Why Study History By Jerry Bentley And Why Study World History

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Historical Thinking and Historiography Modern day students are taught to question the world that they live in. The education curriculum is no exception, including the subject of history, which is often challenged as a subject of irrelevance to the present. In the articles, “Why Study World History?” by Jerry Bentley and “Why Study History? (1998)” by Peter N. Stearns, the two authors discuss why history is studied and the benefits that come out of it. In relation to the two authors, history is studied in order to serve as a guideline for how societies and its citizens should enact.
In both articles, the authors state that history is studied in order to gain skills that will benefit its students. Stearns’ article discusses the economical benefits …show more content…

As stated from Stearns, “studying history encourages habits of mind that are vital for responsible public behavior, whether as a national or community leader, an informed voter, a petitioner, or a simple observer” (Stearns, 4). Being a better citizen requires that he or she is well informed — after all, the cornerstone of democracy is having its citizens being well informed. In addition, the study of history gives its historians the ability to become more welcoming to difference. In a world where the voice of the people is mostly listened to, it is almost an obligation to be well-informed before taking a side. My belief of history resides with George Santayana’s quote, a Spanish philosopher, which states that “those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (Santayana, 1). History has relevance in my life because it serves as a justification for my political biases. Obviously, politics affects my day-to-day life. What connection that many fail to make is that history is directly correlated to politics. This is because history is the foundation of everything that happens in politics; a well-educated historian is much more likely to choose a political candidate that is correctly aligned with his or her beliefs and values. The importance of being a well-educated voter before making a decision could not be stressed enough in the state of current politics. The current political

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