Why Study History…

Anupama Srivastava
www.udgamschool.com
 Events that happen in the PRESENT
(or NOW) are “Current Events.”

Once the event is over, it becomes

HISTORY.

 HISTORY is a record of what has

happened in our past.
 It doesn’t help build schools,
fight fires, perform operations,
help sell merchandise, or launch
a space shuttle.
 in order to ensure that great deeds are not
forgotten
 in order to understand the present and prepare
for the future
 in order to provide a moral lesson
 in order to encourage civic participation and
citizenship
 in order to prevent prejudice
 in order to appreciate arts and literature
 in order to foster personal growth - study
history because everything you learn makes
you smarter!
 to understand people, how they act and
why they acted.
 To develop a sense of belonging to our
country. We are proud of our motherland
 So you do not sound like an idiot because
you do not know who Mahatma Gandhi is
 history is the only thing that is real
You cannot understand people if you do not
understand their past
You cannot understand our community if you
do not know how it came to be
You cannot understand our nation without
history
You cannot understand our world if you do
not understand history
 Studying history gives people a sense of
nationalism
 It gives groups such as ethnic,
organization, even schools a sense of
identity
 It gives family and personal identity as
well
 People make up society and it is very hard to
test how that kind of group behaves when it is
made up of 4 billion people
 History acts as a “social laboratory”, one of the
few way we can help predict the future
behavior of such a large group
 It provides national identity
 Provides examples of success, morality and of
course the examples of the opposite
 Helps us understand current world affairs and
conflicts by understanding the root of the
problems
 Provides support for making decisions and
encourages, “responsible public behavior,
whether as a national or community leader, an
informed voter, a petitioner, or a simple
observer. ”
 Jobs of the Historian:
 Historians have at least four different jobs
 Each of these jobs is important to
understand the past so we are able to
understand ourselves, our society and our
world
 Investigates the past
 Determines what happened
 Separates truth from falsehoods or
misinterpretations
 Separates out bias in historical writing to find
the truth (or as close as possible)
• Tells the story of history to others
• Imparts lessons, morals, and other learning of
history
• Entertains and fascinates with the epic story of
our history
 Judges history and makes moral decisions.
Example: was someone evil or just
misunderstood?
 Ever heard the saying, “We will see how
history judges me?”
 Sorts what should be emulated and what
should be discarded
 Is a reflector and may also be speculating on
what was right or wrong
 Ponders important questions and attempts to
pull out meaning from history
 Not only speculates on the lessons of the past
but also may attempt to predict the future
Museum/gallery Archivist Teacher
worker Journalist/reporter

TV/media Tourist
Librarian industry Lawyer/
barrister

Archaeologist
Banking Politician Historian
 Are you willing to put on the four hats of
historian and attempt to understand the
past…in order to ensure a brighter future for
yourself, for your family, for your community,
for your nation, and for your world?
List four reasons why you would like
to study history.