Why History?

Student Comments

Initially, I did not want to study history. In fact, I experimented with several other majors, and dropped them, before I decided that history was for me. During my second year at Simpson I took the US history survey courses, and after that I was hooked. Exploring the past and making connections to the world in which I live captivates me in a way no other subject could.

Jamie Olberding

To study the past allows us to understand our world. Today, understanding is something we could all use more of.

Nick Webb

I study history because I’m passionate about it. I know I wasn’t going to be happy at college unless I was studying something I really loved, and for me that was history

Kate Wall

I study history because I love learning about new people and places, and to me, history is precisely that. I love that everything familiar can appear completely different when I look at it in the context of the past.

Shara Tibken

I suppose that I subscribe to the idea that studying the past will help us better understand the present or even the future, and when my major comes up during a job interview that is exactly what I will say. However, the truth is less elaborate. I love history; imagining different places and times, reading about great deeds and larger than life figures, wishing I could have walked along the Theodosian Walls before 1453 or seen Alexander lead the Companions in the decisive charge at Gaugamela, history is my escape from the complexities of the modern world and a fairly cheap leisure activity for a poor college student.

Grant Carlson

I study history because I have a deep interest – almost a love – for the subject. Ever since I was a child history has been one of my major passions. Out of all the jobs, careers and occupations that I have held, history has been the one subject that has never gotten old or tiring for me, and that is why I enrolled at Simpson College.

James Allen

I was one of the lucky few that knew from the beginning I wanted to major in history. In spite of my efforts to find a major that was more practical, I failed to find another subject that interested me half as much as my history classes. As I went through the cornerstone program it became clear history was the path I wanted to continue down and it held many more options than I had originally thought. As a senior with a couple history-related internships under my belt, I am confident that I made the right decision.

Lucy Wilson

Faculty Comments

I was drawn to history because I thought it was interesting. I still find the study of the past compelling, but I remain committed to history becuase it provides context for understanding the present.

Bill Friedricks

As an undergraduate, the study of history provided an opportunity for me to move beyond my limited experiences in rural Missouri to develop a better understanding about how the world worked. Certain key historical moments like the women's suffrage movement or Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech conveyed the excitement and dynamism of past eras, but they also encouraged me to reflect on the connections between the past and the present and to think about what historical factors had created the world in which I lived. My interest in history, which now includes my own research, has provided invaluable opportunities for me to develop intellecutally and think more critically about both past and present political and social questions.

Emily Machen

If you don't know some history you are quite a bit like an amnesiac. You can function in your daily life, but the world around you is a cipher. You still possess basic skills -- you can speak, drive a car, open a can of peaches, etc., but your memories are gone. You do not know who you are. You do not know who anyone is. You do not understand society or its workings. Lastly, and perhaps most annoyingly, you are gullible to the point of self-destruction. At first your memory loss may be amusing (well, to others at least), but it quickly becomes apparent that you are a menace to yourself and to others. When you interact with the wider world of politics and ideas, you can be quite dangerous. I study history because it beats the traditional Three Stooges cure of blunt-force trauma to the head.

Nicolas Proctor

I became interested in history because I grew up in areas around the country that were steeped with historical significance. Walking in the footstpes of paul Revere or along the ramparts of Fort Sumter made history tangible to me and something more than mere words on a page. It excited my imagination and my desire to know more about the people and places of the past. As I grew older, I learned that history was not only the stuff that great epic stories were made of but is also the story of who we are today as a society, a country and a world. Without an uderstanding of where 'we' come from, there is little hope for us to understand our present or help frame our future for the better.

Rebecca Livingstone


	Why History? Programs Beyond the Classroom Faculty
Why History? Student Comments Initially, I did not want to study history. In fact, I experimented with several other majors, and dropped them, before I decided that history was for me. During my second year at Simpson I took the US history survey courses, and after that I was hooked. Exploring the past and making connections to the world in which I live captivates me in a way no other subject could. Jamie Olberding To study the past allows us to understand our world. Today, understanding is something we could all use more of. Nick Webb I study history because I’m passionate about it. I know I wasn’t going to be happy at college unless I was studying something I really loved, and for me that was history Kate Wall I study history because I love learning about new people and places, and to me, history is precisely that. I love that everything familiar can appear completely different when I look at it in the context of the past. Shara Tibken I suppose that I subscribe to the idea that studying the past will help us better understand the present or even the future, and when my major comes up during a job interview that is exactly what I will say. However, the truth is less elaborate. I love history; imagining different places and times, reading about great deeds and larger than life figures, wishing I could have walked along the Theodosian Walls before 1453 or seen Alexander lead the Companions in the decisive charge at Gaugamela, history is my escape from the complexities of the modern world and a fairly cheap leisure activity for a poor college student. Grant Carlson I study history because I have a deep interest – almost a love – for the subject. Ever since I was a child history has been one of my major passions. Out of all the jobs, careers and occupations that I have held, history has been the one subject that has never gotten old or tiring for me, and that is why I enrolled at Simpson College. James Allen I was one of the lucky few that knew from the beginning I wanted to major in history. In spite of my efforts to find a major that was more practical, I failed to find another subject that interested me half as much as my history classes. As I went through the cornerstone program it became clear history was the path I wanted to continue down and it held many more options than I had originally thought. As a senior with a couple history-related internships under my belt, I am confident that I made the right decision. Lucy Wilson Faculty Comments I was drawn to history because I thought it was interesting. I still find the study of the past compelling, but I remain committed to history becuase it provides context for understanding the present. Bill Friedricks As an undergraduate, the study of history provided an opportunity for me to move beyond my limited experiences in rural Missouri to develop a better understanding about how the world worked. Certain key historical moments like the women's suffrage movement or Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech conveyed the excitement and dynamism of past eras, but they also encouraged me to reflect on the connections between the past and the present and to think about what historical factors had created the world in which I lived. My interest in history, which now includes my own research, has provided invaluable opportunities for me to develop intellecutally and think more critically about both past and present political and social questions. Emily Machen If you don't know some history you are quite a bit like an amnesiac. You can function in your daily life, but the world around you is a cipher. You still possess basic skills -- you can speak, drive a car, open a can of peaches, etc., but your memories are gone. You do not know who you are. You do not know who anyone is. You do not understand society or its workings. Lastly, and perhaps most annoyingly, you are gullible to the point of self-destruction. At first your memory loss may be amusing (well, to others at least), but it quickly becomes apparent that you are a menace to yourself and to others. When you interact with the wider world of politics and ideas, you can be quite dangerous. I study history because it beats the traditional Three Stooges cure of blunt-force trauma to the head. Nicolas Proctor I became interested in history because I grew up in areas around the country that were steeped with historical significance. Walking in the footstpes of paul Revere or along the ramparts of Fort Sumter made history tangible to me and something more than mere words on a page. It excited my imagination and my desire to know more about the people and places of the past. As I grew older, I learned that history was not only the stuff that great epic stories were made of but is also the story of who we are today as a society, a country and a world. Without an uderstanding of where 'we' come from, there is little hope for us to understand our present or help frame our future for the better. Rebecca Livingstone
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