Why History Matters

When the journalist and broadcaster Clive Myrie joined us this week to discuss the value of history, he emphasised its importance for understanding the major stories of today. As Myrie explained, ‘I think it’s vital that we understand the context of big issues and big problems...and that means looking at the past.’

History matters. It matters within public life. It matters within personal life.  And it matters in all the spaces in between. History helps us to understand our world today and to know that things were not always thus. History can strengthen understanding within complex and diverse contemporary societies. History helps us to plan our future. 

It matters that students and communities across the UK have access to historical training. It matters that historians work with archivists and librarians to uncover past lives and explain past events. It matters that universities nurture and support the original research that underpins the wider popularity of history in society. 

There have been many important interventions about the current state of university history and the arts and humanities more widely. The most recent include:

• Statement on the Value of Renaissance and Premodern Studies
• British Academy Manifesto for the Social Sciences, Humanities and the Arts
• History at Goldsmiths, University of London: a statement from the Royal Historical Society

The IHR and School of Advanced Studies would like to invite you to a Humanities Summit on Wednesday 26 June in the Wolfson Suite. This will bring together colleagues from universities across the UK to engage in critical discussions surrounding the challenges and opportunities facing the arts and humanities. If you are able to attend please register via the SAS website: https://www.sas.ac.uk/events/humanities-summit
 

Claire Langhamer, IHR Director