Hygiea Statue in Edinburgh by The Dysania Concept (2022)
We may not all be Historians by profession, but we are all most definitely part of human history. Thus, our decisions and actions, no matter how small, create a ripple effect in our story. That’s why we believe this edition of The Mindsets is vital for everyone. It allows us to understand how everything we have lived, everything surrounding us and everything we will create is the shared pool of a single story. It allows us to know how Historians learn from the past to teach us how to build a better future. So use these qualities, virtues and skills as a guide to building a reliable plan towards your goal and becoming more in tune with our shared story and yours within. As Henry Glassie famously said, “History is not the past but a map of the past, drawn from a particular point of view, to be useful to the modern traveller.”
1. Resourceful
Historians must be resourceful to find all information on their subject. When researching a topic of interest, they must cover all angles through different perspectives and find these from various media sources. An example of this would be the beginning of any international conflict. When conducting research, Historians must use different resources to acquire the perspective and information related to both parties in dispute and any short-term and long-term affected parties. Additionally, they must use various data to understand all members of each party in conflict; governments, citizens, immigrants, etc. So, when attempting to understand the past to face a goal in life, be resourceful by finding information from all possible angles. Be sure you find information on why you are on this path. Be clever and train yourself to acquire what you need efficiently.
2. Analytical
Historians must be analytical of the information they come across. As a natural next step, Historians must analyse and digest the information they’ve found on the subject they’re researching. After their resourcefulness helped them build a reliable pile of information, they must organise it and understand its meaning. The analytical process consists of deconstructing, understanding and learning the information in front of them, then allowing them to compare and evaluate the similarities and differences between both to reach an answer to their question. Thus, once you’ve acquired all the information you need to tackle your goal, take your time to analyse it and ask essential questions: What is the best approach? Why is it the best approach? How can I tackle it?
3. Impartial
Historians must be impartial to reach a valuable lesson. During the process of analysing the information they’ve found, Historians must be able to not only deconstruct, understand and learn it but do it impartially. This means Historians must be able to have no bias when comprehending why a conflict took place, if there was a party with more responsibility or if the conflict was necessary. Historians must be able to detach themselves from the information they are evaluating and come to their best possible conclusion without letting their belief systems get in the way. Similarly, as you analyse the best path towards your goal, you must impartially evaluate what the best path is. Why is it the best path? How did you come to this conclusion? Where is the proof?
History, like life, does not work in a black-and-white system but a scale of greys. Nothing is ever absolute, and this makes being a Historian a challenging profession. There is never a single solution to a relevant question, like who’s to blame for the start of a conflict. Questions attempted to be answered seldom have a single explanation, like your path towards a goal. So don’t get stuck in the study of the past to understand how to tackle your goal. Be a Historian, use, analyse and learn from the past, but remember you’re doing it to build a map towards tackling your dream now, not in the future. Learn from the past to avoid the same mistakes in the present and, consequently, create a better future.
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