Predjudice in history

Can an historian ever be free of prejudice? This is a question that has been debated by many historians and intellectuals for centuries. As history is a very wide subject and depends on the historian picking out information from a vast selection of facts, can their prejudice or bias consciously or subconsciously never become part of the history they are writing? To fully discuss this question we must look at several factors and how these factors can effect Historians. One of these is what the word prejudice actually means and how we can relate this to history. Prejudice is a preconceived opinion, and an unjustified and or unreasonable bias. As it states in the Expanded Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia (2003), “Prejudice is an unsubstantiated prejudgment of an individual or group, favorable or unfavorable in character tending to action in a consonant direction.” (1) With this interpretation of the word in mind, how can we relate this to history and the historian and determine whether the historian can ever be free of prejudice? One of the things we

5. The Time of the End; The Many faces of History, http://timeoftheend-faithandreason.net/TTCHAP08.TXT, G.H Ritz, (Chapter 8, The face of History, page 1, para.1)

An historians prejudice and bias will differ depending on when and where he is writing. The views of an historian writing in the 19th century will differ to that of an historian who is writing in the 20th or 21st century. We can see this if we look at historians back in the time of the Norman Conquest. The history written down by William of Malmesbury is very different to that of the Anglo-Saxon chronicles. Both were written at the relatively the same time, and about the same subjects, but the content is very different. As G Kistson Clark wrote in his book the critical Historian “Those who are committed to one side of an historical conflict are likely to repeat their legends which favour their side. For instance even nowadays Roman Catholic and Protestant historians when writing about the 16th century are apt to concentrate on the heroism of their own martyrs without paying much attention to what was being dared and endured by the other side or indicted on their own.” (3) Both sides will have obvious Bias and prejudice, but from different ideals and viewpoints.

7. Simon Schama responded to questions on Elizabeth I and turning points in history in a live chat on 8th November, 2000, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/programmes/hob/hob_chat_7.shtml, (BBC education/history, A History of Britain, Simon Schama responded to questions on Elizabeth I and turning points in history in a live chat on 8th November, 2000).

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