Mastery is Not Meant to be Easy

The Strenuous Path of Professionalism and the Historian's Pursuit of Truth

Photo by Jordan Whitfield on Unsplash

Professionalism is not meant to be easy. I often think of two men I admire, one an architect and one a hospitality specialist. They are brothers and my uncles by marriage. They are skilled, and their work is beautiful. I imagine that took effort, years, decades even. Ultimately, striving is beautiful; the pursuit of excellence is beautiful. Achievement and accomplishment over difficulty is dignified. The beauty of striving lies not just in the outcome but in the process itself— the long hours, the failures that teach lessons, and the incremental progress that builds toward mastery. They did it. Each step forward was a victory in its own right, a testament to the power of their determination. Those two men are examples I keep in mind. I hope they know they are inspirations.

I was recently reminded of the importance of understanding excellence and standards as I taught my first graduate course. The experience of the higher levels of the historian's craft can be daunting. They should be. When I was younger, I attended a conference where an older scholar gave me advice on quality over status. He was criticizing the quality of work by a man who produced a source we were evaluating, which someone else sort of defended by saying the guy was a professional. The older scholar said, "Professional just means he gets paid; it doesn't mean he is any good." By which he meant an amateur can be great at the craft. The objective is that professionals should be better than amateurs because they are being paid to pursue excellence and, therefore, should be more dedicated and consumed by that pursuit. So, the bar for entry into the craft should be high because you want to do right by the profession and do right by the guild.

Historians operate at different levels—for example, History, Historiography, and Memory. Newer members of the guild have to learn to keep them distinct in their minds as they go through the literature. 

Historiography is the record of the arguments of scholars, would-be scholars, and propagandists. An aspiring historian should want to contribute to it. To advance it and introduce more truth to the debate.

Memory is affected by Historiography but is distinct.

Societies may remember a version of events that bear little relation to "History" meaning the truth of what happened and how it happened. In America, we are more aware of this when we consider how the South "remembered" the Civil War and Reconstruction. Memory and History are often in conflict, with the public unwilling to revise their understanding of the past due to the work of historians who are busy reinterpreting the past. It can take a while for a new understanding of the past, based on new evidence or better context, to reach the public and inform their "memory." Societies can also have great memories which help them to live good lives. Think of West Germans after World War II and their decision to build a better future and throw away the self-destructive foolishness of the Nazi period.

Historians should pursue truth and want their work to help influence public Memory and bring it more in line with History, by which we mean a more accurate understanding of the truth of the past, as it actually was. The goal may be difficult, but the intent and desire to pursue it are paramount. But it is not meant to be easy.