What Is History — and Why Bother Studying It?

What Is History?

• History: the story of the past of humans, based on evidence.
• Evidence: information that helps prove whether something is true.
• Significance: without evidence, a story about the past is just a story; with evidence, it can be checked, and that is what makes it history.

Four Reasons to Study History

1. Understand change: history shows how people and society changed from the past to the present, for example how Singapore's rulers went from Temasek's own, to Johor, to Britain.
2. Learn from mistakes: working out what went wrong in the past helps us stop it happening again.
3. Know our roots: history explains where our traditions, customs and beliefs come from.
4. Sharpen our thinking: it builds critical and analytical skills, such as checking a claim before believing it.

Why Evidence Matters

• Different memories: two people can see the same event and remember it differently, even when both are honest.
• Checking: evidence such as records, photographs and objects lets historians test which account fits what really happened. For example, 14th-century artefacts dug up at Fort Canning Hill help show what early Singapore was like.
• Everyday use: the same checking habit helps you decide whether to believe, or share, a post online.

In One Sentence

• History is the story of the human past, based on evidence that lets us check it, and studying it helps us understand change, learn from mistakes, know our roots and think more sharply.

Think About It

1. Think of a story your family tells about the past. What evidence could you look for to check it?
2. Which of the four reasons for studying history matters most to you, and why?
3. "To pass exams" is not one of the four reasons. Why not?