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Sibert and Documentation
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From: Megan Schliesman <Schliesman>
Date: Fri, 09 Mar 2001 08:26:01 -0600
Susan Faust, chair of the first Sibert Award Committee, is again having technical difficulties and asked me to post this message:
Faith raises an important issue regarding documentation in the passage in BLIZZARD that describes Sara Wilson's tragic train journey. How do we know that she was "a bundle of emotions" or that she tried to read but couldn't concentrate? Murphy's notes make it a federal project to track down the source(s), as Nina points out. We might engage in some conjecture about conjecture: What if there is no source, and Murphy is simply trying to put himself in Sara's place. We can't quite tell. If that is the case, then it is necessary to clearly delineate between fact and conjecture, something that Joan Dash does with ease and devotion in THE LONGITUDE PRIZE. At many points, where the historical record is nonexistent, she moves to conjecture to fill out the picture. When speaking of Harrison's education, she writes, "Perhaps the visiting clergyman gave him occasional lessons," (p. 14) or when writing of Harrison at sea, she writes, "We cannot suppose that the novelties of shipboard life were likely to make much of an impression" on him
(p. 60). She is always clear in the text about the source of facts (pamphlets of the day, manuscripts, local records, etc) and about what constitutes analytical leaps.
She uses words like "perhaps" and "suppose" to tip us off. Thus, Dash provides both lessons in historiography and in critical thinking-- how to evaluate sources, how to delineate fact from conjecture, and how to make lively and intelligent guesses about what might have been when the record is dry.
Faith's concern about how the Wilson episode is sourced serves as a reminder that no book is perfect and that it is important to weigh concerns in the context of an overall book. What is a small lapse versus what is a pivotal problem? There's no one right answer, but lots of well-grounded (and sometimes not so well-grounded) opinions. So Faith, thanks for posing a tough question. And please, more opinions.......
Susan Faust Chair, 2001 Sibert Award
Received on Fri 09 Mar 2001 08:26:01 AM CST
Date: Fri, 09 Mar 2001 08:26:01 -0600
Susan Faust, chair of the first Sibert Award Committee, is again having technical difficulties and asked me to post this message:
Faith raises an important issue regarding documentation in the passage in BLIZZARD that describes Sara Wilson's tragic train journey. How do we know that she was "a bundle of emotions" or that she tried to read but couldn't concentrate? Murphy's notes make it a federal project to track down the source(s), as Nina points out. We might engage in some conjecture about conjecture: What if there is no source, and Murphy is simply trying to put himself in Sara's place. We can't quite tell. If that is the case, then it is necessary to clearly delineate between fact and conjecture, something that Joan Dash does with ease and devotion in THE LONGITUDE PRIZE. At many points, where the historical record is nonexistent, she moves to conjecture to fill out the picture. When speaking of Harrison's education, she writes, "Perhaps the visiting clergyman gave him occasional lessons," (p. 14) or when writing of Harrison at sea, she writes, "We cannot suppose that the novelties of shipboard life were likely to make much of an impression" on him
(p. 60). She is always clear in the text about the source of facts (pamphlets of the day, manuscripts, local records, etc) and about what constitutes analytical leaps.
She uses words like "perhaps" and "suppose" to tip us off. Thus, Dash provides both lessons in historiography and in critical thinking-- how to evaluate sources, how to delineate fact from conjecture, and how to make lively and intelligent guesses about what might have been when the record is dry.
Faith's concern about how the Wilson episode is sourced serves as a reminder that no book is perfect and that it is important to weigh concerns in the context of an overall book. What is a small lapse versus what is a pivotal problem? There's no one right answer, but lots of well-grounded (and sometimes not so well-grounded) opinions. So Faith, thanks for posing a tough question. And please, more opinions.......
Susan Faust Chair, 2001 Sibert Award
Received on Fri 09 Mar 2001 08:26:01 AM CST
