洛杉磯時報︱歷史學不是一個「無用的」專業！（附英文原文）

作者：詹姆斯·格羅斯曼

編譯：熊一舟

來源：洛杉磯時報

時間：2016年5月30日

現狀

— 邊緣人文類專業 —

自2007年的經濟衰退發生以來，歷史學專業在學術界失去重要的「市場份額」，從占所有本科畢業生的2.2%下降到1.7%。

在2014年美國畢業的所有本科學生中，歷史專業學生比上一年度減少了9%。這一下降趨勢在研究型大學和著名文科院校中尤為明顯。

這是非常不幸的——不光對這些學校而言，對美國的經濟和政治而言也是如此。當然，不僅僅是歷史學專業受到輕視，學生們也冷落了其他人文類專業，包括哲學、文學和語言學專業等。

總體而言，核心人文類專業僅佔2014年授予的所有學士學位專業的6.1%，自1948年以來佔比最低。

緣由

— 看重立即回報 —

學生們往往在家長的壓力之下，選擇那些更有可能在畢業後獲得高回報、就業機會多的專業，如商科（占專業總數的19%）或技術類專業。而歷史學看上去則像牌局中那張最差的牌。

雪上加霜的是，歷史學專業曾被認為是進入法學院的最佳預備專業之一，但現在歷史學專業的學生成為律師的可能性越來越渺茫了。歷史學專業學生的另一個傳統就業方向是教師，但由於公辦學校預算緊縮，對教師的需求量也下降了。

事實雖然如此，但作為歷史學者，他們知道如何看待這種簡單邏輯之外的前景。是的，畢業之初的幾年裡，技術和工程類專業、商科專業的學生擁有更多的就業機會，特別是工程和計算機科學專業的學生。

在經濟衰退的背景下，學生們當然更為關注獲得的第一份工作。

事實

— 厚積薄發的收穫 —

長期以來，歷史學專業和其他人文類專業的畢業生在經濟收入上的表現同樣不俗。畢業15年後，哲學專業的學生比商科專業的學生收入更高。歷史學專業的學生與商科專業學生的收入不分伯仲。

這是因為，美國和其他國家的勞動力市場是不穩定和難以預測的。在就業崗位頻繁變換的大背景下，最有用的專業是那些能夠打開許多大門、使學生學會學習的專業，而不是教會學生從事某一特定事務的專業。

所有事物都有其歷史。歷史地思考，就是承認所有問題、所有情況和所有機構都是在歷史背景下發生和出現的，在做出決策之前必須了解這一點。

任何一個機構——公司、政府或非營利組織——都不能沒有歷史學家。我們需要更多歷史專業的學生，而不是更少。

作者：頭條號 / 社會科學報鏈接：http://toutiao.com/i6301564770860401153/

附英文原文

By James Grossman

Los Angeles Times

30 May, 2016

Since the beginning of the Great Recessionin 2007, the history major has lost significant market share in academia,declining from 2.2% of all undergraduate degrees to 1.7%.The graduatingclass of 2014, the most recent for which there are national data, included 9%fewer history majors than the previous year』s cohort, compounding a 2.8%decrease the year before that. The drop is most pronounced at large researchuniversities and prestigious liberal arts colleges.

This is unfortunate — not just for thosecolleges, but for our economy and polity.

Of course it』s not just history.Studentsalso are slighting other humanities disciplines includingphilosophy, literature, linguistics and languages. Overall, the core humanitiesdisciplines constituted only 6.1% of all bachelor』s degrees awarded in 2014,the lowest proportion since systematic data collection on college majors beganin 1948.

Conventional wisdom offers its usual facileanswers for these trends: Students (sometimes pressured by parents paying thetuition) choose fields more likely to yield high-paying employment right aftergraduation — something 「useful,」 like business (19% of diplomas), ortechnology-oriented. History looks like a bad bet.

Politicians both draw on those simplicitiesand perpetuate them — from PresidentBarack Obama』s dig against the value of an art history degree to Sen. Marco Rubio』s comment that welders earn more thanphilosophers. Governors oppose public spending on 「useless」 college majors.History, like its humanistic brethren, might prepare our young people to becitizens, but it supposedly does not prepare workers — at least not well paidones.

The utility of disciplines that preparecritical thinkers escapes personnel offices, pundits and politicians.

The diminished prospects for attorneys inrecent years extends this logic, as the history major has long been consideredamong the best preparation for law school. The other conventional career pathfor history majors is teaching, but that too is suffering weak demand due topressure on public school budgets.

A historian, however, would know that it isessential to look beyond such simplistic logic. Yes, in the first few yearsafter graduation, STEM and business majors have more obvious job prospects —especially in engineering and computer science. And in our recession-scarredeconomic context, of course students are concerned with landing that first job.

Over the long run, however, graduates inhistory and other humanities disciplines do well financially. Rubio would besurprised to learn that after 15 years, those philosophy majors have morelucrative careers than college graduates with business degrees. History majors』mid-career salaries are on par with those holdingbusiness bachelor"sdegrees. Notably these salary findingsexclude those who went on to attaina law or other graduate degree.

The utility of disciplines that preparecritical thinkers escapes personnel offices, punditsandpoliticians(some of whom perhaps would prefer thatcolleges graduate more followers and fewer leaders). But it shouldn』t. Labormarkets in the United States and other countries are unstable andunpredictable. In this environment — especially given the expectation of careerchanges — the most useful degrees are those that can open multiple doors, and thosethat prepare one to learn rather than do some specific thing.

All liberal arts degrees demand that kindof learning, as well as the oft-invoked virtues of critical thinking and clearcommunication skills. History students, in particular, sift through substantialamounts of information, organize it, and make sense of it. In the process theylearn how to infer what drives and motivates human behavior from elections tosocial movements to board rooms.

Employers interested in recruiting futuremanagers should understand (and many do) that historical thinking prepares onefor leadership because history is about change — envisioning it, planning forit, making it last. In an election season we are reminded regularly thatsuccess often goes to whoever can articulate the most compelling narrative.History majors learn to do that.

Everything has a history. To thinkhistorically is to recognize that all problems, all situations, allinstitutions exist in contexts that must be understood before informeddecisions can be made. No entity — corporate, government, nonprofit — canafford not to have a historian at the table.We need more history majors,not fewer.

James Grossman is the executive director ofthe American Historical Assn.

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