• Home
• Articles
• Essays
• Add site

What are the Uses of History

What are the Uses of History


History, as a discipline, includes various aspects such as political, social, and economic history and various theories of history - Marxist and non Marxist. History has also borrowed from themes and methodology of study from other social sciences.


Uses of history

Among the divergent schools of historians, some believe that history should be studied for its own sake, and, therefore there is no need for any justification for the study of history. Some other historians believe that history has a few lessons to offer. History study has showed that human beings have faced several difficulties while achieving their goals. In the process, man has challenged the opposition not only of human beings but also of divine authority. Historians have attempted to explain past in the light of the developments and questions that have emerged in the modern era. A study of history can help the individuals to understand the present and predict the future happenings.(Tosh, 28) This can help the student of history to prepare for the future events. Although, some people have denied the uses of history, many agree that there are a few uses of history, which makes the study of history worthwhile. Some historians believe in metahistory, which assumes history as a long term development.(Tosh, 29) This implies that history should be perceived from a long term perspective. A few scholars have taken the extreme step of refusing to accept that history can offer lessons. People who believe in modernity do not accept the argument that there is any need to study the past since one need to bother only about modern development. In spite of such beliefs exhibited by a few scholars, historians assert that there are few uses of history. (Tosh, 30)

Despite the influence of modernity, many people, as against the argument of revolutionaries, believe that the present and future progress should depend on the achievements of the past. In order to understand the real worth of history, one needs to avoid extremes found in metahistory and rejection of history. (Tosh, 31) History can provide alternatives by studying the culture of alien previous generations. At the same time history provides information pertaining to known facts. The study of history can remove some misconceptions such as the origin of nuclear family. It has been showed that nuclear family emerged much before the beginning of English industrial revolution. (Tosh, 33) This implies that is not possible to remain free of the control of history. History study has a therapeutic value as it helps the people to share their pains so that they can reduce their psychological burden. (Tosh, 35)

By the study of history, it is possible to understand behavior by placing them in proper historical context. This shows that history has a few practical applications. The study of history shows, contrary to popular perception, that history may not repeat itself. This is because individuals, including politicians, tend to learn from their past mistakes. Politicians have been reading biographical works in order to find a practical guide while taking important decisions concerning public affairs. (Tosh, 38) Based on the study of history, one can make sequential, although not very accurate, predictions. A prediction can be made on the basis of the study of historical process, by connecting past with the present. (Tosh, 40) Another important use of history is that it can challenge various assumptions. For example, the belief that nations have been unchanging can be questioned. There has been changing definition and application of the concept of race. (Tosh, 42-43) A few historians, in the name of objective history, have refused to accept the relevance of history. Despite this, many historians agree that history has social relevance and that it could appeal to the people since history deals with modern problems and developments. (Tosh, 49) The study of contemporary history should be encouraged because this discipline is relevant to modern society. (Tosh, 50) Based on these details, one can suggest that there are various uses of history.


Dominant themes of historical writing

Apart from political history, the dominant themes of history include economic history, social history, history of labor, history of women, and history of social structure. During the early years of historical study, importance was given to political history including rise and fall of empires, major political events, and so on. The main reason for the domination of political history over other themes is that history was closely monitored by ruling class or the state. Along with political history, there has been emergence of many other themes in history. During the days of enlightenment, historians such as Voltaire and Gibbon have discussed cultural aspects of the society. (Tosh, 117) Political history has been used for different purposes – as a nationalist propaganda, to study the origin of European nation-states, and so on. This shows that there are different definitions and meanings of political history. (Tosh, 118) Biography, a part of political history, which studies the lives of major statesmen, has been criticized as many biographies presented distorted facts or exhibited bias. There are only a few biographical works, which were written by serious scholars who studied all the documents and placed the person in proper historical context. (Tosh, 120) At the same time, it is important to study biography in order to understand the motives and aims of an important personality who affected the course of history. (Tosh, 121) The traditional approach to political history has been challenged by a few scholars who have presented a new method of studying political history. They have studied the people and state structures. (Tosh, 123) It is not prudent to give too much importance to political history since it ignores economic and social background of principal political decisions.

Whereas in the 19th century elite individuals were the center of historical works, in the 20th century, attention of historians has shifted away from the elite to the masses. This trend is represented in the development of economic and social history. (Tosh, 125) Various economic developments such as Great Depression and world wars compelled the historians to broaden the scope of history. (Tosh, 126) This trend can be seen in the Annales school, which was established by the French historians. The aim of this school was to learn from other disciplines and use them for the progress of the history discipline. The members of this school decided to use relevant knowledge found in other disciplines such as economics, sociology, social psychology, and geography. (Tosh, 127)

Economic developments associated with industrial revolution were studied in the form of economic history. (Tosh, 127) Business history and history of macro economy are important outcomes of the study of economic history. (Tosh, 128) Historians have also emphasized the study of social history. In social history, the scholars have studied various aspects such as history of social problems and history of everyday life. (Tosh, 131) Historians have also studied history of labor, which has been considered as ‘history from below. Women problems and issues such as their identity and status have been discussed by historians. (Tosh, 134) An important branch of social history is the study of social structure. Historians such as Braudel have realized the importance of writing 'total history'. (Tosh, 139) These details indicate that historians have written on various themes of history.


Theories of history

Although conservative historians did not believe in using theory while writing history, modern historians believe in using theory in order to find a direction for historical research. While some scholars have understood the fact that it is important to use theory based on the theories used in other social sciences, other scholars have opposed the use of Marxist and feminist theories to analyze history. The evidence shows that Marxist and feminist theories provide useful perspective to analyze history. (Tosh)


Historians have used various theories such as cultural theory, literary theory, and social theory. The influence of social theory is proved by the use of Marxist theory by large numbers of historians. Social theory has become important due to the need to maintain link between various human experiences. By the use of social theory, it is possible to explain historical change.(Tosh, 216) There are theories which explain the directions of historical change. (Tosh, 217) The main aim of social theory is to achieve generalization based on specific studies of history. (Tosh, 217) Although a few historians have opposed the attempt to theorize history, one cannot stop using theories in history. (Tosh, 219) Based on critical study of social theories, historians need to select only those theories that are relevant to the study of history. (Tosh, 225) The Marxist theory of history is useful to analyze history because Marx was able to generalize historical events. This generalization can be seen in the Marxist periodization of history into ancient, feudl, and capitalist. (Tosh) The Marxist concept of class conflict can be used to explain social change, which is an important concern of many historians. Marx has been able to explain the relationship between human beings in a society. (Tosh, 235) Based on these details one can suggest that social theory is useful to explain historical phenomena and changes.
Another important group of theories that are being used by historians are theories of meaning, which help the historians to analyze the mental process of an individual or a group in the society. By using these theories, attempt has been made to study mentalities and emotions of people who lived in the past. For this, historians have used the service of anthropologists, psychologists, and cultural historians. By using theories of meaning, historians have studied history of ideas, history of human culture and complex meaning found in various cultures. (Tosh, 284) Psychology, textual theory, and cultural anthropology have contributed to the historians’ understanding of meanings. (Tosh, 285) One representation of theories of meaning is the intellectual history or the history of ideas which encompassed economic thought, political, and social thought, theology, and scientific thought. The historians who have used theories of meaning have studied mentality of great men, ordinary individuals, and have used psychoanalytical theories.

Gender theories have been used to analyze the mentality of the people belonging to different genders. (Tosh, 301) Annales school has also contributed to the study of history of meanings. This trend has resulted in the emergence of the study of cultural history. (Tosh) Although there are few problems with the study of cultural history, one cannot ignore the importance of the study of cultural history.(Tosh, 305)

To conclude, there are various uses of history. For example, history has practical and social relevance. Dominant themes in historical writing are political history, social history, economic history, history of women and labor and so on. Historians have used various theories such as social theory and theories of meaning while analyzing historical events.

9607

Posted by: Julia Vann

Best Custom Writing Sites

Sites that provide custom writing services are better alternative to downloading pre-written paper samples, especially if you temporarily can't handle writing your own paper for some reason, and can not afford risking your course and reputation for plagiarism detection failure. The prices for custom written essays are affordable, but if you need 15-pages long master level report overnight, you better prepare to spend a noticeable sum.