Books about historical events were always fascinating to me when I was younger, but when History was introduced as a subject in secondary school, I found myself struggling to do well as I could never provide the ʻright’ answer that was expected. I remember telling myself that I probably was not cut out for History and never chose to study it as a subject after. I came to Yale-NUS wanting to study Anthropology and never even considered declaring a History major. However, after taking a History class at Yale-NUS because of interest, I realised I had enjoyed it tremendously and that History at the university level was vastly different than at the tertiary and secondary level. After that class, I changed my mind and declared a History major.

Within the major, my interests lie primarily in the history of immigration and the sociocultural aspects of this phenomenon, but the place I am specifically interested in studying is Hawaiʻi. In my junior year, I was fortunate to study in Hawaiʻi for a semester and learnt an incredible amount while simultaneously experiencing all that I was reading about. I would walk along streets where major events happened and was always excited at the significance of these events even in the Hawaiʻi of today.

Hello! My name is Charlene and I am from the Class of 2019. I have always enjoyed History as a subject even from my JC times. I even did a H3 in it, but somehow it turned out to be my worst subject for A Levels. I was really devastated–not so much because of the letter grade itself–but because it was the one thing I thought was for me. But my teacher encouraged me to pursue my passion and not be deterred by the grade alone, which really inspired me to continue doing what I enjoy! I’m so glad I did not give up.

My name is Jac, and I love old things. I spent a good amount of my time here at Yale-NUS learning about the history of Ancient Rome, syntax in the Classical Greek Language, and beautiful art of the Byzantine Empire. In my capstone research on the Fourth Crusades in Constantinople, I explored the constant evolution of national identity, and the tenuous struggle between faith and politics. It is humbling to reconcile that the issues marring our world centuries ago are exactly the same as those today. Since graduation, I have been working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a Foreign Service Officer.

I love history because it is about uncovering stories and perspectives. It is perhaps the most inter-disciplinary subject, since it encompasses all sorts of methodologies and issues. My personal interest lies in modern East Asian international relations, and my capstone investigated German perceptions of Japan in the late nineteenth century. I am currently pursuing a Master’s programme in international affairs at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Thereafter, I am slated to serve out my scholarship bond at the Ministry of Education. In the future, I hope to open my own bakery.

I am from Mongolia, and I have been in love with history since I was a kid. It is something that has driven my academic pursuits since the very beginning. In retrospect, it might have been because I come from a place with such a rich history that was hard to ignore, but I think it is much more than that. For me, history is an act of imagination. With only the scraps of the past, it is up to the historian to put together the stories of times removed from our own, and the worlds that were shaped by people not too different from ourselves. To understand those histories is to understand ourselves, and I find that immensely fascinating.

Hailing from Jakarta, Indonesia, I am primarily interested in intellectual, religious and imperial history. I am currently researching British mariner autobiographies from the early 18th century: how they were influenced by legal proceedings, and whether they have a role in the rise of fictive novels. I enjoy studying history not only because of its power to explain why the world is as it is today, but also for the amazing stories that can be found in any topic of study. I love discovering how people can be vastly different and yet, still acutely similar across time and place in the way that we want, feel, and connect with one another.