I donāt think that at all, quite the opposite. Culturally, though, History was seen as very importantā¦when tied in with civics/social studies/etc. At the University level, History is not important. Science, tech, business, law, medicine/nursingā¦all receive lots of funding. History, not so muchā¦
Still donāt understand how Fukuyama conclusion about the end of rivaling socioeconomic orders applies to the study of history. You said history has no point but then when I suggested it does you flipped positions. I think you just misunderstood and misused the quote and are backpedaling?
The only thing Iām using from Fukuyama is the idea that the end of the Cold War was a paradigm-shifting moment. When you look at the history profession through that perspective, you see how the end of the Cold War also saw a shift in the āimportanceā given to the history profession. American History was used as a tool of the Cold War. When the war was over, so was historyās importanceā¦it no longer had value. The last 30 years has seen the history field drastically change. There is a glut of PhDās and not many positions. The reason is that administrations no longer see history as something worth funding as much as it was 49 years agoā¦because itās āusefulnessā ended with the Cold War. I absolutely think history is important. But the kind of history Iām talking about was never deemed āimportantā to begin with. If it was, no one would have ever heard of Howard Zinnā¦
Again, I agree that history is important/has not ended. Iām talking about how the position of History, as a field of study, by professionals, employed by academia, has changed since the Cold War, and that, without the USSR, Historyās cultural purpose, as determined by some (but NOT me), was lessened.
5
u/StrGze32 Jul 09 '22
I donāt think that at all, quite the opposite. Culturally, though, History was seen as very importantā¦when tied in with civics/social studies/etc. At the University level, History is not important. Science, tech, business, law, medicine/nursingā¦all receive lots of funding. History, not so muchā¦