Commentary: Why history matters 28 Articles

by Courtney Caswell-Peyton

Everyone has a history. That history is both individual and collective, and carries a certain value for each individual. Opinions as to the importance of this history are often expressed to others either by the words we s...read more

by Casey Clay

As an historian my first instinct is to answer, "How does history not matter?" I'm sure that many will answer with the clich: "so as to not repeat the past." However, I think that the issue is much more complex than this...read more

by James Mockridge.

History will always matter because without the knowledge and understanding of previous events we would be unable to progress as a species. History is there in fact and myth in order than we understand how previous manki...read more

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by Carey Henderson

You'll never catch me at a RenFest. I don't mingle with high society, literati, historians or college professors. I look, more or less, like I should be on stage with a guitar in my hands. In point of fact I do, at times, ...read more

by Stephanie Joynes

One night while I was watching the news, my history-loving husband wanted to change the channel to something a bit more lighthearted. The news was focused on Iraq War and the most recent developments. Surrounding us were h...read more

by John Graham

Family History "If you don't know where you've come from, you don't know where you're going." When something is over and done with, why not just say, "Well that was that, let's get on with something new. We're intell...read more

by Erin St John

Too often, the response to the ever-popular "Why do we have to study history?" complaint is an equally cliche reply: "So that we don't repeat our mistakes." It is indeed easy to fall into that trap. After all, Hitler di...read more

by Justin West

Why History? The study of history is vital for the survival and advancement of our civilization. The main reason for this is that if past mistakes are known then hopefully the same mistakes can be better dealt with or o...read more

by Bob Younce

Why does history matter? Why is it important for people to learn about the past? What benefit, if any, does history provide to modern life? Why should we study history? Why DOES history matter? History matters, firs...read more

by Barry Williams

Thomas Brown never gave much thought to History. It never occurred to him that he was to be part of History when he was alive. Thomas Brown died at the age of twenty five. Oddly enough he was hit by a car when crossing the...read more

by Carol Noble

Have you never wanted to discover some aspect of history that your teacher doesn't know? Have you looked into not only your own family history but also your street's,your community's, your town's, your county's? Last y...read more

by Sandra Hall

Throughout history, each region and each race has considered itself "The People" or "The Humans". An idea that makes sense when you consider the limited amount of knowledge many races had of each other centuries ...read more

by Deborah Harquail

History Matters, But it Does Not Always Tell the Truth I quote Winston Churchill, "History will be kind to us, because we are going to write it". This comment proves depending on which body of power governs in the land ...read more

by arbian

We are the Product of history The past is not dead, it is the mold of what we are now, as our actions now mold the future. They say a butterfly wing may flutter somewhere and alter the weather world wide. So it is wi...read more

by Andrew Miller

According to Marcus Tullius Cicero, one of the most celebrated orators in Western history, "Not to know what has been transacted in former times is to be always a child. If no use is made of the labors of past ages, the w...read more

by Nick Baldock

As has already (and frequently) been noted, a popular answer to the question 'why study History?' is 'to learn from the mistakes of the past.' This is a dumb answer to say the least, because - time being linear - hist...read more

by Charles Mitri

The question hung suspended like so much humidity on a dog day August afternoon. "Why do I have to learn this?" the student asked, knowing he'd probably get a non-commital answer. Sure enough that's what he got. "Its a ...read more

by Candace Clayton

Everyone has a passion for something. Mine happens to be History. Why, you ask. Look around you. Everywhere you go, someone else has been there first. Picture it. That bit of ground you are about to step on, has be...read more

by Adam Jones

The past can often be seemingly irrelevant. Studying it implies the accumulation of historical knowledge for the individual and there are many who will be prepared to devote much time to the study of history. Historians co...read more

by Excalibur Snape

I think that if we do not understand the past that we are doomed to repeat it. There are somethings that wouldn't be to bad to repeat but then there are other things that we barely lived through the first time around. And...read more