Why I Study History
When I was younger, I believed that I wanted to be a detective like Nancy Drew. As I got older, I realized that what I wanted to really do was get to the truth and tell that truth so that others could understand, listen, and learn it. History is important then because historians get to tell the voices and stories of the past when those who originally took part in it have long gone.
I don’t necessarily have a particular focus in history yet, but I particularly enjoy studying Medieval European history, especially the British and Celtic Isles, and subaltern studies. To me, subaltern studies are the study of those voices that were suppressed throughout history. As history is often written by the victors, subaltern studies usually encompasses those who aren’t powerful, rich, cis-gendered, heterosexual, monogamous, male, and oftentimes white. Studying these people’s narratives is extremely important to me because I want to help everyone understand one another as best as possible as to reduce the amount of ignorance in the world. Ignorance leads to fear, which leads to irrational hatred and bigotry.
In order to make a world a better place, I believe the first step is knowing the entirety of the past (or as much as possible) to be able to have a full understanding of who we as people are and where we come from. In knowing this, we can make steps towards a more healthful and caring future.
Annaise,
“History is important because historians get to tell the voices and stories of the past when those who originally took part in it have long gone.” Great observation on the importance of history. Bringing, once silent, voices to life is an excellent reason to study history.
I also like your interest in subaltern studies. When I was in graduate school, I did some reading into the origins of subaltern studies and scholarship on India.