The Decline of Historical Thinking

[Kind of Blue]

Late last year, Benjamin M. Schmidt, a professor of history at Northeastern University, published a study demonstrating that, for the past decade, history has been declining more rapidly than any other major, even as more and more students attend college. With slightly more than twenty-four thousand current history majors, it accounts for between one and two per cent of bachelor’s degrees, a drop of about a third since 2011. The decline can be found in almost all ethnic and racial groups, and among both men and women. Geographically, it is most pronounced in the Midwest, but it is present virtually everywhere.

The steep decline in history graduates is most visible beginning in 2011 and 2012. Evidently, after the 2008 financial crisis, students (and their parents) felt a need to pick a major in a field that might place them on a secure career path. Almost all of the majors that have seen growth since 2011, Schmidt noted in a previous study, are in the stem disciplines, and include nursing, engineering, computer science, and biology. (A recent Times story noted that the number of computer-science majors more than doubled between 2013 and 2017.) “M.I.T. and Stanford are making a big push in the sciences,” Alan Mikhail, the chair of the history department at Yale, told me. Other universities have tended to emulate them, no doubt because that’s what excites the big funders these days—and with their money comes the prestige that gives a university its national reputation.

“History instills a sense of citizenship, and reminds you of questions to ask, especially about evidence,” says Lee L. Willis, the chair of the history department, University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point. In a follow-up e-mail after our conversation, Mikhail wrote, “A study of the past shows us that the only way to understand the present is to embrace the messiness of politics, culture, and economics. There are never easy answers to pressing questions about the world and public life.”

“Yes, we have a responsibility to train for the world of employment, but are we educating for life, and without historical knowledge you are not ready for life,” says David Blight, a professor of history at Yale and the director of its Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition.

As our political discourse is increasingly dominated by sources who care nothing for truth or credibility, we come closer and closer to the situation that Walter Lippmann warned about a century ago, in his seminal “Liberty and the News.” “Men who have lost their grip upon the relevant facts of their environment are the inevitable victims of agitation and propaganda. The quack, the charlatan, the jingo . . . can flourish only where the audience is deprived of independent access to information,” he wrote. A nation whose citizens have no knowledge of history is asking to be led by quacks, charlatans, and jingos. As he has proved ever since he rode to political prominence on the lie of Barack Obama’s birthplace, Trump is all three. And, without more history majors, we are doomed to repeat him.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-decline-of-historical-thinking

[juliuswest]

1. More History majors and more History educators

The concentration of the media has been one of the biggest driving forces behind this trend.

[Kind of Blue]

2. Welcome to DU, juliuswest!

I'd like to add to your list that even the History Channel, owned by A&E is in turn own by Disney on the list.

Thank You!

[PatrickforO]

10. Nice visual!

Welcome.

[gopiscrap]

18. welcome to DU

[appalachiablue]

3. History decline is major; we need support for history, arts, humanities & science.

[Kind of Blue]

4. Amen, appalachiablue.

Excellent, excellent quote. So glad to see philosophy in the quote that covers just about everything.

Thanks!

[Blue_Tires]

5. k+r... been saying this for years...

Unfortunately, history isn't "sexy" enough for students these days...

[Kind of Blue]

6. Oh gosh, it could be! IF so much wasn't left out.

We have to fill in the blanks.

[appalachiablue]

7. I'll watch about any kind, not a purist. Luv this, don't see it much now.

[Kind of Blue]

8. Yesss! Not a purist either, appalachiablue.

My favorite Drunk History have been the ones on Harriet Tubman and Mansa Musa. Sometimes the more irreverent the better Any means necessary to get the info out.

Saving Coca-Cola for later. Thanks so much!

[appalachiablue]

9. Whatever it takes to encourage history. I need another source

for CC and Drunk History, or YouTube to see the Tubman and Mansa episodes. Know they're wild!

[Kind of Blue]

17. Shoot! Drunk History wants money to

view the last 4 minutes or so. But I saw was hilarious as usual.

Thanks, appalachiablue.

[PatrickforO]

11. You know, I hear this, I really do. However, if you go into the

Longitudinal Household-Employer Dynamics (LEHD) section of the US Census, you'll see a main page that has data from four states on wage outcomes by college major. History just doesn't pay well, and internet of things, IT in general, the cloud - all that - is driving up wages for those kinds of tech jobs and wages are going down, down, down for most liberal arts.

This is totally sad, because I love history and in fact majored in Behavioral Sciences, which includes history, economics, poly-sci, sociology, psychology and anthropology. Basically a well rounded liberal arts education. Then my masters is in counseling psychology with a year in the MBA program including managerial economics, operations management, OD, accounting for managers, etc.

Funny that I'm an economist here at the tale end of my career. I morphed into that because there was an organizational need and as I read in it I found that it really is my long-lost niche.

But history? as a major? Sadly, not so good if you want to actually earn a living wage.

[Kind of Blue]

13. Thinking about what you've said, I realized that I knew

only one History major while in university. I only knew her because she came back to school to study medicine, not because she couldn't find a job in the D.C. area with a history degree but history led her to the sciences that she also loved.

With your career path and my friend's, I thought that it might be the way schools promote history or their history departments - perhaps not much at all though it could be an opening to all kinds of other careers that find history valuable.

Did a little search and, viola, found this recent article Jobs for History Majors: 20 Time-Honored and Not-So-Obvious Career Choices."

Jobs for history majors aren't as elusive as you may think. Whether you want to take a history program or have already completed one, you've likely heard the same question many times: What can you do with a history degree? The answer is a lot. That's because the line from a history education to a career isn't linear. Many history majors end up in career fields that seem—at least on the surface—like they have nothing to do with history at all. For example, journalism, office management, and event planning are jobs you can do with a history degree.

So working toward a history degree can provide you with a highly developed and well-rounded skill set that's useful for many different lines of work. You're not automatically destined to become a historian or fill other traditional jobs for a history major. In fact, one prominent university found that almost 55 percent of its history department alumni were working in business and legal occupations.1

That's one reason why a history major's salary tends to be more than that of a humanities or liberal arts major—up to $85,000 or more for top earners.2 Plus, history majors have been shown to have lower rates of unemployment than the national average.3 So, in contrast to some mistaken beliefs about history majors, jobs and earning opportunities can be quite abundant.

Check out the following examples of traditional and non-traditional career opportunities, as well as tips for promoting yourself to potential employers. Keep in mind that not all of the careers listed below require a history degree. Jobs also exist for people who are simply interested in history and want to embark on a career that aligns with that interest.

https://www.trade-schools.net/articles/jobs-for-history-majors.asp

[PatrickforO]

15. That's a good link. Thank you for sharing it.

I do note that the history degree in and of itself must, in most of these jobs, be complemented by other training, often at the graduate level, such as law school. Even teaching requires about a year of additional training, and I can speak from direct experience about the dearth of social studies positions in favor of math, science, foreign language, and technical teachers.

Here's a fun story - When I was in undergrad school, I knew what I liked, but all I had was a construction background, since about age 15. I had no idea how I'd translate history and all those 'ologies into money. Then, I read an article about a teacher shortage and thought, eureka!

So, I folded teacher classes into my degree program.

One day, all us aspiring teachers were sitting in class and it was a special day. Our professor had invited a REAL teacher to come in and talk to us about jobs after we graduated. When this eagerly awaited day came, we all sat on the edge of our chairs as the teacher, a still-youngish woman, maybe late 30s, came in and began to talk to us. We hung on every word, I can tell you!

Finally, she asked the class for a show of hands.

"OK," she said, "Who are my math teachers?"

Some hands went up and she said, "Oh, you won't have any problems at all. Math teachers are in really high demand."

She then asked about science, and a few hands went up. Same basic response.

Then foreign language, and technical/career - same response.

Finally, she said, "Who are my English teachers?" A few hands went up and she kind of nodded. "Yes," she said, "it is work, but you will probably find positions. Learn to interview well."

Very last, she asked, "Who are my Social Studies people?" I raised my hand, along with about six or seven others, and she shook her head, said, "I don't know WHERE you will find jobs, unless you coach."

Kind of disheartening, but happily I found my place along a different path.

[Kind of Blue]

16. Damn, my head just exploded!

I appreciate honesty but not one callously delivered to students at any level. Sheesh, coach what? I guess she meant tutoring or something like that.

Thank goodness you can think outside the box! and I take it had other support along the way in following your bliss

[amcgrath]

12. The two places that i have been amazed by American "historians"

Are at the Custer Memorial and at Mount Rushmore. Not only was their knowledge extremely comprehensive, it was stunningly honest. I even slipped in a few questions to test their opinions.

At neither place did they try to play down or diminish historical facts, it is extremely unusual to hear an American speak so knowledgeably, accurately and honestly. To meet people so devoted to the facts and truth was heartening - as were the staff at Yellowstone who are just as truthful and devoted to their work.

If you want to know about history - or climate change, these people are fantastic

[Kind of Blue]

14. Wow! I thought those tours were just about people and dates

and guides quickly getting to the next tour. I never considered that their historical knowledge cover a vast array of information. And that's why history is so important to me, it ties up so many loose ends. Indeed, the past is prologue.

So many of us are historians at heart and I've been heartened by the new breed of classicists, anthropologists and archaeologists who are pushing back against the dominance of whiteness and misogyny in telling our stories. I love Dr. Sarah Bond who's gotten a lot of hate from the alt-right, The Public Medievalist, Medievalpoc, as well as some others who satisfy my history jones.

Thank you, amcgrath. I don't think I'll quickly shy away from tour guides any more.