I am wary of historical interpretations that wrap things up into too neat of a package. The modern world is not simple and I am unconvinced by scholarship that tries to present historical events as simple. Like the present, history is messy. And – that’s why I love it.
Thus, I am always keeping my eye open for historical events, persons and case studies or contemporary happenings and news items that complicate overly-simplified narratives. I like finding things that go against the grain and force scholars to pause and reconsider their assumptions about a topic. My current book project, for instance, takes the familiar narrative of indigenous peoples crossing borders out of the United States and into Mexico and Canada, turns it around and compares two groups of Native peoples who crossed in the opposite direction – into the United States. Engaging in these kinds of counterintuitive projects may not change our broader conclusions, but they will be better informed by possible counter-narratives and complicating factors. Continue reading
