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History professors tend to preach (frequently and loudly) about the dangers of presentism. Presentism is seeing the past through the preconceptions of your own present-day worldview. It's assuming that people in the past understood and experienced their world in the same way we do today or judging people from the past according to our contemporary standards.
But that doesn't mean that we can't turn to our contemporary world or own experiences when we are trying to come up with research questions about the past. Sometimes a news headline, a heated Twitter debate, or a personal experience can lead you to really interesting questions about the past. Looking for contemporary resonances or relevancies is NOT the same as presentism.
So let's take a look at some examples.
Example 1: You find out about a protest from your social media (click arrow).
Example 1: You find out about a protest from your social media (click arrow).
This is something that has likely happened to most of you. Cell phones are how many Americans today stay connected with the world. Instagram, tweets, and--if for those who aren't so young--Facebook, help us find out about current events, political debates, protests and marches.
So could that lead you to a question about the past? Your everyday life can lead you to good historical research questions. Thinking about social media might lead you to consider how information circulates in society today and how people become aware of and connected to political protests. And that might be an interesting angle to explore in relation to the debate over aid to Britain in World War II. So you might ask:
How did those seeking to sway public opinion about aiding Britain circulate information? What types of communication networks did use to make their case and what does that reveal about their intended audience?
We know that America First was founded by college students but quickly grew to become a national organization. How did it expand so fast? What communication strategies or networks explain its rapid growth?
Example 2: You read an article about claims of "fake news" (click arrow).
Example 2: You read an article about claims of "fake news" (click arrow).
We live in an era marked by concerns about "fake news" where we worry that people are being driven to particular political positions by falsehoods and lies. The primary sources on this site suggest that both sides in the debate about aiding Britain accused each other of spreading propaganda and promoting lies in order to further their cause. They accused each other, in short, of spreading "fake news."
So what kinds of questions could we develop out of an awareness of today's crisis about fake news?
We could ask:
To what extent did either side in this debate use subterfuge or promote false stories in order to win support for their case?
How significant was propaganda and misinformation in influencing American public opinion and policy?
Finding a connection to a contemporary event or experience can be a great way to find an interesting question, but be careful to avoid questions comparative research questions that draw on the past but are really about current affairs or ideas today. You might want to ask how the ideas and rhetoric of today's America firsters compares to that of the America First Committee of the 1940s, but your research is going to end up being more about contemporary politics than it is the debate about US entry into World War II. So if you do turn to contemporary events to develop a question, remember that the question needs to actually be about the past, not just masquerading as being about the past.
If you want to learn more about how fake news played out back in the 1940s, check out this story about Britain's fake news campaign in the United States. Turns out foreign states have been telling lies to try shape American public opinion long before the 2016 election....
Now It's time to try it yourself! Click the button to go to the activity form for Contemporary Connections.
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