Why Does History Even Matter?

Matthew Zang

Almost as often as the worried glances I get from relatives when I mention that I’m majoring in History, people tell me, “but history isn’t even important, what we’re doing right now is what’s important!”. To answer this question simply, I defer to Peter Stearns who said “The past causes the present, and so the future.” To expand upon this concept, we find that history gives us invaluable insight into the reasons our world work the way it does, our personal identities and how we can improve as people and as a community.

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Everyone who studies any field, no matter what area, will encounter history in some shape or form. After a conversation with a pre-med student said the first phrase in quotes to me, it started me thinking. A few minutes later, I posed the question that everything she learns up until the point she discovers something new is history. Somewhat taken aback by my comment, she agreed and had a different view of history afterward. While not incredibly outlandish of a thought, it shows us that history is the well which we draw all of our knowledge from. Whether we choose the knowledge which we extract to be medical, philosophical, or something else entirely is up to us.

When one sits in a high school classroom though, memorizing dates and names, they are most likely not looking any deeper than the test at the end of the week. However, if one were to study the people of Pompeii, for example, and look past the tested details, they will find that people during that time were suffering from the same problems that we face today. What time is it? Where is the closest place to get food? Who should I go out with tonight? We can draw comfort in the fact that our issues of today are not new or crushing and that, in fact, most problems have fairly simple solutions. This doesn’t just apply to our personal lives but can be used to cast light on possible historical solutions to today’s problems.

Photo Courtesy www.wikipedia.com

History is not in the business of giving solid numbers and data to support a concrete hypothesis but tries to understand the patterns and similar traits that permeate the records. It would be nice to give a clear answer as to how to solve a certain issue with 100% certainty but sadly, human don’t tend to be very predictable. This is why history should be used as a guide that can be interpreted to give insight into issues. For example, if we look at the 2008 stock market crash, we have a guide as to what to look out for before another crash happens.

So, unless you come up with a brand new idea, you will have to build on those that lived in an earlier. It doesn’t always have to be boring names and dates, but it will involve taking a glance back into the mind of someone who came just a bit before you.

Works Cited
http://www.historyguide.org/guide/study.html
https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/historical-archives/why-study-history-(1998)