The selectivity of historical representation

Missing in Interaction: Diversity, Narrative, and Critical Multicultural Social Studies

“…A variety of scholars working in history, social studies, and education have attempted to move beyond debates over historical accuracy and significance by focusing on issues of interp~tation and representation in history (Cohen, 1994;Cronon, 1992; Levstik & Barton, 1997;Kammen, 1991;Seixas, 1994;Trouillot, 1995;Wishart, 1997). Historical narratives always involve interpretation, and always necessitate decisions regarding how to represent historical figures and events, including judgments concerning the significance of specific historical figures and events, what events to "grasp together" (Wertsch, 1999), and how to grasp them together, into doherent narratives of the past.…”

Glances from the Shore: Thoreau and the Material Landscape of Cape Cod

“…The rhetorical stance of a careful, disinterested observer, well read in history but attentive to facts, was one he frequently assumed. However far his interpretations may range, his accounts ostentatiously confine themselves to reality as he observed it or as it was reported by others, just as historical-geographical writing does (Wishart 1997). …”

Talking geography: on oral history and the practice of geography

“…The potential of oral history to engage with geography are highlighted in two ways within this paper. First is the consideration of writing historical narrative (Wishart, 1997), where oral history can be added to recent interest in sources such as travel writing (Gruffudd et al, 2000) and biography (Lorimer, 2006) in the construction of historical landscapes. Second, the work demonstrates the potential of oral history to add another dimension to work on the histories of the discipline and formation of geographical knowledges (Barnes, 2006;Lorimer, 2003) helping us, as Matless et al suggest, "reveal the messy and/or deeper truth".…”