July 15th, 7pm
For Riley. Oh, and my students should read this for a little Historiography. Yeah, how many other subjects have a whole subject dedicated to studying the study of that subject? ...if that made any sense.
The importance of the study of History is often wrongly underestimated in both wizarding and muggle communities, despite there being many reasons why the study of History is of fundamental importance to both societies. Many of the reasons against studying History are, indeed, falsehoods and misinterpretations. However, the main factor in why we should study History is clearly its power and resonance in society.
History has, and always will have, a significant amount of power and responsibility attached to it. History, by its very nature of being an interpretation of the past, is a very powerful weapon, one which we must study and understand if we are to prevent it being used in the wrong fashion by those determined to use it to their own end. Opinion and interpretation, not solid fact, are the cornerstones of History, which means it is very open to this sort of manipulation by political groups and figures, especially in times of conflict. In fact, to a large extent, some conflicts have had the interpretations of history at their core. Throughout History, this has been proved. Take, for example, the Muggle conflict in Northern Ireland, which is based in several principles, yes; of religion, of class distinction, of discrimination, of economics, but the most important factor in this conflict would seem to be the History of the conflict itself. Orange Order marchers still commemorate the Battle of the Boyne, which happened over 400 years ago, as do Northern Irish Catholics, if for entirely different reasons. The fact that this conflict is based in events that happened in the 16th century shows the importance of History in this conflict, how its interpretations can be very important in people’s lives, and will go on to prove why it must be studied. As I have said before, History is a powerful weapon, in well-equipped hands, and only similarly well-equipped hands can disarm it. To use a literary example, in George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, it is only Muriel, the goat that is representative of the intelligentsia who can use her knowledge of History to realise that the Commandments of the farm have been changed. It is only Muriel who is in a viable position to check the power of the pigs, with her knowledge of this. It is often said that the victors write history, and it is summarily true. This does not mean the study of History is worthless, or it has an inherent bias, by any means. In fact, that is only the recording of History. The study of History is an entirely different matter, as you are in a position to assess the bias of what is written and come to your own conclusions.
This brings me to one of the most important misinterpretations of the study of History; that it is all about what happened in the past. At a basic level, yes it is about what happened, but a serious study of history is more about why something happened, and what resulted from it happening, not about what did happen in the end. This is one of the best and most viable reasons for studying History, in both Wizarding society and the Muggle world. In studying why events happen, and what causes them to happen, we can, as is often said, learn from History. We can use the skills we apply to History and apply them to modern society. History, especially social history, gives us a good sense of where people are coming from. No matter where you stand in the politics of blood, it is important to understand the History of both sides to understand where the conflict is coming from. It is just as important to understand why purists think as they do as it is to know what they think, if you are combat their way of thinking. In the age-old battle of ‘know your enemy’, History is perhaps one of the most important factors. To understand why modern society acts the way it does, thinks the way it does and reacts the way it does to certain events, it is important to look to the past. From trivial things like why it is offensive to wear a fez in any country but Turkey (it’s a symbol of Imperial oppression from when the Ottoman Empire owned most of the Middle East and North Africa) to things on a much greater scale, like the reasons behind why citizens of the European Union can travel across borders, why the Queen of the United Kingdom can exist alongside a democracy (in my opinion, she can’t, but anyway) or why you have the ability to vote. Everything has a History, and everything is part of History. There is nothing you can do which won’t have a History behind it. Many people would say that you didn’t need to know History to live as a fully functioning member of society, which is true, to an extent, but you do need to know History to understand how that society works, where it came from and how it acts. Understanding is a fundamental part of human relations, from the smallest scale to the largest, international, stage. To relate it back to Wizarding society, if purebloods were to look back at their own history more analytically and with a little less nostalgia, they would realise the flaws in their arguments, and that Muggles have been much more closely involved in the History of Magic than they would believe. If Muggleborns were to look back at the History of Magic, they would understand why there is an inherent paranoia amongst many purebloods about the role of Muggles in their society.
One of the fundamental reasons for studying History may seem like a trivial one, but it is one which must not be underestimated. History gives you the freedom to express yourself. As I often tell my classes (I also tell them never to use first person in an essay, but oops), no answer is wrong in History, provided you can back it up with the solid facts available, and are prepared to accept that others may have entirely different interpretations. Whereas with all the other magical arts (not including Divination because…well, it’s Divination) there are distinctly right and wrong ways of doing things, you can either do the spell, make the potion correctly or come out with the right numerical value, or you can’t, History is not definitive in this sense. If you wanted to argue that moustaches had an important role to play in the outbreak of the Fourth Goblin Rebellion (which, by the way, is a viable argument, strangely enough), I could not stop you, nor would I mark you down for the argument you made. History allows you a freedom which no other branch of magic does. As long as you make your argument coherently and accurately, there is no wrong answer. Many people will say this is a flaw of History of Magic, in comparison to other subjects, and that’s their opinion, but whilst it is possible to appreciate the accuracies of other forms of Magic, you cannot deny that History grants a student much more freedom to think, in fact, it may be the only subject in which a student has to seriously consider why they are giving the answer they are giving, rather than just giving it. You could (and knowing you, probably will) say that Arithmancy is very much the same, in that you have to prove how you came to your conclusion. But there, you are working in specific universal truths, not universal what ifs and maybes. History is the only subject which allows you to analyse the way the world works. Others may help you understand it (I get the impression the Laws of Physics are rather important), yes, but if you want to answer the question human beings have been asking themselves since the beginning of time, ‘why?’, History is one of the most important things you can study.
Or, to finish off on a stupid and pointless paragraph, as historians often do to fill space, to quote George Orwell in 1984 yet again; ‘Who controls the past controls the future, who controls the future controls the present.’
In conclusion, the study of History is one of the most important things someone can do, because it doesn’t work in universal truths, it instead starts asking universal questions. Everyone knows that the Muggle world went to war in July 1914, but Historians will start asking the question why. Everyone knows that the Goblins revolted for the last time in 1916, but Historians will endeavour to understand why it has never happened again. Other subjects may be useful in life, but to really understand life and how to approach it, History is an important subject. Most importantly, History’s ability to be manipulated and used in the wrong fashion, whilst a weakness of it, is also the reason why it should be studied. History can be more dangerous than anything you might learn in Charms or Defence Against the Dark Arts, simply because it can be used to inspire otherwise normal people into doing cruel and inhuman things.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have many more interesting things to do.
This is why you should never poke fun of history. I'll write you an essay in reply.
The importance of the study of History is often wrongly underestimated in both wizarding and muggle communities, despite there being many reasons why the study of History is of fundamental importance to both societies. Many of the reasons against studying History are, indeed, falsehoods and misinterpretations. However, the main factor in why we should study History is clearly its power and resonance in society.
History has, and always will have, a significant amount of power and responsibility attached to it. History, by its very nature of being an interpretation of the past, is a very powerful weapon, one which we must study and understand if we are to prevent it being used in the wrong fashion by those determined to use it to their own end. Opinion and interpretation, not solid fact, are the cornerstones of History, which means it is very open to this sort of manipulation by political groups and figures, especially in times of conflict. In fact, to a large extent, some conflicts have had the interpretations of history at their core. Throughout History, this has been proved. Take, for example, the Muggle conflict in Northern Ireland, which is based in several principles, yes; of religion, of class distinction, of discrimination, of economics, but the most important factor in this conflict would seem to be the History of the conflict itself. Orange Order marchers still commemorate the Battle of the Boyne, which happened over 400 years ago, as do Northern Irish Catholics, if for entirely different reasons. The fact that this conflict is based in events that happened in the 16th century shows the importance of History in this conflict, how its interpretations can be very important in people’s lives, and will go on to prove why it must be studied. As I have said before, History is a powerful weapon, in well-equipped hands, and only similarly well-equipped hands can disarm it. To use a literary example, in George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, it is only Muriel, the goat that is representative of the intelligentsia who can use her knowledge of History to realise that the Commandments of the farm have been changed. It is only Muriel who is in a viable position to check the power of the pigs, with her knowledge of this. It is often said that the victors write history, and it is summarily true. This does not mean the study of History is worthless, or it has an inherent bias, by any means. In fact, that is only the recording of History. The study of History is an entirely different matter, as you are in a position to assess the bias of what is written and come to your own conclusions.
This brings me to one of the most important misinterpretations of the study of History; that it is all about what happened in the past. At a basic level, yes it is about what happened, but a serious study of history is more about why something happened, and what resulted from it happening, not about what did happen in the end. This is one of the best and most viable reasons for studying History, in both Wizarding society and the Muggle world. In studying why events happen, and what causes them to happen, we can, as is often said, learn from History. We can use the skills we apply to History and apply them to modern society. History, especially social history, gives us a good sense of where people are coming from. No matter where you stand in the politics of blood, it is important to understand the History of both sides to understand where the conflict is coming from. It is just as important to understand why purists think as they do as it is to know what they think, if you are combat their way of thinking. In the age-old battle of ‘know your enemy’, History is perhaps one of the most important factors. To understand why modern society acts the way it does, thinks the way it does and reacts the way it does to certain events, it is important to look to the past. From trivial things like why it is offensive to wear a fez in any country but Turkey (it’s a symbol of Imperial oppression from when the Ottoman Empire owned most of the Middle East and North Africa) to things on a much greater scale, like the reasons behind why citizens of the European Union can travel across borders, why the Queen of the United Kingdom can exist alongside a democracy (in my opinion, she can’t, but anyway) or why you have the ability to vote. Everything has a History, and everything is part of History. There is nothing you can do which won’t have a History behind it. Many people would say that you didn’t need to know History to live as a fully functioning member of society, which is true, to an extent, but you do need to know History to understand how that society works, where it came from and how it acts. Understanding is a fundamental part of human relations, from the smallest scale to the largest, international, stage. To relate it back to Wizarding society, if purebloods were to look back at their own history more analytically and with a little less nostalgia, they would realise the flaws in their arguments, and that Muggles have been much more closely involved in the History of Magic than they would believe. If Muggleborns were to look back at the History of Magic, they would understand why there is an inherent paranoia amongst many purebloods about the role of Muggles in their society.
One of the fundamental reasons for studying History may seem like a trivial one, but it is one which must not be underestimated. History gives you the freedom to express yourself. As I often tell my classes (I also tell them never to use first person in an essay, but oops), no answer is wrong in History, provided you can back it up with the solid facts available, and are prepared to accept that others may have entirely different interpretations. Whereas with all the other magical arts (not including Divination because…well, it’s Divination) there are distinctly right and wrong ways of doing things, you can either do the spell, make the potion correctly or come out with the right numerical value, or you can’t, History is not definitive in this sense. If you wanted to argue that moustaches had an important role to play in the outbreak of the Fourth Goblin Rebellion (which, by the way, is a viable argument, strangely enough), I could not stop you, nor would I mark you down for the argument you made. History allows you a freedom which no other branch of magic does. As long as you make your argument coherently and accurately, there is no wrong answer. Many people will say this is a flaw of History of Magic, in comparison to other subjects, and that’s their opinion, but whilst it is possible to appreciate the accuracies of other forms of Magic, you cannot deny that History grants a student much more freedom to think, in fact, it may be the only subject in which a student has to seriously consider why they are giving the answer they are giving, rather than just giving it. You could (and knowing you, probably will) say that Arithmancy is very much the same, in that you have to prove how you came to your conclusion. But there, you are working in specific universal truths, not universal what ifs and maybes. History is the only subject which allows you to analyse the way the world works. Others may help you understand it (I get the impression the Laws of Physics are rather important), yes, but if you want to answer the question human beings have been asking themselves since the beginning of time, ‘why?’, History is one of the most important things you can study.
Or, to finish off on a stupid and pointless paragraph, as historians often do to fill space, to quote George Orwell in 1984 yet again; ‘Who controls the past controls the future, who controls the future controls the present.’
In conclusion, the study of History is one of the most important things someone can do, because it doesn’t work in universal truths, it instead starts asking universal questions. Everyone knows that the Muggle world went to war in July 1914, but Historians will start asking the question why. Everyone knows that the Goblins revolted for the last time in 1916, but Historians will endeavour to understand why it has never happened again. Other subjects may be useful in life, but to really understand life and how to approach it, History is an important subject. Most importantly, History’s ability to be manipulated and used in the wrong fashion, whilst a weakness of it, is also the reason why it should be studied. History can be more dangerous than anything you might learn in Charms or Defence Against the Dark Arts, simply because it can be used to inspire otherwise normal people into doing cruel and inhuman things.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have many more interesting things to do.
This is why you should never poke fun of history. I'll write you an essay in reply.