Forum: In Defence of History

In 1980 my study of the role of history in higher education was accompanied by a cartoon showing the subject – symbolised by an 'ivory tower', with such historical personalities as Hitler and Napoleon peeping nervously from the battlements at the mob below – under threat from the outside world. Such an image seems even more appropriate today, particularly in view of the recent formation of a History at the Universities Defence Group.

The halcyon days of expansion – the concern to accommodate a rising student demand, which has always proved buoyant for history – have been replaced by the present era of fiscal constraint and preoccupation with vocationally-oriented degree courses of direct use to the creation of wealth. In such an environment, history has been characterised as one of the 'irrelevant' subjects, and appears therefore as a prime area for contraction.