Q&A: Ben House on the Irrelevance of History

Ben House is an administrator and teacher at Veritas Academy in Texarkana, AR (an ACCS member). He’s also a voracious reader and intense history buff. That’s important because both characteristics come out quite strongly in his recent book, Punic Wars & Culture Wars, a collection of essays about history and teaching. It’s a challenging and informative book that covers a wide variety of people and places, from Hannibal to Francis Schaeffer.

In this Q&A, we asked him some questions about the motivations behind his book and why “normal” people should care about history.

1. What’s the story behind the title of your book, Punic Wars & Culture Wars?
The title grew out of two sad facts. I can’t write book reviews and I can’t keep on subject. Several years back, I re-read Ernle Bradford’s biography of Hannibal. That led me to begin writing a book review and brief survey of the Punic Wars. A good book reviewer sticks to the book and a good historian sticks to the facts of history. But I couldn’t help but start throwing in modern day comparisons and applications.

Over a period of several years, I find myself continually writing about books and history. Every time I began writing, I would branch off from the history lesson to current issues and cultural concerns.

2. You begin by describing the study of history and literature as “irrelevant,” and yet you say that parents, pastors, laymen, and even CEOs can profit from such irrelevance. How?
First, by understanding the subtle irony of my calling history irrelevant. There is an underlying thought that the only purpose for being a college history major is so you can teach history. There is always a sense that people in service professions are actually producing something.

So we ask: What do historians and history teachers provide? What does the past have to teach us?

It’s not exact parallel lessons you learn from history. There is not a past era that is an exact model of our time, but there is wisdom from both successes and failures.

I hope lots of CEOs are currently reading Amity Shlaes’ book on the Great Depression, just right after they finish reading my book. I hope political conservatives are reading Reagan biographies. I hope President-elect Obama is reading Reagan biographies.

It’s interesting that we use the word “News” to describe the recurring everyday events in this world. “The NEWS has been brought to you by Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.” With a little historical perspective, even the most sensational News falls into a discernible pattern. The daily news really is generally irrelevant. Newspaper stories are valuable if they are still resonating a week after they are written.

History is a most relevant topic for the times.

3. “History may very well be the most important subject taught in Christian schools,” you write. If another teacher—who teaches music, grammar, or science—objected (“Well, of course you say that: that’s your job!”), what would be your response?
First response, I would tell them to write a 400 plus page book telling why their subject is just as important or more important than history. We could have some fun fights amongst teachers with each won battling for his or her subject.

Yes, history may be the most important subject in a Christian school. That does not mean that history class outranks the other daily classes. But history forms the presuppositional foundation for all other subjects. History is really a branch of philosophy. We teach English, and maybe along with that, Latin, French, or Japanese. Why are we learning this language and not that one? There are historical reasons for each choice. Every piece of music has a history and an historical context. Modern science grew out of presuppositions that arose in historical contexts. Even when we teach without talking about or thinking about these foundations, they are inescapably there.

Every subject stands upon certain historical beliefs and assumptions. Bible class is dependent on the version of history that we believe. Are we Protestant or Catholic? Reformed or Arminian? Creationist or Evolutionist? There are battles in history that determined which curriculum would shape our classrooms.

My thesis stands. Bring on the opposition.

4. As a teacher, it seems that you’re practically required to read and read and read, and then read some more. But what reading advice would you offer to those whose jobs don’t demand this kind of study?
I initially thought that maybe such people should quit those jobs. But I don’t want to glut the market for history teachers. The main advice I would give is to balance your reading, just like you balance your diet. Read some serious stuff. There is nothing wrong with starting a hefty book like Calvin’s Institutes and only getting a hundred pages read. Think what the church today would be like if we all read the first hundred pages of Calvin.

But along with the heavies, people also should read fun books. I find biographies, political histories, and military histories fun. Some people really enjoy historical fiction, but maybe feel a bit embarrassed over reading fiction.

Reading groups are really useful. Many of the books I need to read actually get read when it is a classroom assignment. We need the motivation to stick with the harder books.

Some people get bogged down reading one book at a time. I really think reading five or six at a time is much better. But each person should find the kind of books, the time for reading, and the method of reading that works for them. Avoiding gadgets, meaning things invented after 1900, also helps.

5. A glance at the table of contents (not to mention the annotated bibliography!) makes it quite clear that you’re a voracious reader. How do you pick which books to read next? And are there any genres that you absolutely refuse to touch?
First, concerning genres I refuse to touch: I never read anything that promises to help me be a leader, be efficient, or become wealthy.

Concerning which books to read, there are two aspects to this. I usually have a stack of books that are classroom assignments or supplemental to classes that I am teaching. Right now I am teaching through Augustine’s City of God, so I am reading from that book. I am also reading at times from other books dealing with Medieval history. In recent months I have been reading things relating to Dutch worldview thinkers due to some lectures I gave on that topic.

Along with the assigned readings, I always have my dessert readings. These are books I am reading because I want to. I am interested in the book, so I pick it up and read some. If it is a good book and a good time to read the book, I press on. If not, I save it until later. Dessert readings are usually way off the subject from what I am teaching. Here is where novels and biographies often get read.