The study of history teaches us about the past. It also helps us understand the present. It reveals how societies have evolved over time. It teaches us about people who have struggled with moral dilemmas and helped shape our own societies. History is a useful way of understanding the world and our place in it.
Historians have a tricky job. They must be aware that what they write and teach is not a collection of facts but a narrative about what happened in the past. The Greek historian Herodotus claimed modest goals when he coined the word “history.” He said that it is an attempt to record men’s doings, so that future generations might learn from them.
But historians are human, too, and they often fall prey to the same blindness that plagues any discipline. They may be convinced that their view of the past must be true, even if the historical evidence does not back it up. They may also be driven by a desire to impress their readers or their peers. They may be under the influence of some sort of spin-meister, spouting a version of the past that they think everyone should accept.
All this has given history a bad reputation. But, as historian Arthur Marwick argues in his book The New Nature of History: Knowledge, Evidence, Language, a good story about the past is still a valuable learning tool.
A major challenge for historians is that their work relies heavily on primary sources, documents that were written at the time. The problem is that, when viewed from the present, these documents often contain distortions. Moreover, they are often incomplete, because not everything that happened was recorded at the time.
This is why, despite all the efforts of historians, there will always be disputes about the past. The disagreements are not about the facts but over how those facts should be interpreted.
Different schools of history have developed over the centuries, influenced by changing social circumstances and intellectual trends. For example, the Annales school emphasized quantitative analysis of raw data, while others have focused on cultural artifacts or oral traditions. More recently, sociologists have explored the causes of change in society. Other fields of history include psychohistory, which examines the psychological motivations behind historical events, and pseudohistory, which investigates events that are not part of mainstream histories.
Many people believe that a knowledge of history is important to becoming a good citizen and a better person in general. Whether it is the story of the American civil rights movement or the fall of the Roman Empire, studying history can help you develop your character and learn to adapt to changes in our world. This is why it is a subject worth studying in depth. You can pursue a degree in history with University of the People, a tuition-free, accredited university. You can also enroll in a variety of other subjects including law, business, music and health sciences.