers an insight into the various ways through which the study of history is/can be beneficial to the modern world. It concludes by stating some career options open to graduates of history.

The term ‘history’ holds manifold meanings, all of which are connected to the past. E.H. Carr (1961) defines history as a continuous process of interaction between the historian and his facts, and an unending dialogue between the present and the past. As an academic discipline, it refers to the study and interpretation of not only the events of the past but also their consequences. W.H. Walsh as cited by Osokoya (1996) asserts that the historian aims at a reconstruction of the past which is both intelligent and intelligible. There appears to be no end to definitions of history because many historians will respond differently when seeking to answer such a question. However, it is conceivable and necessary to identify certain features which may be described as essential characteristics of history. Some of such features include its fragmentary nature, its humanistic nature, its termination in the present, its dynamic nature, and the fact that history is factual.

The study of history holds relevance to modern societies in manifold ways, including but not limited to the following: Studying history makes students not only enthusiastic but critical readers. As students of history, you are trained to read and research extensively, critique, and accurately cite and reference sources. You also learn to ascertain various lines of arguments and biases, the styles of writers, the ranges and kinds of sources used in research works. It also equips students with the ability to think critically and make informed judgments about human situations.

Historical studies also help to offer an in-depth understanding of the world and the society in which we live, including providing us with a sense of memory and identity. The presence of historical records is what informed our knowledge of who we are, how we came to be, and how the society in which we live came about. If we have no history, we have no memory and subsequently no identity. It is through the events recorded in history that identities such as ethnicity, religion, and nationality are formed. Through the study and knowledge of history, a sense of belonging, patriotism, national pride, especially inter-group relations with others, can take root and can be used by leaders to inspire people. In this world that is constantly changing, and understanding of socio-political and economic history can serve as coping mechanisms for individuals. Through history, we get to learn about individuals, societies, and institutions that contributed both positively and negatively to national development.

History empowers us to understand the present through the light of the past, thereby serving as an important trajectory linking the past to the present and the future. In his well-known novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four , Orwell warned, “Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past” (Orwell 1949: 35). This is true because knowledge of history can shape the way we view the present and dictate the answers we offer for present challenges. If we listen to what history has to say, we can come to a sound understanding of the past in a way that can inform our present actions. Livy cited as one of the greatest historians in Roman history, asserts that the study of history is the best medicine for a sick mind; for in history you have a record of the infinite variety of human experience set out for all to see, and in that record, you can find for yourself and your country both examples and warnings; fine things to take as models, base things, rotten through and through, to avoid. Without a sense of history, our ability to relate to contemporary issues will therefore be limited. Other relevance of the study of history includes the fact that it provides unique insight into human nature and human civilization.

Although some persons may feel that a degree in history is a waste, the benefits of studying history surpass what you read in books or learn in the classroom. The study of history provides students with several transferable, critical, and analytical skills that can be put to use in a wide range of careers/fields such as archivists, curator, teacher, researcher, media and advertising sector, public sector, editor, translator, non-governmental and humanitarian sectors, to mention but a few. To conclude, although history concerns itself with knowledge about the past, it helps to build skills that are relevant in modern societies, making it one of the most versatile disciplines in the humanities.

Carr, E.H. 1961. What is history? London: Penguin Books.

Matthews, G. 2011. History: A worthwhile academic discipline. History in Action , 2(2), 1-5.

Ochefu, Y.A., and Ogbogbo, C.B.N. 2005-2016. The role of historical societies in Nigeria’s development. Afrika Zamani , 13&14, pp.73-85.

Orwell, G. 1949. Nineteen Eighty-Four . London: Seeker and Warburg.

Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung, Episode 20.

Posted by Stephanie E. Effevottu Apr 1, 2021

Posted in History Tags: Career Choices, Historian, History, History Matters, Relevance of History, Why Study History

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