1. “Good history” is fair: it identifies its own subjectivity and concedes to other points of view when appropriate. It doesn’t double-down on opinions which have already been legitimately refuted: good history is interested in finding the truth rather than reaffirming political, social, moral, or personal preferences.
2. Nothing is off limits: all historical interpretations represent different biases, but that doesn’t mean you need to throw out everything you disagree with. Some of my favorite historians are people with whom I disagree, but they’re responsible and fair with their research. Only reading history which agrees with your personal views or reaffirms political or social preferences seriously limits your quest for the truth. An echo chamber is no place to find answers. Remember: truth, by definition, is exclusive—and therefore, offensive. If you’re offended, maybe you need to check your biases.
3. Understand bias. Know the key words and catch phrases, even the subtle ones. (For more about bias, read 16 Types of Media Bias and How to Spot Them by AllSides .com.) We’re humans, and the human experience allows for life experiences to change our worldview and create subjective ideologies. Since we can’t escape bias, we can learn to identify it—even within ourselves.
4. When you read a piece of history, ask yourself three questions:
-Who is doing the writing? (Find their name, where they went to college, the titles of other publications, their social media information, etc.) Public statements on social media can reveal any bias or agendas which may infiltrate their writing material.
-What are they trying to get me to believe about the past? (Look for overarching narratives: what do their statements say about people in general, or about specific groups of people, or about general ideas? For example, be wary of blanket statements about specific races or origins of people, political systems, or religion: people will reveal their personal views in public writings—so be discerning.)
-Ask yourself how much of the content is interpretation (how the person feels about the subject) and how much is chronology (the “actual past”: what really happened). Interpretation is all about a person looking back at the chronology of the past and trying to make sense of it. Interpretation is important, because we can’t raise people of the past from the dead to answer our questions: historians take primary sources and use their best research skills to make conclusions, but historians can (and have) made mistakes. In any history writing, you want less interpretation and more facts.
5. Lastly, responsible history is question-driven. Rather than having an opinion and “finding research” to “prove” your preconceived ideas, begin with a question and *fairly* consider all perspectives. Use primary and secondary sources, examine conflicting interpretations, conceding your own when you realize you were wrong.
REMEMBER:
The enemy of good history is NOT the person who disagrees with you: the enemy of good history is oppression of the truth.
The Homeschool Historian 