Storytelling Challenges
Wow! I just finished listening to, and reading along with, William Cronon’s address to the American Historical Association and I am thrilled I took the time to listen to the speech. Watching the speech on YouTube made me want to take a class from Cronon and meet his mentor Richard Ringler. I am fairly certain I would not feel the same way if I had decided to simply read the article. Cronon said that knowing how to figure out the answer to a question is more important than knowing the actual fact that answers the question. This thought ties directly to the Tosh and Weinberger readings. How do we know what we know and what types of information, or sources, should we use to help answer questions we do not know. (I also liked Cronon’s advice about not being afraid to admit you do not know something!)
Tosh goes about meticulously explaining the different types of sources, how to use these items, and finally how to interpret them and write about history. He fails to note the rapidly changing forums in which historical sources are now found. Weinberger fills this gap with his chapters about changing knowledge sources and the growing presence of networking solutions. One thing that struck me from “To Big To Know” was how are we to understand an individual, event, or even history itself when none of the tangible sources Tosh mention are readily available. In other words, how do we interpret sources when there cease to be a paper trail to follow. And, if we electronic bits of information as sources do these have a finite lifespan or will they exist infinitely.
Another issue is trusting the source. Should we trust sources we find online and what criteria do we use to determine their authenticity and reliability? This is a major problem facing researchers as we move further into the Digital Age.
(Example: Search for “Martin Luther King Jr.” on Google, in the first page of the results list you will see www.martinlutherking.org. This site says it contain valuable information for teachers and student alike. It is not a .edu or .gov site but seems like a legitimate source until you visit the site! Look for yourself if you are at all curious!)
One last thought is Cronon’s notion of storytelling and its function to reaching a mass audience. Scholarly history is for professional historians and its not likely that the general public would attempt to read an article or book written in such a fashion. One of the goals of a historian is to bring the past to the masses. To successfully accomplish this we need to tell good, and factual, stories. I liked that Cronon says that one of the most important parts of this process is the storyteller/narrator. Tosh states the limitations of a narrative and states that because of the “analytical complexity” of historical research narrative are not the best format, but then later notes that “history without narrative is a non-starter.” I like Cronon’s stories. Stories are the way to reach a wider audience than just professional historians. Some of my favorite history books are well-told, fact based histories told by great storytellers.
David,
I didn’t even think to listen to William Cronon’s presidential address until you mentioned it in your post, what a great idea! I agree that after listening to it, I felt I got a great deal more out of it than if I had simply read the article only. I also agree with you that I like Cronon’s stories and I too see this as the way to keep history exciting and interesting. Unfortunately, it is much too easy to make history boring and dull and storytelling needs to remain a primary means by which historians reach a general public audience, particularly as we continue to move forward in this digital age.
As you suggested, I went to the Martin Luther King, Jr. site you mentioned and was equally dismayed to discover that it is not quite as legitimate as it sounds. This is very much an unfortunate reality we must contend with in this day and age and it is crucial that we teach younger generations to be careful trusting something simply because they “read it on the Internet.” I am not so sure we will ever reach a time in which less desirable and less truthful sources will not be so easily accessible alongside more legitimate sources. In the meantime, we can hope that at least some strides will be made to remove such unhelpful sources, particularly if our libraries and archives begin to become even more obsolete than they already unfortunately are.
David,
Why do so many people cringe when you talk about reading a history book? I love reading history! But many people don’t and maybe it’s because we forget that history is a story. It’s analytical. It’s factual. It’s scholarly, but it is also a story set in settings and driving through time – just like many novels. I think we have to think about how we are writing history. I’ve seen two people take the same facts, same setting, same historical event and one person’s narrative was dry as a bone and the other, fascinating.
So my question is, isn’t it ok to write history in a fascinating way with driving narrative and attention to the ‘“interesting” parts?
Faith,
I hope so! Without a good story many people won’t read history. I’ll take a good story over a dry bone any day. It is unfortunate that some/many history books do not appeal to a wider audience and I think its because how they are written.
I really like that you brought up how to figure out what is and is not a good source, with a great example! One of the things I actually started teaching my students was to USE wikipedia in a functional way. Surprisingly, many of the resources listed for citations on the bottom of the pages are quite legitimate, and many even print! Granted, not all of them are entirely kosher, but it was a great way to show them how to distinguish between “real” and “not so real.”
One other thing I want to comment is that it’s not necessarily bad to have no “paper” trail, since so much has been digitized. We just need to know how to find it (or even if we can in the first place). I have quite the love-hate relationship with microform/microfilm…but it was the only place I could find a lot of newspapers that I needed articles from. No paper copies or even internet availability. Just these stupid rolls of film in a dank basement in the library all by myself for hours scrolling through. Buhhh. BUT. I had my legitimate sources. I think the problem is we aren’t catching up with the digital/modern technology fast enough; we’re so used to looking for paper that we don’t always see what is available right in front of our faces if we just look a little closer.
David,
I, too, was struck by Cronon’s call for storytelling. In fact, in most of the works or articles I have read by Cronon, I seem to come away from it a little more hopeful about the current state of history and how it should be taught. Specifically coming from a Public History background, I believe one of the most effective ways to articulate the complex and introduce central historical themes is through the act of telling a story.
Additionally, I agree that it is difficult to know exactly which sources to trust in a time in which so much information is being offered by seemingly reliable sources. Typically, I just make it a rule to try and cross-reference my information if I feel as if it is coming from a questionable place. However, this becomes difficult if the source you find information appears to be the sole source.
I agree with you David; by listening to Cronon along with the reading, I found it enlightening and it seemed to make my understanding of the reading a lot easier to get a grasp on. I also found Cronon’s advice to not be afraid to admit that you “do not know something” very encouraging. In my experience as a living historian/historical interpreter, I have had questions come up that I do not know the answer to. I never try to make something up, because without a doubt, whenever anyone tries to do that, they come off as hesitant, and there will always be someone in the crowd that will call you out or fact check you. I found that it is much better to say, I’m not sure about that, but I’ll find out for you and get back to you, or let’s find that out together. Just as long as we don’t rely on Google, because don’t forget our readings from Weinberger in “Too Big…” you cannot rely on what you find on the internet without checking other sources.
HI David,
I think most people would take a story over “dry bone” any day, even those of us who enjoy reading histories. I think it is possible to convey a message in an engaging and even entertaining way without compromising the facts. Cronon refers to Michael Pollan, whose books I have read. While I have never thought of him as a historian (and he’s not; he’s a journalist), he manages to tell a good story and write in an engaging way without compromising the facts or omitting important details.
Claire