04. What is revisionism?

“Thou Shalt not Bear False Witness…”

Colonel Edward Shames. Few people know the name, and, for those who do, it does not always carry the best connotation. Col. Shames (pictured above) served in Easy Company Second Battalion 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division during World War II. In more colloquial terms, the outfit portrayed in HBO’s famous mini-series, Band of …

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Reflections on Revisionism feature Connections to GLMA 2017

For this Thursday’s class I read Christian Conger’s article, “How Revisionist History Works.” Since I am absent from class attending the annual GLMA conference, I thought I would connect the commentary in Conger’s article to one of the lectures I attended at the conference, so that I may apply the lessons from class to my …

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Revisionism, Denialism, and Negationism in History

Historical revisionism is a term used for the reinterpretations of facts and narratives based on new evidence and sources. It took on some negative meaning when revisionists began spinning history in some new direction, pursuing an agenda to cast a different light on some subject, or outright create false histories. While revisionism is an inherent …

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“How Revisionist History Works” Kayla Mizelle

Cristen Conger in her article, “How Revisionist History Works” explains what revisionist history is and the implications that go along with revisionism. Conger defines revisionist history as, “Scholars find inconsistencies or outright fallacies in historical narratives and make the necessary edits, or they examine the reasoning behind historical facts.” [1] This essentially means that somewhere…

David McNeill’s “Counterspinning Revisionist History” – Daniel Crosson

  For our discussion on revisionist history, I came across an interesting article by Dr. David McNeill titled “Counterspinning Revisionist History”, recalling experiences he has had teaching courses at universities in Japan and China. Dr. McNeill discusses how he experienced and attempted to counter revisionist historical views among his students that had begun to cross …

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Cece Burger:  What is revisionism? Jeff Riggenbach

Jeff Riggenbach begins his book by explaining the importance of and the need for revisionism. His writing is focused on American history and the unique problems it faces. At the heart of what makes American history textbooks so important is their perpetuating influence. Riggenbach asserts, “What Americans know and understand about the history of the …

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Delanie Tarvin: “Revisionisms” by Peter Wood

Peter Wood’s “Revisionisms” is the introduction to an issue of the publication Academic Questions. In this introduction, Wood discusses the origin of the term revisionism and what it stands for today; moreover, he criticizes the revisionist approach to history, especially as it relates to the World War II and Cold War era. Wood explains that …

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The Essential Practice of Historical Revisionism-

The concept of historical revisionism is rife with pejorative and negative connotations, as James McPherson notes in his article in the American Historical Association “Revisionist Historians”.  Oftentimes the concept is equated with deliberate and malicious reworking of historical narratives to serve a purpose, whether political or ideological. His specific reference to this phenomenon in modern times is …

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Helen Goggins: “How Revisionist History Works”

   Cristen Conger’s article, “How Revisionist History Works”, argues the current status of revisionism as a form of history and its current role in society. Revisionism is a way of revising history and fixing misconceptions and falsified information within historical narratives. Conger dissects the legend of George Washington and the cherry tree, she quickly debunks…

How Revisionist History Works (Pages 1-3)

Jason Arquette Professor Hirsh Blog 4g September 14th, 2017 The first half of Cristen Conger’s “How Revisionist History Works” strongly illustrates the principles and concepts of modern revisionist history. Conger begins by generally defining this particular form of history as the amendment of previously established historical facts due newly discovered information. This definition is exemplified…