History is about people of the past. Historians study actors, structures, events, ideas and symbols and their meaning in a vast period of time - spanning from yesterday to thousands of years back in time.
The study of history helps us understand and provide explanations for the conditions of life in the past. Historians can also help show if and how humans might have had opportunity to affect and change these conditions. The field includes the question: how did we get where we are today?
The task of the historian is to give as just an image as possible of what once was. By shining a light on not only the most visible actors, but also the hidden or pushed away, we might also be able to strengthen people in the present.