Trapped in History
Episode 78 - One Man’s Trash, Part I: What Does the Evidence Actually Say?
Within this episode, I break down the purpose of an introductory group activity for students entitled, "One Man's Trash" that was originally created by me and Maegann Basham in 2020. This is Part I of the two part series on this activity. The next episode will examine and wrestle with the philosophy behind it. Three Questions to Wrestle With — Part One 1. How much evidence is enough before a historian can reasonably make a claim about the past? At what point does a reasonable inference cross the line into assumption or speculation? 2. If the same piece of evidence can mean different things depending on its context, can evidence ever truly “speak for itself”? Or does evidence only gain meaning when someone interprets it? 3. Imagine that historians 500 years from now discovered only five objects from your life. What might they correctly infer about you—and what might they completely misunderstand? What does your answer reveal about the limitations historians face when reconstructing the lives of people from the past? Trapped in History Email Links: robert.malcomson@logan.kyschools.us trappedinhistorypodcast@gmail.com Social Media Outlets: Facebook Group Link: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/zr3rKGzVG2ZN4x8n/ TikTok Link: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZP881jy21/ Instagram: robertmalcomson Substack Link: trappedinhistory.substack.com / @trappedinhistory Recommended Websites: Preston Stewart YouTube Channel (Military/History/Global Events) https://www.youtube.com/@PrestonStewart Foreign Policy Research Institute Link: https://www.fpri.org/ Council on Foreign Relations https://www.cfr.org/ Global Conflict Tracker https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker Institute for the Study of War https://www.understandingwar.org/
