Home Page News   St Benildus College "THE BEST EDUCATION MONEY CAN'T BUY" Irish Independent   Humanities  2009/2010 < back   History 2009/2010   History Department “The need for students to study History, to acquire an understanding of the world and the skills necessary to navigate through it, has never been more obvious. The role played by the study of History in maintaining a balanced, liberal education as the mainstay of the Irish system has been and remains a central one” (“Looking at History”, Department of Education and Science, 2006). What is History? History deals with the experience of human life in the past and is concerned with a wide range of human activities – political, economic, social, cultural, religious and scientific. It involves the investigation of surviving evidence, and seeks to engage with the central concept of change. It is not a static or ‘dead’ subject, but rather is constantly under revision, bringing new insights and deeper understanding of the past that continuously informs and illuminates the present. Department Vision: “History should be studied because it is essential to individuals, and to society, and because it harbours beauty” (Peter N. Stearns, “Why Study History?” 1998). The History Department views its mission on three levels: Level 1 ~ the promotion of History as a subject and discipline amongst our students. Level 2 ~ the provision of the highest possible standards in the teaching of History. Level 3 ~ the recognition of the “fundamental tension in teaching and learning History between covering facts and developing historical habits of mind” (Stearns, op. cit.), and the desire to address this. We support and emphasise the truth in Stearns’ comment that “Between the inescapable minimum and the pleasure of deep commitment comes the History that, through cumulative skill in interpreting the unfolding human record, provides a real grasp of how the world works”.