Why Study History?

Why study history?

First of all, historians are cool!  We love to tell stories (that are true about the past), and we also love to learn.  We are lifelong learners (and researchers)  I love hearing stories from old people.  As one student said, “We see dead people.”

We investigate the past, and we can safely say that the world is not black and white.  The world is complicated, with complex layers to problems that have been shaped by struggles over time.  We attempt to understand these complexities, and think critically about the past.

We are great global travelers.  (or it’s fun for us to watch historical films or read historical books.)  We speak multiple languages.  As an Africanist, I studied Zulu, the majority language of South Africa, and the minority language of Zimbabwe (Ndebele) as well as a European language, French.

What do historians do after they graduate?

History as a discipline teaches students to become good critical thinkers, readers and writers.  It provides excellent training for law, civil or foreign service, and obviously for graduate work in the social sciences.  Some become teachers, a wonderfully rewarding, even if not a lucrative career.  Some serve in the Peace Corps.  Others become film writers or producers. Others work in museums, research institutes, nonprofits (human rights), different media and advocacy groups.