UNIT THREE

THE RELEVANCE OF HISTORY TO THE INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY

People live in the present. They plan for and worry about the future. History, however,
is the study of the past encompassing a wide range of area such as politics, economics,
society, culture, and more. Given all the demands that press in from living in the
present and anticipating what is yet to come, why bother with what has been? For this
reason, some people may argue that history is just a collection of stories about events
that happened a long time ago, and has no practical significance in our modern lives.
However, others believe that studying history is crucial for understanding the present
and shaping the future. Given all the desirable and available branches of knowledge,
why insist - as most world educational programmes do - on a good bit of history? And
why urge many students to study even more history than they are required to? In this
unit, we explore the reasons why history is still relevant today and how it can provide
valuable insights into contemporary issues.

1. In the first place, history offers a storehouse of information about how people and
societies behave. Understanding the operations of people and societies is difficult,
though a number of disciplines make the attempt. An exclusive reliance on current
data would needlessly handicap our efforts. How can we evaluate war if the nation
is at peace-unless we use historical materials? How can we understand genius, the
influence of technological innovation, or the role that beliefs play in shaping family
life, if we don't use what we know about experiences in the past? Some social
scientists attempt to formulate laws or theories about human behavior. But even
these recourses depend on historical information, except for in limited, often
artificial cases in which experiments can be devised to determine how people act.
Major aspects of a society's operation, like mass elections, missionary activities, or
military alliances, cannot be set up as precise experiments. Consequently, history
must serve, however imperfectly, as our laboratory, and data from the past must
serve as our most vital evidence in the unavoidable quest to figure out why our
complex species behaves as it does in societal settings. This, fundamentally, is why
we cannot stay away from history: it offers the only extensive evidential base for the
contemplation and analysis of how societies function, and people need to have some
sense of how societies function simply to run their own lives.
2. The second reason history is inescapable as a subject of serious study follows closely
on the first. The past causes the present, and so the future. Any time we try to know
why something happened-whether a shift in political party dominance in the
American Congress, a major change in the teenage suicide rate, or a war in the
Balkans or the Middle East-we have to look for factors that took shape earlier.
Sometimes fairly recent history will suffice to explain a major development, but
often we need to look further back to identify the causes of change. Only through
studying history can we grasp how things change; only through history can we
begin to comprehend the factors that cause change; and only through history can we
understand what elements of an institution or a society persist despite change.

3. History is an essential part of human existence, providing a window into the past
that enables us to better understand ourselves, our societies, and our world. It’s a
fundamental part of human experience, providing us with the knowledge, insight,
and perspective necessary to navigate the complexities of our world, and to build a
better future for ourselves and for generations to come. Whether we are studying the
precolonial history of Africa, the colonial period, or the modern era, the study of
history provides us with a crucial tool for understanding the world around us and
for making informed decisions about our lives and our societies. As individuals, we
rely on history to make sense of the present, drawing on the lessons and experiences
of previous generations to navigate the challenges and opportunities of our own
time. By studying the past, we can gain a deeper appreciation of the social, cultural,
and political forces that have shaped our world, as well as the complex interplay
between human agency and structural factors in driving historical change.

4. At a societal level, history plays a critical role in shaping our collective identity,
informing our values and beliefs, and providing a basis for shared cultural and
political norms. Through the study of history, we can gain a better understanding of
the struggles and triumphs of our ancestors, as well as the historical legacies that
continue to shape our societies today. By examining the complex interactions
between individuals, communities, and institutions over time, we can gain insight
into the underlying social, economic, and political structures that shape our world,
and identify opportunities for positive change.
5. History also plays a critical role in nation-building. According to W.H Walsh, the
major function of history in nation-building is to make people aware of the character
of their own time by seeing it in compassion and contrast with another. In other
words, it is our understanding of the past events that gives us a view of the
processes that have helped to bring us to the present. Thus for nation-building and
development to be realized the collective spirit of the people must be well nurtured
lest they move blindly into the future without precedence to shape the future.

6. According to H.E Carr, history is one of the most effective means of promoting a
popular sense of national identity. Knowledge of our past is said to ground us to our
ethnic, cultural, national & religious identity. A deeper more meaningful glimpse
into our ancestral past & how we got where we are today is essential in defining
who we are. For example the writing of national histories offered the Italians & the
Germans one of the most effective means of sustaining a popular sense of natural
identity during the unification.

7. A study of history is essential for good citizenship. This is the most common
justification for the place of history in school curricula. Sometimes advocates of
citizenship history hope merely to promote national identity and loyalty through a
history spiced by vivid stories and lessons in individual success and morality. But
the importance of history for citizenship goes beyond this narrow goal and can even
challenge it at some points. History that lays the foundation for genuine citizenship
returns, in one sense, to the essential uses of the study of the past. History provides
data about the emergence of national institutions, problems, and values-it's the only
significant storehouse of such data available. It offers evidence also about how
nations have interacted with other societies, providing international and
comparative perspectives essential for responsible citizenship. Further, studying
history helps us understand how recent, current, and prospective changes that affect
the lives of citizens are emerging or may emerge and what causes are involved.
More important, studying history encourages habits of mind that are vital for
responsible public behavior, whether as a national or community leader, an
informed voter, a petitioner, or a simple observer.
8. Change is inevitable part of human existence. History thus helps us understand
Change and How the Society We Live in came to be. Stories well done are stories
that reveal how people and societies have actually functioned, and they prompt
thoughts about the human experience in other times and places. The same aesthetic
and humanistic goals inspire people to immerse themselves in efforts to reconstruct
quite remote pasts, far removed from immediate, present-day utility. Exploring
what historians sometimes call the "pastness of the past"-the ways people in distant
ages constructed their lives-involves a sense of beauty and excitement, and
ultimately another perspective on human life and society. By examining the nature
& sequence of events & the factors/forces/causes behind them we are able to
understand the nature of change and the related historical processes. According to
H.E Carr, humanity has turned & still turns to history for lessons on how to act in
situations that have occurred before. W.H. Walsh is in agreement with Carr that it is
our understanding of the past events that gives us a view of the processes that have
brought about the past and present. Through history therefore man is able to
analyze the identity of the people, continuity and changes that have taken place over
time, hence identifying cause and effect relationship between the present and the
past.

9. Niccolo Machiavelli once observed that whoever wishes to foresee the future must
consult the past, for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. Ogot.
(2005:42) states that; ”t is better to have & understand the long sprawling history
behind issues we are fighting for or against, that we expect to have a leg up against
such un wanted & unbecoming conditions.” The central thesis of Machiavelli, Ogot
& other scholars is that historical perspectives are important in understanding &
solving problems of the present. After all, everything that happens is preceded by
similar events of some sort.

10. Learning history means gaining some skill in sorting through diverse, often
conflicting interpretations. Understanding how societies work-the central goal of
historical study—is inherently imprecise, and the same certainly holds true for
 understanding what is going on in the present day. Learning how to identify and
evaluate conflicting interpretations is an essential citizenship skill for which history,
as an often-contested laboratory of human experience, provides training. This is one
area in which the full benefits of historical study sometimes clash with the narrower
uses of the past to construct identity. Experience in examining past situations
provides a constructively critical sense that can be applied to partisan claims about
the glories of national or group identity. The study of history in no sense
undermines loyalty or commitment, but it does teach the need for assessing
arguments, and it provides opportunities to engage in debate and achieve
perspective. In this way, History & its study improve basic writing & speaking skills
& are directly relevant for many of the analytical requirements in the public &
private sectors where the capacity to identify, assess & explain trends is essential.
This is the case mostly with interpretive history where historians source through
texts for details of’ who’, ’when’, ’where’, &’what’, as evidence & as representation
of reality.

11. History is not a mere emotional attachment to our past. It is a rational assessment of
the values & material circumstances of a given times, values such as loyalty,
democracy, honesty, integrity & morality may be passed on to individuals by family
or religious organizations. History on its part provides real historical circumstances
that depict historical personalities who successfully navigate through moral
dilemmas, thus providing inspiration regarding the pertinence of values to the
progress of humanity to the future generations. In this way, History also provides a
terrain for moral contemplation. Studying the stories of individuals and situations in
the past allows a student of history to test his or her own moral sense, to hone it
against some of the real complexities individuals have faced in difficult settings.
People who have weathered adversity not just in some work of fiction, but in real,
historical circumstances can provide inspiration. "History teaching by example" is
one phrase that describes this use of a study of the past—a study not only of
certifiable heroes, the great men and women of history who successfully worked
through moral dilemmas, but also of more ordinary people who provide lessons in
courage, diligence, or constructive protest.
12. Warren, J. argues that all human groups appear to be interested in their own past. In
the same vein, many social scientists believe that knowledge of social-cultural origin
is fundamental for the development of individual social identity. History helps in
the revelation of facts about genealogy & a basis for understanding how the family
has interacted with the wider perspectives of historical change. People are intrigued
to know where they came from, what blood runs in their veins. Knowing the history
of one’s family is some people in finding a sense of identity. In this sense History
provides identity, and this is unquestionably one of the reasons all modern nations
encourage its teaching in some form. Historical data include evidence about how
families, groups, institutions and whole countries were formed and about how they
have evolved while retaining cohesion. For many Africans, studying the history of
one's own family is the most obvious use of history, for it provides facts about
genealogy and (at a slightly more complex level) a basis for understanding how the
family has interacted with larger historical change. Family identity is established
and confirmed. Many institutions, businesses, communities, and social units, such as
ethnic groups in Africa, use history for similar identity purposes. Merely defining
the group in the present pales against the possibility of forming an identity based on
a rich past. And of course nations use identity history as well-and sometimes abuse
it. Histories that tell the national story, emphasizing distinctive features of the
national experience, are meant to drive home an understanding of national values
and a commitment to national loyalty.

13. History is in fact very useful, actually indispensable, but the products of historical
study are less tangible, sometimes less immediate, than those that stem from some
other disciplines. For a fact, F. Babatunde, avers that there is a clear link between
development & history. For any nation to develop, he argues, the collective spirit of
the people must be well nurtured and propagated. He strongly believes that the
collective spirit can be developed through history. In his own words; ”A people with
no knowledge of the past would suffer from collective amnesia, groping blindly onto
the future without a guide post of precedence to shape their course. P. Strean,
1998).is in agreement…’’ often we need to look further back to identity the causes of
change. Greg, D. (2000) argues that,…shake the living from their moral lethargy to
change things in the present that are consequences of the past.
14. In a society that quite correctly expects education to serve useful purposes, the
functions of history can seem more difficult to define than those of engineering or
medicine. Never the less, History should be studied because it is essential to
individuals and to society, and because it harbors beauty. There are many ways to
discuss the real functions of the subject-as there are many different historical talents
and many different paths to historical meaning. According to J.H. Bently, (2005),
history has some larger social /public benefits in preparing people (students) for
responsible citizenship in the contemporary world. This is consistent with the view
of Hunt (2000), that, “if students are to mature into citizens, they need to know their
past. “It is said the study of history encourages habits of mind that are vital for
responsible public behavior, whether as a national/community leader, an informed
voter a petitioner, or a simple observer.

15. Historians do not perform heart transplants, improve highway design, or arrest
criminals. But, according to Karl Marx, history is an essential tool in understanding
human relations .He developed the concept of dialectical materialism (also known as
historical materialism) whose central notion is that humans are social animals,
forming societies and maintaining relations with other men. The key motivation in
this relationship between men was the material requirement of Man: clothing, food,
shelter. Social organization provided for these needs and thus shaped human
society. As material factors changed, so history seemed to move on through different
stages, each one distinguished by the conditions of material life.

16. In the past history has been justified for reasons we would no longer accept. For
instance, one of the reasons history holds its place in current education is because
earlier leaders believed that a knowledge of certain historical facts helped
distinguish the educated from the uneducated; the person who could reel off the
date of the Norman conquest of England (1066) or the name of the person who came
up with the theory of evolution at about the same time that Darwin did (Wallace)
was deemed superior - a better candidate for law school or even a business
promotion. Knowledge of historical facts has been used as a screening device in
many societies, from China to the United States, and the habit is still with us to some
 extent. Unfortunately, this use can encourage mindless memorization - a real but not
very appealing aspect of the discipline.

17. History is useful for work. Its study helps create good businesspeople, professionals,
and political leaders. The number of explicit professional jobs for historians is
considerable, but most people who study history do not become professional
historians. Professional historians teach at various levels, work in museums and
media centers, do historical research for businesses or public agencies, or participate
in the growing number of historical consultancies. These categories are
importantindeed vital-to keep the basic enterprise of history going, but most people
who study history use their training for broader professional purposes. Students of
history find their experience directly relevant to jobs in a variety of careers as well as
to further study in fields like law and public administration. Employers often
deliberately seek students with the kinds of capacities historical study promotes. The
reasons are not hard to identify: students of history acquire, by studying different
phases of the past and different societies in the past, a broad perspective that gives
them the range and flexibility required in many work situations. They develop
research skills, the ability to find and evaluate sources of information, and the means
to identify and evaluate diverse interpretations. Work in history also improves basic
writing and speaking skills and is directly relevant to many of the analytical
requirements in the public and private sectors, where the capacity to identify, assess,
and explain trends is essential. Historical study is unquestionably an asset for a
variety of work and professional situations, even though it does not, for most
students, lead as directly to a particular job slot, as do some technical fields. But
history particularly prepares students for the long haul in their careers, its qualities
helping adaptation and advancement beyond.

18. The study of history builds experience in dealing with and assessing various kinds
of evidence—the sorts of evidence historians use in shaping the most accurate
pictures of the past that they can. Learning how to interpret the statements of past
political leaders—one kind of evidence—helps form the capacity to distinguish
between the objective and the self-serving among statements made by present-day
political leaders. Learning how to combine different kinds of evidence-public
 statements, private records, numerical data, visual materials—develops the ability to
make coherent arguments based on a variety of data. This skill can also be applied to
information encountered in everyday life.

19. Experience in assessing past examples of change is vital to understanding change in

society today-it's an essential skill in what we are regularly told is our "ever-
changing world." Analysis of change means developing some capacity for
determining the magnitude and significance of change, for some changes are more
fundamental than others. Comparing particular changes to relevant examples from
the past helps students of history develop this capacity. The ability to identify the
continuities that always accompany even the most dramatic changes also comes
from studying history, as does the skill to determine probable causes of change.
Learning history helps one figure out, for example, if one main factor-such as a
technological innovation or some deliberate new policy—accounts for a change or
whether, as is more commonly the case, a number of factors combine to generate the
actual change that occurs. Historical study, in sum, is crucial to the promotion of
that elusive creature, the well-informed citizen. It provides basic factual information
about the background of our political institutions and about the values and
problems that affect our social well-being. It also contributes to our capacity to use
evidence, assess interpretations, and analyze change and continuities. No one can
ever quite deal with the present as the historian deals with the past-we lack the
perspective for this feat; but we can move in this direction by applying historical
habits of mind, and we will function as better citizens in the process.

In conclusion, the answer to the question why study history is because we virtually
must, to gain access to the laboratory of human experience. When we study it
reasonably well, and so acquire some usable habits of mind, as well as some basic data
about the forces that affect our own lives, we emerge with relevant skills and an
enhanced capacity for informed citizenship, critical thinking, and simple awareness. The
uses of history are varied. Studying history can help us develop some literally "salable"
skills, but its study must not be pinned down to the narrowest utilitarianism. Some
history-that confined to personal recollections about changes and continuities in the
immediate. Of course by this were not denying that in our society many people worry
about relevance of history. In our changing economy, there is concern about job futures
not only for those who study but in most fields. What is undisputable is that Historical
training applies directly to many careers and can clearly help us in our working lives