Thinking about history has its own history. The links below will take you to essays about the value of historical studies from the Italian Renaissance around the year 1400 and from publications of the American Historical Association in 1898, 1985, 1998, and 2020 . What similarities do you see in these statements? What has changed? Do you think these statements need further updating? How would you describe the value of thinking historically after completing HIST1000?
Vergerius, The New Education (c. 1400)
Vergerius the Elder (1370-1444) wrote a treatise on education for the son of the lord of Padua. In it he stresses the importance of “liberal studies,” including history. You can find a key excerpt here.
The Study of History in Schools (1898)
A report submitted to the American Historical Association by a select committee about how schools in the United States address the study of history included a statement on the value of historical study. You can find that portion of the report here.
William McNeill, “Why Study History?” (1985)
In 1985 the President of the American Historical Association wrote an essay about the importance of historical study and how that study had changed in recent decades. You can find the essay here.
Peter Stearns, “Why Study History?” (1998)
In 1998, the American Historical Association asked Peter Stearns, a pioneer in the development of Global History, to write an essay on the value of historical study. You can find his essay here.
Peter Stearns, “Why Study History? Revisited” (2020)
Prof. Stearns returned to his theme 22 years later with this short essay published in Perspectives, the news magazine of the American Historical Association. You can find the essay here.
Student Statements
Below you will find the responses of University of New Haven students to the question, “Why Study History?”
[Statements still to come].
