Should History be considered Arts/Humanities, or Social Science?

Amada Greising: It's always been social science most places, remember jr high, social studies? Just a different name for the same thing. If I were head of that University, History would be the top of the food chain of its own department.

Mark Villifana: This Site Might Help You.RE:Should History be considered Arts/Humanities, or Social Science?When I began college, majoring in history at Michigan State University, the History department fell in the college of arts and letters (humanities), but by the time I graduated, the admin had decided to move it to the college of social sciences. Is history a social science, or an art and/or......Show more

Hugo Pittari: For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/axghQBecause the folks at Y!A that categorized this site are idiots. You'll find it under Arts & Humanities; probably because they considered it a 'human' thing.

Russ Kiernan: Is History A Social Science

Miguel Densley: It depends ! what school you go to, I graduated with a degree in history, which fell under arts and humanities, but arts and humanities fell under the school of science, so my diploma says a bachelors of science in history.

Frank Gazaway: History is a compilation of facts, which can be broadly interpreted. It's not a social science, because it doesn't have the focus of, say, economics and politics. You can probably claim most social sciences as small categories, which can be gathered under the big umbrella of History.

Kris Bozelle: I pondered that myself as it was part of social science in secondary school but a humanities in university. I think the distinction is that in secondary school, one is learning history, meaning facts, dates, people involved, etc. In university, the emphasis shifts to interpreting history, such as why a certain event occurred and what did it effect afterwards. In other words, the social sciences form the foundation upon which the humanities are bui! lt.

Gus Leiby: Although many universities organize their! History Department within the "School of Social Sciences," it's not really a great fit. The "Social Sciences" are the products of a specific time and place during which the "scientific method" was applied to human behavior. That is, Psychologists, Sociologists, Anthropologists and Political Scientists were applying data to test hypotheses about human behavior. And those tests should be replicatable by other researchers.History isn't done that way. For one thing, history is as old as human civilization, and isn't a product of the 19th Century. Second, it's more "art" than it is "science." A good historian is, first, a good storyteller. Although history should be based on empirical fact, it isn't data-driven.So although it may deal with similar subject matter, history is more akin to literature and art than it is to the social sciences....Show more

Forest Duttinger: Hi, just wanted to mention, I enjoyed this discussion. quite valuable replies

Gene Debell: This is! a good question. I was just reading about the philosophy of history in Mark Gilderhus' History and Historians, in particular the positivist vs. idealist viewpoints which pertain to this issue. Basically there are two fundamental thought processes in analyzing history. On the one hand, positivism would see history studied through scientific and mathematical methods. One would examine history to determine rational cause-effect relationships that could be applied generally. To me this is unrealistic hogwash. You cannot use math to determine the outcomes of human events. Human beings aren't always rational. they're very complex individuals. The idealists would study history by first examining the actions taken, then attempting to empathize with the historical actors. To get inside their heads and judge their actions this way. By analyzing the primary source documents and drawing reasonable conclusions about past individuals states of mind. This adds the crucial human element l! acking in the positivist equation and in my opinion makes history worth! studying. So in my opinion i believe that history should be in the humanities department and not lumped in with the social sciences....Show more