‘Clio’ in Danger: The Causes, Condition and Consequences of the Decline of Interest in History in Perspective

Adjei Adjepong ORCID iD, Charles Adabo Oppong ORCID iD & Joseph Udimal Kachim ORCID iD 

Issue: Vol.4  No.3 March 2023  Article 12  pp.324-356
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20234312 |   Published online 24th March, 2023
© 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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History, which was a popular discipline in the past, is now one of the marginalised subjects in schools, while many people today also pay little attention to the events which occurred in their past lives. Several causes have combined to bring about this unfortunate state of affairs which, in turn, has produced some adverse consequences. Essentially, the problem of the decline of interest in history has three parts to it: causes, conditions and consequences. Using both primary and secondary data and employing the qualitative approach, this study generally examined the problem of the decline of interest in history in the context of what it calls the ‘“3 Cs” of historical events’. The paper arbitrarily categorised the causes of the decline into “historical thoughts” and “historical deeds”, and showed the extent to which each has contributed to the existing condition. It then provided empirical evidence to show the reality and universality of the decline. After displaying the cause-and-effect relationship between the causes and the condition, the study, in a brief fashion, identified and analysed some of the major consequences of the decline of interest in history. In its conclusion, the paper first re-emphasised the thesis of the study and evaluated the authenticity of the framework adopted for the study. Finally, the paper recommends that efforts must be made to regenerate interest in history and place the discipline back in its rightful position in the school curriculum.

Keywords: Causes, Condition, Consequences, Decline of History, Historical Deeds and Historical Thoughts

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ADJEI ADJEPONG is a lecturer in the Department of History, University of Cape Coast. He has specialised and undertaken vigorous research in the areas of history of migrations and expulsions in Africa, philosophy of history and African historiography. He has also researched into the application of theories in historical reconstruction, the role of African women in the political development of precolonial Africa, and the contemporary significance of the study of History as a subject. He has, accordingly, published several articles in these fields of specialisation.

CHARLES ADABO OPPONG is an Associate Professor in History Education at the University of Cape Coast. His primary research areas of interest include history education, curriculum implementation and evaluation. Charles is the author of several research papers in reputable journals. He is also a senior research fellow and doubles as the education expert at Research Trust in Ghana. Charles has presented papers at international conferences on History Education and other education related fields. He has also undertaken several consultancy assignments for local and international organisations including T-TEL,National Teaching Council, National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), among others. Charles received his Bachelor of Education in Arts and M.Phil from the University of Cape Coast, and his Doctorate from UNISA, South Africa.

JOSEPH UDIMAL KACHIM currently lectures at the Department of History, University of Cape Coast in Ghana. He obtained his PhD from the University of the Free State in South Africa, with the International Studies Group. His research interest is in colonial and post-colonial history of northern Ghana. He has also researched on the history of education. His recent publication is on Konkomba cross border mobility which stems from his PhD thesis. He has won a number of grants and fellowships, including the prestigious ACLS African Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.

Adjepong, A,  Oppong, C.A. &  Kachim, J.U. “‘Clio’ in Danger: The Causes, Condition and Consequences of the Decline of Interest in History in Perspective,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 4, no.3 (2023): 324-356.  https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20234312

© 2023 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Publishers. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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