This question was asked by historian Marc Bloch, a French Jew, in his unfinished manuscript, The Historians’ Craft. A member of the French resistance in Lyon, Bloch was captured by the Gestapo, imprisoned, tortured and murdered in 1944. His manuscript survived. Written under German occupation, the book was a heartfelt examination at a time when many felt betrayed by history.
Thankfully, today, our circumstances are a world apart, but it is a perennial question, ‘What purpose does history serve?’ and more prosaically, ‘Why do we study history at school?’
After all, historians do not perform heart transplants, improve urban infrastructure or develop highly sought-after vaccines. In a society that expects education to serve useful purposes, the functions of history can seem more difficult to define than those of engineering or medicine.
In truth, history is a discipline that has the human experience at its heart. It examines the very substance and art of living. It introduces us to bodies of knowledge and powerful ideas that shape people’s values and understandings of the world. Consider the polarising debate on face masks playing out across the US; where did this notion of individual rights come from? Or, the relationship between political ideologies and states’ responses to the pandemic crisis? The USA, Brazil, Singapore and China all offer fascinating case studies in this regard. Or the Black Lives Matter movement? Or the global climate crisis? Or even on a lighter note, the future of fashion? These are all prominent contemporary issues which can be illuminated through a study of history. More importantly, history can help us resolve them. As William Faulkner tellingly put it, ‘The past isn’t dead. It isn’t even past.’
History is fundamentally a problem-solving discipline. It helps us ask the right questions. Critical thinking lies at its core. It is not, as American historian, Arnold Toynbee facetiously put it, ‘One damn thing after another’. Teachers lead young people on a journey of discovery to uncover and reveal what drives change, weighing up evidence along the way, enabling them to arrive at their own reasoned judgements. In this way, history fosters creativity and originality, ethical decision-making, the ability to grapple with and communicate complex, multifaceted ideas, and apply cultural agility. It inspires curiosity and compassion, breadth of mind and the ability to imagine yourself in someone else’s shoes.
Yet, when girls consider, ‘What is the use of history?’ thoughts may turn to their own working futures. In an ever-changing labour market, it is prescient to think about the bundle of skills and knowledge most likely to be important in the future. Evidence shows that the knowledge and skills from humanities training – including critical thinking, research and communication skills, and understanding the impact of change on humanity – are highly valued by employers. How can we get smarter about designing our cities, combating global climate change, reducing social inequalities and responding to pandemics? Future careers as wide-ranging as engineering, public policy, medicine, and economics will all grapple with these problems. Solutions will no doubt reside in fresh new perspectives that draw on ethical, creative and cultural knowledge, all of which are embodied in history.
So, what is history’s purpose? Surely it is to stand at the heart of a diverse, tolerant, intellectually rigorous debate about our existence: our political systems, leadership, society, economy and culture. The study of history at Queenwood offers all this; helping our girls to ask the right questions, enriching their understanding of who they are and where they are going.
Ms Emma Bergin
Head of History