{"id":1809,"date":"2025-12-12T13:03:30","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T13:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/?p=1809"},"modified":"2025-12-09T23:09:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T23:09:46","slug":"why-the-past-matters-meet-dr-sebastian-huebel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/2025\/12\/12\/why-the-past-matters-meet-dr-sebastian-huebel\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Past Matters: Meet Dr. Sebastian Huebel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why the Past Matters: Meet Dr. Sebastian Huebel<\/strong><\/h1>\n

\"SebastianSome people fall in love with history through books. Others through classrooms, artifacts, or archival discoveries. For Dr. Sebastian Huebel, it started with the simple wonder of childhood — objects tucked away in his great-grandmother\u2019s home, pieces of the past that whispered stories he wanted to understand.<\/p>\n

That early curiosity grew into a lifelong commitment to examining how humans have lived, acted, and shaped one another across time. Since joining UFV in 2018, Dr. Huebel has become a thoughtful and deeply dedicated instructor in the Department of History. Now, as Assistant Professor, he teaches courses ranging from broad surveys of world history to advanced seminars on genocide, violence, and societal transformation.<\/p>\n

We spoke with Dr. Huebel about his journey, the questions that drive his work, and why understanding the past matters now more than ever. Check his answers below!<\/p>\n

College of Arts: Could you start by sharing a bit about your journey as an educator? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Sebastian:<\/strong> I was lucky to land two teaching jobs shortly after completing my PhD in 2017. I have been at UFV since 2018, first as a Sessional, then as an LTA instructor.<\/p>\n

College of Arts: What inspired you to specialize in your field? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Sebastian:<\/strong> I have been fascinated by old things for a long time, be it stuff laying around my great-grandmother’s place or museum artefacts. This childish curiosity consolidated into a more general interest into the myriad ways humans have lived in the past and how cultural values and social norms have changed (or not), even just in the last 100 years.\u00a0 Comparing past standards of living to our present lifestyles helps me better situate myself and appreciate some of the privileges of modern life that our ancestors didn’t have.\u00a0 At the same time, history is not a study of progress only, and growing up in Germany, my home country, as a teenager I was drawn into seeking explanations of the darker chapters in human history to better understand what leads humans in the first place to inflict violence onto one another. It is this dichotomy – history’s pursuit of progress and improvement and the recurrent aberrations and returns into the abyss – that captivates me.<\/p>\n

College of Arts:<\/strong> What do you hope your students take away from your classes?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sebastian:<\/strong> Studying History has many benefits. There are the obvious yet crucial life skills that History students learn: sharpening their critical thinking skills, (especially in an age that seems to lack exactly this), learning how to read and write about complex ideas as well as to engage in critical oral debates. In my courses on violence and genocide especially, I strive for students to acquire a deeper sense of justice and human empathy, an interest in and care for fellow humans, past and present. History can open many doors for better comprehending the wonderful and equally atrocious things that humans can do. In the same vein, I also hope for students to realize how past and present times are inter-connected and how an understanding of History is relevant to present times. It sounds a bit kitschy, but I\u00a0 agree with the statement that we don’t know where we are going if we don’t understand where we come from. So many of the things we do on a daily basis – maybe all – are grounded in historic experience and conventions. Why is that the man usually drives the car and the women sits in the passenger seat? Why do we do things the way we do? This is worthy of reflection.<\/p>\n

College of Arts: Reflecting on your career so far, what has been the most rewarding aspect of being an educator?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sebastian:<\/strong> Having my son in grade 2 come home from school and extend greetings from his teacher, who used to be my student at UFV.<\/p>\n

College of Arts: If you could leave a lasting message or piece of advice for your students and community, what would it be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sebastian:<\/strong> Some social critics say we live in the dumbest of times, which is ironic because at no point in history have humans, generally speaking, been better educated. But I would certainly agree that we live in tumultuous and precarious times. Again, if we pay a bit more attention to the past, we could be better prepared to face current challenges and not repeat mistakes. And yet, we seem to be going in the opposite direction. Look how we continue destroying the environment though History keeps reminding us of the grave consequences; or how modern-day autocrats and populists with the loudest and simplest answers seem to carry the day. If we look at how dangerous such trends can be – like the current erosion of democratic principles in many countries – through a historic lens, we might make better-informed decisions. I feel that we take a functioning democracy often for granted. But it is predicated on civic participation. It is something that everyone needs to partake in for it to work. Again, History shows what happens otherwise.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dr. Sebastian\u2019s approach to history is grounded in curiosity, empathy, and a deep understanding of how the past shapes who we are today. His teaching encourages students not only to analyze historical events, but also to reflect on the cultural habits, values, and assumptions that guide their lives. His passion for helping students see the relevance — and urgency — of historical thinking will continue to enrich UFV classrooms and inspire future generations to look to the past with attention and purpose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why the Past Matters: Meet Dr. Sebastian Huebel Some people fall in love with history through books. Others through classrooms, artifacts, or archival discoveries. For Dr. Sebastian Huebel, it started with the simple wonder of childhood — objects tucked away in his great-grandmother\u2019s home, pieces of the past that whispered stories he wanted to understand. … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":275,"featured_media":1810,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[236,188],"tags":[247,246],"class_list":["post-1809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty-impact","category-teaching-and-research","tag-history-department","tag-ufv-faculty"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/275"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1809"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1812,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1809\/revisions\/1812"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}