Why Study History?

            The objective of most higher-level education in general, and specifically of liberal education, is often misunderstood. It is not necessarily in direct preparation for a particular skill or for employment, but instead has a more indirect aim of instilling knowledge, frames of reference and the ability to think and express oneself. History is particularly rich in the opportunity it offers for learning how to think, due to the challenges inherent in its subject matter and to the strong tradition among historians of cultivating the general powers of intellect. The techniques of historical study and thinking, exacting as they are, nonetheless have a high "carry-over- value for other subjects and activities. As such, one cannot help but appreciate the historian's unique plight, and subsequently to see the value in his work as applied equally to all our lives, as human beings. .
             To begin with, we must understand and accept that "History is constructed reality" (Burnstyn, 19870), given the simple fact that neither the historian nor the scholar has direct, first-hand knowledge of the events he is studying. As such, we are compelled to refer to documents, statements, or other evidence that pre-dates us and that we assume represents the past, giving us some insight as to what took place. The trouble is that no single artifact is entirely representative of a time or place. Rather, it is the result of, and is equally subject to, individual interpretations at one particular instance in time. The evidence then, cannot intrinsically or independently reflect any given event or its context. It requires the discerning, well-versed historian to give it "meaning" by attempting to deduce the circumstances under which the artifact came to be, and what the particular piece really does represent. In attempting to do this, the historian endeavors to reconstruct reality by factoring in various principles and other sources of information, resulting in a cohesive sum wholly different from any of its parts.