#ethics of knowledge

[profkew]

[H]istorians of the recent past must also consider the ethics of the work that they do. We need not only to write a comprehensive account of the recent past, but also to live with what we have written.

Heather Ann Thompson, “Writing the Perilously Recent Past: The Historian’s Dilemma” Perspectives on History, Oct 2013.

[profkew]

[Historians] are taught to be dispassionate recorders and interpreters of historical information, but this also means that we have spent woefully little time considering the ways in which our seemingly objective questions might cause others real pain. Being encouraged to choose accessible research topics also means that we haven’t amassed the skills we need to write about topics that might shine needed new light on the postwar period precisely because recovering them is so difficult. Being taught merely to chronicle the past also means that we have spent little time debating the ethics of knowledge. Perhaps worse, being taught that we must neither protect historical actors nor throw them to the sharks, leaves us rudderless when we find ourselves swimming in a sea of information that, if we were to disclose it, might alter the course of history, not simply rescue it for posterity. And yet, historians alone know how to uncover the true complexities of the recent past—we have the patience and skills needed to research this past most fully, and knowledge of the broader historical context needed to interpret this past most meaningfully. Indeed, working hard to overcome the dilemmas posed by writing the perilously recent past also presents us with many wonderful opportunities to make our work even better.

Heather Ann Thompson, “Writing the Perilously Recent Past: The Historian’s Dilemma” Perspectives on History, Oct 2013.