What is a Perspective

Values underpin the beliefs of individuals about what is right and wrong, and form the basis
of ideologies (powerful groups of associated beliefs shared by a social group). These shape
their view of the world (World View) and, consequently, their perspectives on its peoples
and events. Ideologies encourage individuals to adopt a Standpoint from which individuals
can see the same events but from different perspectives.
Activity One: Imagine every student in your class stood up now. Would they see exactly the
same thing? Why or why not? How does this analogy illustrate the relationship between
standpoint and perspective? But does this mean points of view are the same as
perspectives. Now imagine if your teacher put you in a seating plan an demanded you face
front before you stood. How might this differ from a situation where you could sit however
you wanted (according to your own ideologies) before you were asked to stand? If the
standpoint is entirely shaped by the individual’s ideology and world view, the perspective will
reflect this ideology.

No source is without some bias. Even when the best historian attempts to take a neutral
standpoint, she is influenced by the time in which she writes and the sources available to
her. The same is true of the authors of every literary source, no matter when it was
constructed. Primary sources are no more likely to be free of bias than a secondary source.
In fact, the opposite is often the case. We need to know a source’s Context of Production to
gauge the potential influence of source of the creator’s [gender], political and religious
ideologies, nationality, level in society and life experiences.

Historians use sources to come up with an interpretation (explanation) of the past. All
histories are therefore constructed texts. Historians compare sources to see if they are
saying the same thing about a particular issue [corroborating]– that is, providing supporting
evidence. Where sources disagree about a particular issue, this is called contradictory
evidence [or refuting]. How much attention an historian might place on either perspective in
an argument is often influenced by her own standpoint. Understanding an historian’s
standpoint is, therefore, an important part of understanding the Context of Production of a
source.

DEFINE THESE WORDS IN YOUR VOCABULARY LIST

Perspectives Values Attitudes Empathy

Interpretation Contestability Refute Corroborate