Why do we study History and Social Science anyway?

History is simply a list of boring facts about crusty old cultures, insignificant dates and dead people who don't effect our lives? It is the most dull topic in the universe that has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on what we do on a daily basis? Right?

Well, no. Not exactly...

While it is true that the study of History is very much a study of facts, dates and events, it is far more than that. Studying history is the act of educating ourselves where we came from, why cultures and individuals did what they did, leads to actively learning from the mistakes made by others in the past.

When you were very young, you learned to tell time. You became aware of your place in the cycle of the day or the week, and the elements of activities surrounding time. You were most likely entertained by hearing stories about your family, and how they got to be in the town where you currently live. Perhaps you met other people from other parts of the world and were introduced to their culture.

Congratulations. You were learning history.

As you are getting older, this learning expands past the front door of your house. Next, you begin to about geography, physical spaces and places in the world, human acts that alter the course of culture and of the environment. You are introduced to the concepts of economics, why some countries seem to succeed with very little, and others flounder in the world marketplace even though they have plenty of resources. You learn about authority, power, and the consequences of the misuse of those concepts. And above all, by looking back through time, you get to see how you can be a good citizen by learning from those past events, and you can apply these lessons to the way you shape your future.

History seems a bit more significant now, doesn't it?

Using the Table of Contents on the side, feel free to navigate through time and through space, through countries and events, through concepts and individual lives. Cross reference what was going on in different cultures in the same time periods. Wonder where civilizations vanished to. Ponder what would have been different in this world had there not been such devistation in the first half of the 20th century in the form of the two world wars. You may realize that those boring old dead people are trying to tell you something. Listen, and you will learn.