Abstract—History was originally highly valued in public education, but it has gradually slipped to the periphery of the curriculum throughout time. Most students simply study “history” as a general education or liberal arts elective, and many institutions have struggled to attract and keep students interested in history majors. Students should study history for various reasons, including knowledge acquisition and developing critical thinking abilities, citizenship reinforcement, and giving “lessons” for the present globalized world. This essay will first analyze the stalemate of history as a subject and why some people believe that learning world history is useless. Secondly, it will explain why studying world history should be mandatory for all university students, and successful cases will be included. Finally, existing and potential problems that history subject faces will be discussed, and suggestions to solve them will be provided. 
 

Keywords—world history, college students, mandatory course, cultural understanding 

Cite: Zichun Fu, "Should the Study of World History Be Compulsory for All University Students?," International Journal of Learning and Teaching, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 439-441, December 2023. doi: 10.18178/ijlt.9.4.439-441

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