People seek to learn about the past, to study change over time, because it is useful, intellectually challenging and endlessly fascinating. Historical knowledge is a vital component of what is now termed ‘cultural literacy’. In all walks of life, people familiar with events, institutions and ideas of the past have a head-start in making sense of the present.

The study of history, however, is not a matter of memorising facts: it is about learning how to locate information, to analyse and to interpret sources, to engage in systematic exposition and reasoned argument. It provides valuable experience and training in making judgements on the basis of incomplete information, in understanding human life in all its complexity, in critical thought and in jargon-free communication.

In today’s fast-moving world, the value of a well-stocked and well-trained mind is all too evident. Arts graduates with history majors, and (if applicable) appropriate postgraduate diplomas, find work in journalism, the electronic media, teaching, libraries, politics, law, the public service, and business. It is worth noting, too, that history, broadly conceived, is an industry in its own right, with employment in writing and teaching, publishing and entertainment, museums and archives, heritage and tourism.