In today’s Wonkhe — the online ‘home of the UK higher education debate’ — the Society’s President, Emma Griffin, writes on ‘The Value of History’ in UK universities.
Emma’s article outlines:
- the Society’s, and historians’, concerns about a wave of cuts and closures to departments;
- the damage being done, especially in post-92 institutions;
- the need to better appreciate the values and positives of history within UK higher education;
- and the importance of meaningful communication with prospective history undergraduates, as well as teachers and parents: to ensure that growing numbers of GCSE and A-Level history students are encouraged to carry on with the subject at university.
History’s many positives need to be better communicated to those presently wary of going on to undergraduate study. History’s growing popularity at GCSE and A level is very welcome. However, it’s not yet translated to an equivalent lift in undergraduate enrolments. This is clearly a vulnerable transition point, and one that can benefit from positive messaging. We need to show future undergraduates the benefits, and pleasures, of continuing with history.
By demonstrating the positives, we’ll encourage more students to pursue the subject they enjoy, confident that theirs is an informed choice, with clear rewards and opportunities for professional and personal development.
Alongside students, these are arguments to hone and put to parents, teachers, politicians and policy makers, as well as the sizeable audiences for “popular” and “public history” – so much of which starts with academic research in our universities. Such audiences remind us of history’s importance well beyond formal education.
Copies of the RHS’s new briefing, ‘The Value of History in UK Higher Education and Society’, are available to download under a Creative Commons licence: (CC BY-NC 4.0)
The tables and charts within the briefing are also available for separate download and use.
In addition, the Society’s new briefing is available in a browsable format, below: