When I take a trip overseas, I plan what I’ll carry on the plane and what gets stowed inside the plane. I cram my carryon bag with a few clothes, an Indiana Jones hat, sunscreen, snacks, and a book. I also wear a neck pouch for my passport and cash. Anything else gets checked.
Travel offers many joys, blessings, and sometimes trials, touching the senses, the emotions, and the mind. Our experiences weave themselves into our story, and we have ample ground for reflection. It has been eye-opening to realize that people in other countries typically think differently than Americans.
Have you ever reflected that the past is a foreign country? Historian David Lowenthal makes that point, and he writes, “They do things differently there.” To prepare to visit the past, I would recommend historian John Fea’s book, Why Study History? Reflecting on the Importance of the Past.
Historian Shirley Mullen writes that historians “are called upon to report what they have seen.” Fea calls it a noble task to “dive into the sources of the past, engage in the necessary detective work, and imaginatively tell stories that will remind our generation what it has meant to be human.”
Fea says “historians are not mere storytellers.” Besides getting the story right, they “analyze and interpret the past.” According to Thomas Andrews and Flannery Burke, historians must always be sensitive to change over time, context, causality, contingency, and complexity.
Causality and contingency might need some explaining. Causality is “the examination of cause and effect.” Contingency is “the free will of humans to shape their own destinies.” Fea explains, “It is the historian’s task to explain the way people are driven by a personal desire to break free from their circumstances and the social and cultural forces that hold them in place.”
Far from being a stereotypical “ugly American” tromping throughout the world, Fea casts a vision of historians seeking to understand before they criticize the past. This approach encourages humility, and it trains historians to enter present-day public discourse with grace and respectful treatment of others.
History can be misused, of course. Politicians, preachers, and publishers can use history to promote inaccurate pictures of the past.
My recommendation
I found John Fea’s book to be powerful, refreshing, and thought provoking. You just may want to dust off your Indiana Jones hat for your next adventure.
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Jennifer Knight
16 Jul 2018Captured my interest with the Indiana Jones hat and travel title. I enjoyed your blog and plan on grabbing Fea’s book for a read. Thanks for the tip!
David Connon
16 Jul 2018Hi, Jennifer. It’s my pleasure. Thanks for reading my blog!
Richard Pohorsky
16 Jul 2018Some very profound words indeed! The human experience, and our social and moral compasses, evolve just as assuredly as our technology evolves. It is the sacred duty of the historian to put it all in context. Translating the telegraph age into the Wi-Fi age takes some real understanding.
David Connon
16 Jul 2018Hi, Dick. Well said!
Cynthia Jean Meyers-Germany
17 Jul 2018“Have you ever reflected that the past is a foreign country?”…No I had not, but that’s a very interesting perspective.
David Connon
17 Jul 2018Hi, Cynthia Jean. I think so, too. Thanks for reading my blog.