Why Study History

In the essay "Why Study History" Peter Stearns states, "History should be studied because it is essential to individuals and to society, and because it harbors beauty." Stearns then proceeds to offer a number of reasons why we should study history, for example: [it] helps us understand people and societies, [it] contributes to moral understanding, [it] is useful in the world of work, etc.

In George Orwell’s 1984, Winston Smith sums up why we study history when he writes, “I understand the How: I do not understand the Why.” 1

As someone with a great interest in both history and revolution, many of Stearns’ reasons for studying history resonated with me. Stearns first reason, history “helps us understand people and societies,” holds one of the key reasons I study history. When he states, “How can we evaluate war if the nation is at peace…” he strikes at the heart of why I study history. To understand the nations around us in peace, we need to understand the wars and conflicts that created the peace we see today. Later in his article he discusses history’s role in providing identity. Historical data gives us the knowledge we need to understand how countries and societies were formed and how they evolved into the modern world we know.

When you study a revolution, you need to understand the nation as it was before the war. To understand that you need to know how it was formed and in what ways it has changed since that forming. You need to be able to view evidence and events often presented in opposing manners. Stearns also discussed this towards the end of his article while listing the skills history students need. The ability to critically read conflicting interpretations of the same events is the most important skill for studying revolutions.

Overall I feel Stearns presented a great accounting of reasons people study history and what skills are needed to truly study and understand the past. He stresses the idea that history needs to be studied in a more engaging manner, that there needs to be a move beyond the lecture and note taking to a more scientific approach. I agree with his statement that if history is a science it should be taught as a lab to be more engaging and move beyond the simple memorization format that it has become in the American school system.

1.Orwell, George, 1984 (New York: New American Library of World Literature, Inc., 1962), 68.