Why history?

This is probably one of those questions that I just love to hate being asked.  Whether its from reading a post online about degrees people got that have not helped them or being people personally asked why you chose to study it, it seems like a reoccurring question in some ways.  Is history looked down on compared to other more practical field such as science, math, engineering, or programing?  Are there better options to choose?  Well, I think all of us can agree what our answer to that question would be.  However, I would like to add one little note to that.  I think it just might not have that immediate affect on people and is more appreciated after the fact sometimes. 

 

I had a teacher in undergrad who in in his intro class said how he just hated that line about if you do not study history you are doomed to repeat it.  For the sake of simplicity his argument was that the circumstances that existed 20, 50, or 100 years from now don't exist in the same way today.  I may agree with his statement, but the main point I trying to get at is what would your argument be if you couldn't just repeat that line of doom?

 

This is where I kind of began to love to hate that question of why history.  It could really put you on the spot trying to explain history's importance.  Do you try to explain why you chose history through personal reasons, or try to explain how history gives offers some context to what we are doing daily.  My one friend who always asked this question, who was very very determined, always looked at it from a lifestyle choice.  They did in fact always end by answering their own question like this, "a teacher?".

 

In this class we have discussed a lot about what our books and guest speakers have said about public history, and given responses to the role a public historian has in the community.  How have you responded to a question of the relevance of history and why you chose it? Teaching 8th graders is not an option to pick from.  With an expanded understanding of at least the public history side of history, how would your response change now after a semester or more?