Library Guides: Introduction to History: Bias & Perspective

Source: Unseen Histories (2020)

When studying history it is important to try and keep in mind the perspectives and biases of not only yourself, but also the people that you are studying. There can be multiple perspectives of a single historical event, and each of these perspectives are influenced by the bias of the person witnessing or participating the event. Your own perspective may influence how you view certain events, creating what we call bias. Read through the resources below to learn more about perspective and bias, and how to use historical empathy to better understand perspectives and biases.

Historical perspectives (The Historical Thinking Project, n.d.)
Taking historical perspective means understanding the social, cultural, intellectual, and emotional settings that shaped people’s lives and actions in the past. Read through this website to learn more about historical perspectives.
Perspective (History Skills, n.d.)
Perspective is the 'point of view' from which the creator of a source described historical events. Every person sees and understands events differently depending on their age, gender, social position, beliefs and values. Even modern historians have their own perspectives which can influence how they interpret the past. Read through this article to learn more.
Motives and historical empathy (History Skills, n.d.)
As you study History, you will encounter a vast array of people who thought, spoke and acted in ways that are foreign to you. The world and culture which you're used to is unique and simply judging another's thoughts, words and actions based upon your own cultural norms shows a lack of empathy for their way of life. Developing historical empathy is perhaps the most difficult, but one of the most important, skills you will learn as a student of History. Read through this article to learn more.
Bias (History Skills, n.d.)
As you read historical sources, particularly primary sources, you may find yourself noticing that some language used by the source's creator is extreme or obviously one-sided. When you notice this, you have noticed potential bias. Finding out more about bias helps you draw some powerful evaluations about a source. Read through this article to learn more.
Identify bias (State Library of Victoria, n.d.)
It's important to understand bias when you are researching because it helps you see the purpose of a text, whether it's a piece of writing, a painting, a photograph - anything. You need to be able to identify bias in every source you use. This website will help you work out how reliable and accurate information is.
What is the difference between perspective and bias? (History Skills, 2019, March 22)
One of the most common mistakes made by students when analysing sources is to confuse ‘perspective’ and ‘bias’. While the two analysis skills are related, they are very different. This article will, hopefully, make the distinction between the two clear so you won't confuse the two.
Perspective (History Skills, n.d.)
When analysing a source, it is helpful to know the perspective of the creator, as this helps you to accurately assess its reliability and relevance. This article explains what perspective is and how to look for it in your sources.