Morningside History Professor, Dr. Pat Bass, said “it’s worthless” when asked about the attitudes of normal people towards history. Dr. Bass’s statements are not necessarily out of line with the statistics either. The American Historical Association noted that graduating history majors are down more than a third since 2012 and at the smallest level awarded since the 1980’s, as reported by the New York Times.
Fellow Morningside History Professor, Dr. Greg Guelcher shares similar sentiments on how the public views history, “I don’t think they value history, certainly not enough,” Dr. Guelcher said. Dr. Guelcher continued, saying that history helps us understand why the world is the way it is.
Dr. Bass and Dr. Guelcher both believe that many don’t value history as they should, but they argue that history can be and provide many more things than most would suspect. Many are disillusioned by the teaching of history as names and dates rather than teaching about normal people, Dr.Bass argues.
Throughout my conversation with Dr. Bass one thing was emphasized above the rest: that people value history more than their words and actions profess. Parent involvement at school board meetings and the recent disputes of public school curricula seems to indicate this. The recent political polarization also seems to indicate this discrepancy in values. We all rely on a set of historical assumptions when choosing how to act in the world, regardless of whether we reflect on those assumptions or not.
Both professors stressed the inter-disciplinary nature of history. Dr. Guelcher argues that every discipline has a history of itself, that other forms of knowledge do not exist in a vacuum. Dr. Bass said something similar, that knowledge is inherently historical, that for us to know it must have occurred or been discovered in the past.
Everyone uses historical thinking in their day-to-day lives, Dr. Bass said. To improve one’s historical proficiency, Dr. Bass suggests seeking refinement of one’s historical method and historical mind, primarily through self-reflection. “Do you want to be a CEO? Then you need to remind your historical mind and method to beat out others,” Dr. Bass said. Anyone could also benefit from historical reflection. History major Sophia Yudka agreed with the professors, saying that history helps “understand situations and perspectives.”
Dr. Guelcher offered similar insights as to why people should study history, “knowledge is power.” Guelcher said. Business would benefit from from studying history, Dr. Guelcher argued. Continuing, Dr. Guelcher added, “you need to know your customers” and that history is a tool for this.
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