8 principles of ethical interpretation of history

Alex von der Becke represented Vernon Systems at the Small Museum Association conference in Richmond, Virginia, USA. The theme this year was “Telling tough stories.”

Shawn Halifax of the National Trust for Historic Preservation delivered the conference keynote. He opened by discussing the McLeod Plantation Historic Site whose purpose is “to preserve and share the history of enslaved people and their descendents in their on-going struggle to achieve freedom and justice.”

Shawn then outlined 8 principles of ethical interpretation of history which are adaptable to any cultural site. These were divided equally between principles for developing content and principles for interacting with others and ourselves.

1. Resources: know history

• Have a firm grounding in vetted scholarship and knowledge of your museum or site’s history and its resources and their relevance to the present and possible future.
• Cite your sources.
• Possess historical thinking skills and an understanding of the historiography of the topic being interpreted.
• Oral histories are valid. Problems with accuracy are the same for oral histories as other sources.
• Employ concentric research – provide site-specific evidence and radiate geographically outward, when appropriate.

2. Authentic history: identify meanings

• Facilitate learners’ discovery of personal meanings and symbolic connections (intangibles) to the people, places, events and things of the past (tangibles).
• Acknowledge incompleteness due to lack of information and understand that all sources are biased.
• Recognise our understanding of the past is fluid, only bringing us to a proximity.
• Connect learners with the people, places, events and things of the past by revealing their relevancy and significance to the present and possible future.

3. Corrective narratives: integrate submerged histories

• Tell stories with a beginning, middle and conclusion.
• Do not devolve into the minutiae.
• Share meaningful and integrated stories that may correct traditional narratives.
• Do not avoid tension or stories that remain unresolved.
• Use multiple sources and include alternative perspectives to help mitigate bias.
• Use a thematic approach when crafting interpretation.

4. People of the past: reveal the whole person

• Present historically excluded and under-represented people in their fundamental human dignity.
• Present people within the contextual complexity of their experiences.
• Create opportunities for learners to develop empathy and compassion for historically excluded and under-represented people of the past and their descendents in the present.
• Balance trauma with triumph and pain with pride.
• Do not exploit trauma.

5. Learners: meet them where they are

• Prepare for and recognise discomfort in learners created by difficult knowledge that contradicts or conflicts with their existing knowledge.
• Recognise these stories can be unsettling because they reference lived and/or generational trauma.
• Employ a dialogic approach to provide learners time and space for reflection, conversation, questions and sharing of their experiences and relationship to the history.

6. Self: be self-aware

• Reflect on thoughts, feelings and experiences around the history you are sharing and its intersection with modern issues.
• Read about, listen to, then participate in discussions about the history you are sharing with people that do and do not think like you.
• Recognise your own discomfort from the contradictions and conflicts of history.
• Prepare for your responses to learners’ responses to difficult knowledge.
• Practise self-care.

7. Colleagues: provide support

• Promote institutional support for frontline workers’ well-being.
• Support the well-being of colleagues.
• Become part of a community of practice.

8. Community: engage with

• Build trust through personal and organisational relationships with individuals and communities whose history is being interpreted.
• Involve the community whose history is to be interpreted in research.
• Involve the community whose history is being interpreted in the planning, delivery and evaluation of interpretation.