On Being a History Major

I’d like to get this out of my system, it’s not really a rant because I will be referencing statistics and articles. If any of you are considering college or university you might want to read this too.

I recently read in a local magazine about the sharp decline in history majors in the last ten years in my region specifically. According to the American Historical Association, this sharp decline began after the Great Recession of 2008. People became more fearful that a major in history would not lead to good job prospects. Ever since then, it has been declining. 

“From 2012 to 2018, history bachelor’s degrees were falling at an average annual rate of over 7 percent per year” (historians.org).

“As of 2019, history accounted for slightly less than 1.2 percent of all bachelor’s degrees awarded, the lowest share in records that extend back to 1949. For comparison, in 1967, history accounted for 5.7 percent of all bachelor’s degrees” (historians.org). 

We’re living through a time where history is being seriously reconsidered, and it takes up so much space in political discourse in the United States. There is a reason Ron Desantis is targeting the teaching of correct and nuanced history in schools, colleges, and universities. He is just one example, almost every school board across the the United States has been facing challenges from conservative parents. If you look to history, this discourse has been repeating itself since the Civil War era if not earlier. A prominent example from that time would be the Daughters of the Confederacy, who made it their mission to construct monuments and write history textbooks to be more favorable of the Confederacy. Think about the impact that had on the United States.

That’s why I feel that it’s so important to learn history. We need diversity in this field, that’s how new interpretations of history come about. We need to learn it now, before our resources are swept out from underneath our noses. I'd like to address what many people believe about history: the stereotype that historians and history are just centered around rich White men is no longer true... not quite, anyway. Almost all of my professors have been women. Even my 85 year old male history professor dedicated entire lectures in his class about LGBTQ+ people, people of color, and other minorities within the topic of the class. However, there is still an issue of lack of diversity in the major. Presumably in large part because of financial concerns, while also not feeling represented in the curriculum.

“56 percent of all bachelor’s degree recipients in 2019 were white, non-Hispanic compared to almost 70 percent of the graduates from history programs” (historians.org).

“While the share of women earning bachelor’s degrees across academia has been at or near 57 percent for the past 20 years, in history that share topped out at almost 42 percent in 2001 and then drifted down to below 40 percent in 2014. The share increased slightly in recent years but remains stuck below 41 percent, an outlier among the humanities disciplines” (historians.org).

I didn’t like any of my history courses in high school. I actually believed for most of my life that I was destined to become an artist. I realized that I liked history because of my love of historic music, film, and television. Many of you here on Spacehey are fans of history without even realizing it. How much insight could you gain about your favorite subculture if you had a broader historic context? Although most history courses do not focus on contemporary history, you can! Studying history gives you the tools to be analytical about our past, and then also our present. This is ultimately why I chose the major, it gives you the tools to research, question, and challenge social expectations. Think about it: the government believes that this knowledge is so powerful that it needs to be wiped out. If you want to change the world and bring a unique perspective, consider history. Even if you’re just minoring in it or taking a few courses, don’t let our history departments fade into irrelevancy!