The word “history” means “story of the past.” The study of history focuses on events, ideas, and societal development from the time that human beings began to record their lives. It explores what happened, why it happened, and what the consequences of those actions were. It also examines the patterns of events that occur over time and the relationship between cause and effect.
The study of history provides students with a variety of skills, including critical thinking and independent research. These are essential skills for success in the 21st century workplace. The field of history teaches students how to analyze evidence, make judgments about the reliability of historical sources and their meaning, evaluate multiple viewpoints, synthesize complex information into a coherent narrative, write and communicate effectively.
IDENTITY >> History nurtures personal identity in an intercultural world. It enables people to discover how they fit into the great story of their family, community, nation and civilization. Through studying the stories of liberty and equality, struggle and success, loss and courage, they establish systems of values that form their approach to life and relationships with other people.
CONSTANT REVISION >> The study of history is a constant revision and reinterpretation of the past. Each generation sees the past through its own eyes and applies different standards, priorities, and values. Historians try to capture these differences in their written accounts of the past. This process is called historiography, the science of writing history.
IMPARTIALITY >> Determining what really happened in the past is not an objective, straightforward task. Just ask any policeman who has tried to determine from several eyewitness accounts exactly what happened in a particular car accident. One brief event can take on thousands of different meanings as different people impose their own emotional baggage and interpretations on it. The discipline of history is a messy business and, like all human endeavors, it is subject to bias, self-righteousness, pride, vanity and, at the very least, the subconscious obfuscation of some grim reality.
COMPETENCE >> Conclusion: A degree in history prepares a person for many career paths, such as archivist, teacher, librarian, museum curator, researcher, editor, media and advertising sector, and non-governmental and humanitarian work. It also prepares a person for graduate school and professional schools in law, medicine and business. It is also a good foundation for a wide range of volunteer activities and community service. Most important, it provides a person with the ability to understand and appreciate how our world and our daily lives evolved from previous generations. Without this understanding, a person risks making dangerous, misguided decisions that could potentially have a negative impact on the future of humanity. This knowledge has the power to change lives for the better. That is why it is so vital that every child receive a solid education in the subjects of history, civics, government and foreign languages. If we fail to teach the children of today, who will teach them tomorrow?