Wow, Jill. This is so powerful. It should tell all of us how important it is to challenge these legends and do our very best to find the truth. If I were to write a book explaining what we mean by "history", I would include what you have written to highlight revisionist and fictional history. And so often the "myths" evolve into truths in unchallenging minds, those stories some wish to believe.
Thanks for this, Jill! Since "history" is almost always written from the viewpoint of those who end up dominant, it makes sense that the myths we learn wouldn't necessarily be anywhere near what actually happened. As a writer of memoir, I am very well aware that we tell the stories of ourselves that we want others to know, and what we leave out may be at least as important as what we include.
You make a good point. It's important to think about what purpose the story serves. There is a fine line between serving the ego and honoring heritage.
I think that the line is not so much fine as requiring self-knowledge. We need to understand who we are and what biases and preconceptions we bring to the story before we write history. Your work is an example we can all use!
Self-knowledge and critical self-reflection are key. And I am constantly made aware of assumptions I've made that turn out to be wrong. And sometimes harmful.
Thanks for this article! This is a great example. So, too, is the current portrayal of the Gilded Age. Even JD Vance's grasp of Catholicism is a revisionist history so erroneous the Pope told him he was wrong.
Wow, Jill. This is so powerful. It should tell all of us how important it is to challenge these legends and do our very best to find the truth. If I were to write a book explaining what we mean by "history", I would include what you have written to highlight revisionist and fictional history. And so often the "myths" evolve into truths in unchallenging minds, those stories some wish to believe.
Unbelievable! What myths and untruths we create to justify and silence! Your writing is critically important, Jill
Thanks for reading, Stephanie. I'm interested in the ways in which the legends are formed from past events to serve the present order.
Thanks for pulling these posts together in one place. It really drives home how much myth there is in “history”!
I'm glad it drives homes the point; yesterday I was driving home to Wisconsin from upstate NY. Hence, the delay in my reply. Thanks for reading.
Thanks for this, Jill! Since "history" is almost always written from the viewpoint of those who end up dominant, it makes sense that the myths we learn wouldn't necessarily be anywhere near what actually happened. As a writer of memoir, I am very well aware that we tell the stories of ourselves that we want others to know, and what we leave out may be at least as important as what we include.
You make a good point. It's important to think about what purpose the story serves. There is a fine line between serving the ego and honoring heritage.
I think that the line is not so much fine as requiring self-knowledge. We need to understand who we are and what biases and preconceptions we bring to the story before we write history. Your work is an example we can all use!
Self-knowledge and critical self-reflection are key. And I am constantly made aware of assumptions I've made that turn out to be wrong. And sometimes harmful.
Exactly! As I said, your work is an example we can all use. Thank you.
You are so gracious.
Here is a another recent article about false revisionist history: https://www.nybooks.com/online/2025/04/25/vances-junk-history/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NYR-042725-Thien-OBrien-Fusco-Lerner&utm_content=NYR-042725-Thien-OBrien-Fusco-Lerner+CID_d55350c45e36bfe2d98dc988fafd668d&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_term=Sean%20WilentzVances%20Junk%20History- Vance’s Junk History
Sean Wilentz from the April 25, 2025 issue of the New York Review of Books
Thanks for this article! This is a great example. So, too, is the current portrayal of the Gilded Age. Even JD Vance's grasp of Catholicism is a revisionist history so erroneous the Pope told him he was wrong.
!!??
There is, indeed.