Thursday, August 27, 2009
"Why Study History" by Peter N. Stearns
Imagine you are talking to your best friend and he/she is trying to convince you the study of history is not important. Using the arguments of Peter N. Stearns, how could you convince your friend the study of history is important and valuable in your life? Please use at least two specific reasons from the article (without quoting) in your response.
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The study of history is important because it is a key element of studying people and societies. Some experiments can be set up to determine how people act under certain situations, but knowledge about the past is the best evidence to formulate laws about the behaviors of people and society.
ReplyDeleteHistory is also important because the past influences the present and the future. Studying history can help us understand the main factors of change in our society.
We should study history because it teaches us our roles as individuals part of a whole society. It offers background and past examples on how our ancestors and ancient communities functioned in order for us to advance in our present environment.
ReplyDeleteWe also use history to find and understand the trends and patterns that humanity is going through, and to better predict how we will change, and what will happen next.
Studying history can also help us better comprehend our current situations, and in turn better deal with the problems. When we understand what is going on with our society, only then can we become more involve, and understand our country and civilization on a deeper level.
Studying history is important because it's an invaluable way to analyze people and societal behavior, and is also the largest factor in being a good citizen.
ReplyDeleteIn order to understand and work through our own conflicts as a society, we must gather and analyze data from the past. We need to have at least a sense of how society has functioned and prospered, even if it is only to run our own lives. History is therefore our only tool to figure out why societies behave as they do, and how we can use this information in the present day.
History is also important as a citizen. Knowing your nation's past and current problems, interactions, and views are key in developing your own views as an informed citizen.
History itself is an archive of historical data. It helps us understand people and society, in addition, it provides identity.
ReplyDeleteSociety isn't anything new, it goes back to the very beginning of the human race. As it evolved so did technology and government. History opens a portal to look at how people acted and what led to our modern society. It shows how everything we have today came into existence. The most important product history produces though, is why our advanced species behaves the way we do in society.
Humans didnt inhabit every continent in the very beginning. Niether were we all together. Societys drifted apart but came back together all through history, creating different ethnic groups of people. History can trace familes very far back and see how they reacted in the enviroment and time they lived in. It can show the rise and fall of businesses and religious influences that happened over time and why.
Studying history is important in our society today because it helps us understand the peoples and societies of the past. It also helps the advancement of our society today. Without history, we would have no records of our failures, especially in technological innovations. History helps us understand what worked before, so we don't make the same mistake twice. Similarly, a country can use history for military and defense tactics. If a country is currently peaceful, how else are we supposed to find out their past military tactics?
ReplyDeleteHistory also sets up a precedent, espcially within law. In many instances today, court rulings are decided upon precedent, to keep the proceedings fair. History helps us to understand what decision was made before, and why. Then, if the decision needs to be altered in order to keep up with the changings of our society, it can be done.
History also provides a broad prospective for the students that study it. It gives them a chance to be more cultured, and to know more about the world around them. For example, present day American students may not know about the fabulous dynasties in China that took place thousands of years before they were born. That kind of history makes people in our society today more cultured and less ignorant about other places and cultures.
What history really is is a compilation of all that ever was. What we distill into Geology, Archaeology, Literature, and even Math and Science all falls under the big umbrella of history. The part we call history, that we study in history class, is no less important than any other part. It too, imparts knowledge of the word that is useful in many ways, probably the most important of which is the social aspect. Understanding people, and the nations and cultures from which they hail, is possibly THE most important piece of the global unification puzzle. As the world becomes increasingly intertwined, it becomes ever the more necessary to understand and accept our distant relatives that we may now call neighbors. By probing into the recent and not so recent past, we can create a better understanding of virtually any group of people.
ReplyDeleteHistory enlightens us to the concept of change. Without a past to compare the present to, we would have no idea what has changed, with only our own lifespan to take evidence from. Without understanding what we have accomplished, what has been accomplished, and comparing the past to the recent past to yesterday to today to tomorrow to the far distant future, we have no reference point. Is a Carbon dioxide level of 400 parts per million bad? Is a giant cleansing of the middle east necessary to escape endless chaos? Or just the simplest of them all; can people effectively work through things together, and what are good strategies for doing so? While any of these three questions can immediately be answered by anybody who has studied history, someone who is stuck in the present would flounder, unable to find the proper frame of reference to even begin to grasp the question. It's an addition of a dimension is what it is. It enables outside of the box thinking. If anyone has read Flatland, I would compare it to that. From 2-D to 3-D, from 3-D to 4-D.
We should study history because it provides important moral understandings for the young and adolescent. Studying information about a certain character or idea that happened in history could be repeated or the same challenge is confronted again. Without history, we would not be able to learn from our past mistakes and end up repeating history. If high school kids were not taught history, they could end up making huge mistakes in the future that they could have avoided if they had learned a little bit about history. History also provides us with answers we need because we have no experience with what is happening.
ReplyDeleteLearning from our history is important also because it explains the types of people and societies there are in the world. History is different throughout the world and without it we could not learn where we came from or what the planet and life was like before us. History also teaches us how we run our community, society or country. If we did not have history to teach us what kind of country or society we were, there would probably be a lot more chaos and confusion going around instead of setting government up and fixing local issues. We would not be as technologically advanced as we are today if it wasn’t for history because we must learn from older data and studies. We also use history in our military to learn from our past wars and battles and what went wrong and how we can fix them to make our military the best.
-Michael Khoury
Evan van Aalst
ReplyDeleteHistory helps us understand the mistakes our ancestors made so we don't get ourselves into trouble the same way they did. It helps us understand the society we live in and how it came to be, as well as the people in it. It also helps us understand change.
Our ancestors made plenty of mistakes trying to set up, colonize, and eventually gain their independence in the United States. from studying them and their mixture of failure and success, we can learn what works and what doesn't.
Understanding our society, how it came to be, and what people live in it all go hand-in-hand. People immigrated here from all over the world for various reasons. They brought with them their culture, their traditions, and their ways of living. from studying history, we can better understand our society today and the peoples that live here. America isn't called a melting pot for nothing.
understanding change is perhaps the most important thing history can teach us. Nothing stays the same for forever, as history shows us. You need to be prepared and flexible, because you never know when plans might change. Columbus is a prime example. He was expecting to reach the Indies, but what he found drastically changed the world as it was known then.
By studying history, students can gain skills that can help them in not only their other classes, but also later in their lives when they join the work force. Through history class, they learn how to evaluate evidence, interpretations that conflict, and change. They also gain experience in research, writing and speaking skills.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, history is important in learning our past, present, and future. The past affects the present, which in turn affects the future. To figure out what is to come, we need to understand what has happened. It helps us understand changes/continuities and the reason of changes/continuities, as well as the people and their societies and how/why they behave the way they do.
An understanding of history is vital. It is necessary to understand and assess what is happening in the world today, and to decide effectively how to react to these events. For example, conflicts in the middle-east are rooted in conflicts that trace back for generations. One cannot understand the current state of affairs if one does not know the difference between the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam, and one simply cannot understand this without studying its historical context. This kind of understanding is necessary to deal with everything going on in the world, from ending wars to legitimizing elections to eradicating poverty. One must be able to analyze what factors cause the current situation, and therefore how to approach it in order to change it. Clearly, these skills are vital for world leaders and policy makers. But why is history important for the average citizen? Part of being a responsible world citizen is paying attention to global affairs. Furthermore, how can one be a responsible voter if one does not understand current events or the likely effects of proposed policies?
ReplyDeleteThe study of history is very essential and important to the people. It benefits societies and people all around the world. Without history, people would be clueless about how societies came to be, and we wouldn't know how to protect the society that we live in.
ReplyDeleteHistory helps people understand how the society that we live in came to be. To understand the society that we live in today, historians are required to study the past. History is very complex because people have to understand what happened in the past to understand the present. For example, how did America come together? We all know today that America today was the cause of Christopher Columbus and immigrants from the Old World coming to the new world. Without history, we wouldn't know about events leading up to the present.
History also helps people correct mistakes they've made in the past. By looking into the past to see the mistakes of mankind, people can prepare for the present and future by not making the same mistakes they made in the past. This is important to our society because this allows our society to grow, and not to go back to what it was before.
We should study history because it helps us understand how present people’s and societies behave by looking at past societies. By looking at our history, we can learn from former mistakes and try to prevent them form happening again. Studying history also shows how are society came to be today. We can look at patterns from former/older societies and possibly predict what will happen in the future. The problems that we may have in our society most likely happened in the past as well, so we can know the outcome to them and maybe try to change it. History makes all of us who we are today from our cultures, morals, and religions to technological advances.
ReplyDeleteWe live in the present, past, and future. Everything we do affects what happens next; everything we did affects what we are doing now. History helps us see what it is that we have done so that we can observe the chain of events that have led us to the present. History helps us understand why things happen the way they do and what we need to do to have the future outcomes we desire. By studying history, we can learn about ourselves, society, and everything around us.
ReplyDeleteIt is important to study history because it is our greatest resource. As individuals we have instincts, but without being able to look at the past and to learn from it, they would be no good to us. We are able to learn everything we do in school because we can look back in history and learn what others before us discovered. Looking back at world events in the past, we see a plethora of examples as to why studying history is important. Studying World War I, we see the error in creating complex alliance systems. Looking back at World War II, we see the consequences of doing nothing while huge injustices are being committed in the world. We can also use history to improve the way we work. Over time, people have perfected business plans and advertising techniques because they have been able to look back and see what worked and what didn’t.
On a personal level we can use history to improve and better understand ourselves. Psychiatrists and doctors use our history to help and cure us, as well as plan for future problems and obstacles. We know basic things like the stove is hot and the shower is cold when you first turn it on because we can look back and remember that we learned these things in the past. History helps us in our interactions with others as well. We learn the type of people we get along with based on our past relationships. We understand other people and where they come from by studying their pasts. Whether you value history or not, you can’t deny that you use it all the time.
History plays a significant role in all of our lives in that it helps us understand who we are and why we are here to begin with. Through history we can discover more about our identity, such as how our families were formed, where we come from, etc. and thus communities/bonds are formed with other people.
ReplyDeleteStudying history also gives us a deeper understanding of our moral values in life. Whereas in the world of fiction, you would hear about some make believe super hero saving the world, no one can relate to that in any way. But when comparing to a real life hero who fights for his/her country or saves lives in a fire, then this is where we truly find inspiration in our lives, by relating to ordinary people in extraordinary times. When people have role models to look up to, then they are more likely to succeed in the future.
History is arguably the most important subject to be learned in any academic setting.
Scott Shortino
ReplyDeleteHistory is an important part of life because it helps us better understand people and society. History allows us to see how people in societies before us behaved, allowing us to better predict how present day societies will act. History allows us to learn better from our mistakes. For example I think it will be a lot harder for any other holocaust to take place now that the world has seen the devastation and horror caused by it.
History is important in regards to being a good citizen. History encourages types of thinking important for responsible public behavior. Studying history gives a student a national identity and loyalty to their country.
All in all studying history is important because it helps you predict how societys will behave and helps you to be a good citizen.
Jordan Tabor
ReplyDeleteThe study of history is important and valuable to your life because it aids your moral understanding. The situations and lessons from the past allow you to question if what occurred was morally correct, or morally incorrect. This practice may improve your life because it gives you practice in knowing right from wrong. People have instincts as to what to do, but by studying history we can make better moral decisions by learning from our ancestors.
History is again important because it gives us an extraordinarily better understanding of how our society came to be. History allows us to figure out why things happened the way they did. We can observe something that happened and possibly explain it with what happened previously. Studying history also gives us the resources to make these observations with. Without history we would be unable to make this observations, the ones that connect past and present.
Studying history is important in life because it contributes to moral understanding. History helps people make decisions in their life. Knowledge of history or remembering what has occurred in the past helps us make educated decisions, whether they are complicated or simple. For example when individual states were deciding to desegregate public schools people had to put aside their personal bias and consider historical data. History had shown that students in desegregated schools in other states narrowed the achievement gap on test scores compared to communities with segregated schools.
ReplyDeleteStudying history is also important because it helps you in the world of work. In these difficult economic times people need to understand why recessions occurred in the past and how they were resolved. Knowledge of previous recessions can help business owners make financial decisions so that they can stay in business through the current recession.
The study of history is important in the world of work and when faced with moral decisions.
Anna Geer
ReplyDeleteHistory is one of the most important subjects to study. A firm knowledge of the past is useful in just about any circumstance and is very useful in the workplace. Those who study history also have good research and writing skills which will come in handy in any line of work. It also gives one good analytical skills and helps one think about what will happen next. History can help us predict what will happen next and is thus the most important thing to study.
We also study history because it tells us who we are and why we act the way we do. History helps us understand how something like religion can affect groups of people. History helps us affirm our identity and tells us where we come from.
Kiaya Robinson-
ReplyDeleteThe study of history is important because it helps us understand about people's morals. Who influences about your morals? Was it your parents, friends, teachers, etc.? Those people had lived in the past. They know more about the past that they lived in than this generation knows. They influence their morals on us. Now do you agree on every moral they taught you? No I don't believe everything they taught me. Everyone has different morals. So whenvever we look back in history or study about a famous person. Those people had different morals than most people in their times did. They believed in different things, and they even fought with those morals. That's why we honor those great men and women that fought with their morals.
Another imporantance for studying history is that it helps us to understand change and how the society we live in came to be. We see changes everyday. The past causes the present, and even the future. We can study these factors that causes these changes. These helps us to understand our pasts more. And these changes causes us we have our first black president! That has never happened in the past! And I don't think it would had ever happen in the past. In our societies we can see these changes. Even if they are small changes it benefits to us. These changes were probably a huge benefit in the past. If people in the past were able to see these changes. They wouldn't believe what they were seeing now.
Studying history is important because it gives us a complete understanding of the past that will help the future succeed. It shows us how the world developed as different people interacted with each other shaping society to how it is today. It provides us with answers to how cetain ideas originated. History also helps us understand how different people came to be. By not understanding how they came to be or who they are then we would make all sorts of mistakes in our interactions with them. It's the same as how we treat people differently based on how we know them. By learning from the mistakes we've made in the past we learn to prevent them from happening again. From studying history it helps us understand the factors that are causing change around us in todays society.
ReplyDeleteWe should study history because it allows us to understand how our present came to be, through the development of our people, societies, and cultures. Often, we must look towards history in order to explain why our lives are the way they are or why a major event has occurred, because it is the past that has shaped the changes in our society that lead up to what is happening today. Through all of the events that have transpired, our families, groups, institutions, and even our country evolve to form our identity.
ReplyDeleteHistory is also essential in our daily lives. For example, studying history helps to make us better citizens by enabling us to be more knowledgeable about the world around us. Through understanding history, we can be more informed when making important decisions, such as voting in elections.
History helps us understand why people and societies behave the way they do. By knowing a societies history we can then better unterstand how they operate and why they act that way. History is the past that shows us the future. When a past event happens it can shape the society for the future.Another reason why history is important is because it provides us with our identity. By knowing your history or background you can come to learn who you are and where your from. My parents are both from Nigeria, so their culture is my culture. I connect my identity through my Nigerian origin.
ReplyDeletelate, but i'll post anyway...
ReplyDeleteStudying history is important for many reasons. For one, studying our history would help prevent us from repeating our past mistakes. History can bring us understanding about other cultures or even our own culture. By learning more about past society and how we got here today, we can learn about our own identity
Also, by studying history we can learn to make informed decisions that will affect our future. Most of us are juniors, meaning we will be able to vote in a year or two. Educating ourselves will help us make better choices in our communities, school, etc.
also late
ReplyDeletebut studying history is very important because if we dont study history we could fail to learn of the mistakes that others have made and then we are doomed to repeat the mistakes. studying history is important because it really teaches you how we got to where we are today and what happened that caused us to get into whichever war or anything bad that happened with our country like the great depression. without learning about history it would be hard to know about lots of things that help us with our daily life.
am i too late to comment
ReplyDeleteumm wow....2009 ..it was history ;)
ReplyDelete