If you’re heading toward picking subjects (senior or otherwise) it can be difficult to get unbiased advice from people around you. Teachers want students in their classes, peers who already study it often love or hate it, and those who have never studied it, don’t have enough knowledge to offer decent advice. We’ve decided to start a new article series to fill the gap, talking about what to expect in the subject, some pathways they can lead you on, challenges that might arise and important skills learning will offer you.
In this article, we’ll be discussing the subject I hope everyone colour codes as yellow: Modern History!
Modern History is all about understanding the events, ideas, and people that have shaped the world we live in today. The word history comes from the ancient Greek noun ‘historia’ meaning ‘inquiry’, ‘investigation,’ or ‘knowledge obtained by inquiry’. It’s not just “what happened”, but more about why it happened, how we know it happened, and why different people remember it differently. People define the start of Modern history differently, but the most common two are; immediately following The Middle Ages (around 1500) and at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution (around 1750).
What you study specifically will depend on the state you are in, but broadly you are likely to encounter topics like the World Wars, political revolutions, the Cold War, civil rights movements, and other major global shifts. A big focus will be working with sources, figuring out what’s reliable, what’s biased, and how different perspectives shape our understanding of history.
One of the biggest misconceptions around studying HISTORY, is that it has no relevance to what is going on today – nothing could be more wrong! A huge amount of today’s political tensions, social movements, and global issues have roots in events from the last 100-150 years. If you’re someone that’s curious about how everything that’s happening today came about (or even if you are a bit anxious about it all) then Modern can be a really hands on way to unpack it!
After school, modern history can lend a hand in fields like law, journalism, teaching, politics, international relations, communications and public policy. It’s especially useful if you’re interested in careers that involve writing, research, or working with people and ideas.
Modern History is THE premier subject for developing soft skills. You’ll become an expert in writing, critical thinking, and forming arguments. It teaches you how to back up your ideas with evidence and express them clearly, which will be of immense use to you in just about every career. It will also help you consider issues and problems from multiple perspectives, which is an incredibly valuable real-world skill.
The challenge? You will encounter A LOT of writing in this subject. Essays are a big part of Modern History, and they need specific structure, detail and evidence. It can also be tricky because there is very rarely one “right answer” like in science or maths. Instead, you’re expected to build an argument piece by piece and justify it. Some students find that uncertainty a bit uncomfortable at first, especially when paired with remembering detailed case studies under exam conditions.
Still, if you like debating ideas, writing, and understanding how the world works on a deeper level, Modern History will be the choice for you. It certainly doesn’t hurt that you’ll be watching a few historical films in class time.
Happy Studying Historians!
