With students of the Degree in History (UdG) from Maxi Fuentes Codera's class, we reflected on the (return of) individual as a central element in the construction of the narrative of the discipline, especially in the field of cultural history. Based on a specific case, my last book Ganar la guerra, perder la paz (Crítica, Barcelona, 2019) --precisely finished in a previous stay at the Faber-- we opened a dialogue on historical research, the danger of Manichaeism and extreme specialization, the future of discipline and the paradox between the multiplicity of uses of history and the lack of presence of the profession in public debate and in these new areas of knowledge. In the ensuing dialogue, questions arose as to what the role of history should be in contemporary society, the need to add complexity the narrative of the past, and the discussion about the social function of history (if that is possible).