The American poet and writer Maya Angelou once said, ‘You can’t really know where you are going until you know where you have been.’ It is important to understand and learn lessons from the past in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future. This is as true for individuals as it is true for a country. To Department of History Distinguished Professor Wang Di, the relevance of studying history in the modern world is never in question. Indeed, he believes that Macao’s future prosperity depends, at least to some extent, on the quality of education in history. Driven by this belief, Prof Wang and his colleagues from the Department of History have worked tirelessly over the years to develop a quality curriculum that aims to not only improve the students’ competitiveness on the job market, but also enhance the department’s research capacity and international academic influence. 英國著名哲學家培根曾說：“讀史使人明智＂。自古到今，歷史對一個國家和民族的發展有緊密的聯繫，瞭解歷史的演變，正 是吸收前人的指引，避免重蹈覆轍。這些年來，歷史系在不斷地摸索一條提高研究水準，擴大世界學術影響，又為澳門培養人 才的合理的課程設置和為澳門繁榮服務的發展方向。澳門大學歷史系特聘教授王笛說：“歷史系學生出路廣闊，歷史系的課程 設置，將有助提升學生畢業後在市場上的競爭力。” 讀歷史的出路 王笛教授認為學習歷史是基本素質的培養，他 說：“研究歷史的出路確實跟一些實用性強的學科 不同，歷史是人文學科，而且現在日益朝著多學科 交叉的方向發展，還涉及到文學、社會學、政治 學、人類學、傳播學等。歷史系要求學生要有較強 的收集資料、調查、研究和寫作的能力，畢業後無 論進入私人公司或者是政府機構，這些基本訓練都 非常實用。學歷史除了到各學校做歷史老師外，還 可以投身新聞傳播事業，也可以到政府機構去當文 化宣傳或文案，到文博機構或公司工作，能發揮的 機會很多。＂他分享一次難忘的授課經驗時表示，因 應澳門逐漸融入大灣區發展，澳門一間博企曾邀請 他向高層管理人員講解中國歷史，透過課程讓學員 瞭解歷史的淵源，以提高人員對客人的服務素質。 Career Options of History Graduates According to Prof Wang, history entails training in multiple skills, which gives history graduates more career options. He says, ‘History graduates travel different career paths from pursuers of applied science. History is a branch of the humanities. With an increasing trend towards multi-disciplinary development, history now encompasses knowledge in different branches of the humanities, such as literature, sociology, political science, anthropology, and communication studies. History also demands multiple skills. Students must learn how to collect data, how to investigate, how to conduct research, and how to write reports. These skills will be very useful, whether they choose to work in the government or in the private sector. History graduates have many career options. They can work as history teachers or journalists. They can work in the government, in private companies, or in cultural institutions like museums.’ He cites his own experience to illustrate the great demand for historical knowledge, sometimes from the least expected sources. He was once invited by a casino company in Macao to teach Chinese history to its senior executives, because the company correctly reasoned that employees who understand history will provide better services to customers. 王笛教授潛心研究四川茶館文化多年，收藏不少相關書籍及資料。 A veteran researcher on the teahouse culture in Sichuan province, Prof Wang Di has collected many books on the subject. umagazine issue 19 39
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