tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post8796193964754638105..comments2024-03-21T19:08:05.737-07:00Comments on Genealogy's Star: If we don't like our family's history, let's rewrite it!James Tannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-22307514637704988612013-08-13T03:00:41.240-07:002013-08-13T03:00:41.240-07:00I'm shocked that anyone should even consider p...I'm shocked that anyone should even consider political correctness to be relevant when documenting history. It goes against everything set out in the formal training. Evidence is evidence, and must be transcribed verbatim (or even literatim). If someone cannot accept the terms, concepts, and lifestyles of a time-gone-by then historical research isn't going to be a good fit for them.<br /><br />It's fine to add annotation giving a modern equivalent but only in the interests of clarity, not for political correctness.<br /><br />I, too, wanted to mention place names but user bgwiehle beat me to it. I have seen many conversations where people have struggled where a modern name/spelling is different to the recorded one, or where the boundary of the parent region (e.g. a county) has changed. This is significant to this issue because the same rules apply. Record what was written, and annotate it if you must. I will be writing about this particular subject myself soon.<br />Tony Proctorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18330460400737261264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-2049010682469810072013-08-12T16:04:03.032-07:002013-08-12T16:04:03.032-07:00Using modern placenames and jurisdictions is also ...Using modern placenames and jurisdictions is also changing history. It promotes corrupted knowledge of when a country was formed or when a border was moved.bgwiehlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00904956507742860598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-36273447094474695742013-08-12T09:06:11.584-07:002013-08-12T09:06:11.584-07:00James, you are absolutely correct, we cannot and s...James, you are absolutely correct, we cannot and should not change history just to be more sympathetic to modern times. Our jobs, as historians, is to explain, interpret, and write history within the context of the era we are writing about. If we change a word because it is not politically correct today, then we are changing history and we have failed to do our job - worse yet, we have failed our audience. <br />However, we also must ensure that our audience knows that we are writing within the context of the era and not from our own modern beliefs or morals - this can be done in an introductory paragraph or in footnotes/endnotes depending on the type of work. Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12512428314052051142noreply@blogger.com