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Everything has a history. From period dramas to 'Horrible Histories', preserved Anglo-Saxon castles to the Great Pyramids of Egypt, evidence of our history can be discovered everywhere, forming the basis of our modern society. So why is its study important, invaluable even? Much of history can feel like endless memorization of dates, events, and historical figures, but the study of history, more importantly, opens up the door for analysis. The ability to interpret events, assess evidence, and form coherent arguments. This gift of critical analysis and a broad understanding of history is essential in understanding our diverse world as it functions today.
The phrase “History repeats itself” is often used to justify and support the study of history. While this may be true in certain cases - seen most recently in Afghanistan with President Biden's withdrawal of American troops causing the Taliban takeover - in actuality, history provides evidence of human nature, whether it be during wartime, political or economic instability, or religious turmoil. Although models and experiments can be set up by sociologists and psychologists alike, it is impossible to really replicate such major events accurately. As expressed by Professor Peter Stearns, “History offers a storehouse of information about how people behave”, allowing historians to give factors for different human behaviors over thousands of years. This allows us to deconstruct how societies function, both today and in the past, demonstrating what makes an ideal or societal structure successful (or not!).
In this way, it is accurate to say that history has a somewhat cyclical nature. Human behavior will always repeat itself and will continue to do so, and the study of history proves this. Most major historical events are motivated by a want for power, money, justice, or equality, a fact that is not likely to change. By studying the motivations and morals of crucial figures in history, we begin to appreciate how the past has shaped the world today and how this affects global and cultural relationships today.
History is dynamic and ever-changing - analyzing this change allows historians to determine the factors of change and predict how such factors could affect us in the future. This also demonstrates the complexity of history and human nature, with many factors often affecting one event. It is far more productive to study how social values and cultures have developed and changed in response to different factors so that we can recognize how ideals and societies might progress in the future. Attitudes to women, religion, and race are just a few examples where opinions today might have seemed inconceivable a century ago. It would be fairly impossible to understand views, relationships, and socio-political structures that exist today without studying the factors that have contributed to their creation and how this could change in the future as society changes and develops.
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