Originally published on October 28, 2021 (Episode 231)
Introduction
This episode in our continuing series on the skills of historical thinking focuses on multiple perspectives. Put as a question, it asks: How might others plausibly interpret this evidence differently? To do that, we must consider more than one point of view, and then either refute or concede objections to our argument.
The theme of multiple perspectives takes us into a strange and fascinating landscape where history, logic, phenomenology, and ethics meet—and hopefully assist one another. Touring that landscape with me are two frequent guests of the podcast, Lorri Glover and Robert Elder,.
About the Guests
Lorri Glover is the John Francis Bannon Endowed Chair in the Department of History at Saint Louis University and the author of Eliza Lucas Pinckney: An Independent Woman in the Age of Revolution (Yale University Press, 2020).
Robert Elder is Associate Professor of History at Baylor University and the author of Calhoun: American Heretic (Basic Books, 2021).
Something compels me to observe that, despite the topics of these two biographies, neither Lorri nor Bob is from South Carolina.
For Further Investigation
Sam Wineburg, Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts (Temple University Press, 2001)—really the book that created this podcast
Lendol Calder, “Uncoverage: Toward a Signature Pedagogy for the History Survey,” Journal of American History 92, no. 4 (2006): 1358–1370
💬 Listen & Discuss
How do multiple perspectives enrich—and complicate—our understanding of the past? Share your thoughts in the comments, and consider forwarding this episode to a colleague or friend who teaches or studies history.
