Studying History Is Important After All
|The retired professor started his lecture by saying that it was going to be his last lecture – ever. He was finishing his career before us, and he started with this story:
I loved it. People have been criticizing the humanities a lot, these days, and it would be a shame if we forgot the importance of studying our past, our art, and our culture.
And, yes, it does have practical value. Did you know that economics is a humanities course? Not only that, but it’s best understood alongside history. How about Philosophy? It sounds like a useless major, but did you know that Plato’s Republic, the cornerstone of Western philosophy, is a book that is (mostly) about how a state can be run justly? (If I were ever on trial for a crime I didn’t commit, it would make me glad to know that the judge had read Plato.) An understanding of ethics and righteous law-making is central to western philosophy in every century, so a politician, lawyer, or activist will most definitely benefit from having a background in philosophy.
Don’t forget that students of the humanities must usually learn a foreign language, or two. Americans are often criticized for not knowing other languages, and its the humanities students who are required to break this mold.
But what about history; does it matter? Imagine a diplomat who hadn’t studied international history, or a governor who did not know how his state was founded. It’s important that the leaders of our communities and nations understand our own past and the cultures that surround us. This sort of thing is learned in history classes.
The Christian community has learned the importance of this; as our culture drifts further and further away from antiquity, we need linguists and historians to help us understand the context in which the Bible was written. Church history is also a difficult subject that only makes sense when we know how the old world worked – something that is impossible without the humanities.
On a more “everyday” level, I think that most people appreciate the humanities more than they realize. Have you ever enjoyed a Ken Burns documentary, or a History Channel special on the pyramids? What are you going to do with that? How is a documentary about Jazz going to help you sell auto parts, or design software? It won’t, but the enlightenment that comes from such understanding is valuable.
Then again, maybe these things are more practical than we think. Humanities courses teach us critical thinking skills, because each text/document/piece of artwork requires deep study to comprehend fully. Someone who has taken the time to really understand the Magna Carta in its historical context is someone who can apply that problem-solving skill to whatever field they decide to work in. A successful humanities student is not just someone who has memorized a set of obscure dates and stories, but they’ve learned to think around corners and solve complex problems alongside some of the world’s most celebrated thinkers. That is not a useless skill.
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On a related note, readers should check out this series of blogposts by Dr. John Fea (Messiah College) called “So What CAN You Do with a History Major?” The answer is broader and better than you might initially imagine.
I received a lot of flak for taking up humanities, despite having the aptitude for being a science student. Your post resonated with me; those are the exact words I’ve been looking for this past year!
I’m glad you agree, Vani. The people who criticized you might be surprised to know just how much science was pushed forward by philosophers.
I agree with you as well. But who cares what I say? More importantly, the truth agrees with you; or, rather, you agree with the truth.
As a philosopher I would add that we don’t have a complete idea of practicality. The disciplines that teach us to live in a country and be attentive to its origins, to use a language and remember its literature, to walk on this earth and notice its mysteries–these disciplines teach us how to live in a better way even if they never did help us to invent better light bulbs.
But, of course, they do help with that sort of thing. Light bulbs can thank scientists for inventing them, and they can thank philosophers for inventing the scientists.
On a related note, readers could check out this link by a philosopher on the nature of philosophy and, among other things, one of the reasons it’s useful:
http://www.academia.edu/3313057/Using_Philosophy_to_Explore_the_Mysteries_of_Everyday_Life
Great post. Linked to it at endtimestavern.com All my best