Why History Matters

"I love history because history is about everything. What other discipline can say that?"

JoAnne Mancini

“Why study history? Because an approach that calls on multiple disciplines to learn about the world provides support for social responsibility, engaged citizenship, and the institutions of democratic societies; sharpens tools for career development; contributes to the enjoyment of life by unlocking the beauty of art and culture; and fosters an ethical framework that promotes the quest for understanding, empathy, and personal humility. A better question would be, why not study history?”

Frank Valadez

“Memory, indeed, makes us human. History, our collective memory, carefully codified and critically revised, makes us social, sharing ideas and ideals with others so as to form all sorts of different human groups. Each such group acts as it does largely because of shared ideas and beliefs about the past and about what the past, as understood and interpreted by the group in question, tells about the present and probable future.”

William H. McNeill

"As investigators and explicators of the past historians help us to understand people, institutions, cultures. We need that understanding in order to live responsibly and work toward a more just world. Plus, all that knowledge makes life so much richer."

Mara Cota

"History is a discipline that requires both risky creativity and balance. Doing history is a fascinating exercise of letting our imagination go wild while keeping our interpretation grounded on the evidence. It is a practice that keeps you constantly curious and eager to dig deeper."

Cristina Soriano

"Why study history? To know what it is to live; to know how others have thought and lived; to know why society and the world are the way they are; to help us forge our own lives—and by so doing, to make history itself."

Gordon H. Chang

"Only through studying history can we grasp how things change; only through history can we begin to comprehend the factors that cause change; and only through history can we understand what elements of an institution or a society persist despite change."

Peter Stearns

"Around the world, communities are engaged in post-truth, ahistorical thinking. In such times, dusty old tomes and documents, art, artifacts, oral memories, et al., are the anchors that ground knowledge production, and function as beacons that illuminate a path towards balanced interpretations."

Sanjukta Poddar

"History requires you to develop the skills of empathy and imagination: done with integrity, history is tremendous force for compassion."

Victoria Haskins

"When I hear that this political period is the most tumultuous in US history, or that the public has never been so divided, I can turn to the historical record to provide examples of past crises and periods of turmoil that were overcome, or that changed a society for the better. The study of history is the study of the long-view, and a respite from the paralyzing immediacy of the present."

Amy Hart

"History is empowering for me. It inspires me in a variety of ways. Most importantly, it continually enriches my understanding of the struggles and accomplishments of African Americans. This is what has been missing in my own and in many African Americans’ everyday understanding of themselves and each other. Investigation into the past, then, has allowed me to understand the present."

Patricia Reid

"For me, history has always been about understanding people and imagining myself in a different place and time. It teaches empathy and encourages students to consider multiple perspectives before arriving at a conclusion. Even if they choose a different major or career path, I hope that studying history enables students to engage in critical thinking, to challenge accepted paradigms, and to understand different viewpoints and historical processes."

MayaLisa Holzman