[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-598532-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-598532-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","the-inside-out-diaries-as-entry-points-to-historical-perspective-taking","The Inside, Out: Diaries as entry points to historical perspective-taking","","The paper argues that diaries can function as meaningful entry points for advancing historical consciousness and developing historical thinking. Drawing on historian R.G. Collingwood, it distinguishes the observable “outside” of events (bodies and movements) from the unobservable “inside” (thoughts, emotions, motivations). It outlines educators’ responsibilities to help learners use diaries as evidence to reconstruct historical perspectives, connect emotions and motivations to context, and probe similarities and differences in how people viewed the world, including classed and gendered viewpoints.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-inside-out-diaries-as-entry-points-to-historical-perspective-taking/598532/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-inside-out-diaries-as-entry-points-to-historical-perspective-taking/598532.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"A glass of water","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-26","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",5,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"How does the paper define “inside” and “outside” of historical events?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"“Outside” refers to what can be described through observable bodies and their movements, while “inside” refers to unobservable thoughts, emotions, and motivations behind past actions.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"Why are diaries described as useful evidence for historical perspective-taking?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Diaries connect readers with the specific emotions, thoughts, and motivations of people in particular times and places, supporting reconstruction of viewpoints beyond the observable record.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What obligation do educators have according to the paper?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Educators are obligated to assist learners in developing the capacity to critically reconstruct the past, including engaging with historical processes and learning to interpret sources as evidence of different worldviews.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},598532,1792172136,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":55,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},962090760832,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Canadian Social Studies 44(1) Lemisko  \nThe Inside, Out: Diaries as entry points to historical perspective-taking  \nLynn Lemisko, University of Saskatchewan  \nThe historian, investigating any event in the past, makes a  \ndistinction between what may be called the outside and the  \ninside of an event. By the outside of the event I mean  \neverything belonging to it which can be described in terms of bodies and their movements  By the inside of the event  \nI mean that in it which can only be described in terms of  \nthought... R.G. Collingwood  \nDiaries can serve as meaningful entry points for advancing historical consciousness and develop historical thinking (Seixas, 2002) because they can connect readers/learners with the diverse emotions, thoughts and motivations ofthe people who wrote them in particular times and particular places. According to philosopher and historian, R.G. Collingwood (1994/1946), historical thinking and meaning-making involves exploration of both the ‘outside’(that which would have been observable:  \n“bodies and their movements”) and the ‘inside’(that which would have been unobservable: thoughts, emotions, motivations) of past human actions. One of the tasks and tensions of historical work is to get to the ‘inside’ – to bring out (reveal or reconstruct) and contextualize ways of thinking and feeling represented in documents and artifacts left behind, so that we can understand both the similarities and differences in how people viewed the world.  \nIn this paper I will (a) briefly discuss the importance of historical perspectivetaking as an aspect of historical thinking and the obligation of educators to assist learners in developing their capacity to engage; (b) outline why and how teachers could assist learners in using diaries as evidence for reconstructing historical perspectives; (c) layout excerpts from three published diaries to demonstrate how these provide evidence of classed, gendered, ethnic/religious points of view within the time periods they were written; and (4) provide some specific suggestions as to how teachers can use examples from these diaries to spark deeper probing of ideas and time periods.  \nThe Importance of Historical Perspective-taking: Why Get ‘Inside’?  \nSchools need to assist learners in developing their capacities to think historically. Historical thinking involves both an understanding of concepts that underpin such thinking and the ability to use complex processes including: establishing historical significance; using primary source evidence; identifying continuity and change; analyzing cause and consequence; taking historical perspectives; and understanding the ethical dimension of historical interpretations (Centre for the Study of Historical Consciousness, [http:// www. histori.ca/ benchmarks/concepts](http:// www. histori.ca/ benchmarks/concepts)).  \nAs a historian and teacher educator with special interest in history and social studies education, I write with the underpinning assumption that teachers have the obligation to assist learners in developing their ability to critically reconstruct the past by  \nCanadian Social Studies 44(1) Lemisko  \ndeveloping their capacities to engage with and in the processes outlined above. However, for the purpose of this paper, I will focus particularly on how teachers could assist students in understanding historical perspective so that learners might come to understand and reconcile differing and often conflicting accounts of the past that surface and become obvious in a multicultural society (Seixas, 2002) . Children and youth need to be supported in learning and practicing how to interpret sources and use these as evidence to understand and discuss multiple historical perspectives because there is pressing need for them to learn to deal with the inconsistent narratives they will run into in their lives outside of the classroom. Seixas (2002) suggests,“This is the promise of critical historical discourse: that it provides a rational","cbCaiap80p0VuOvw","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiap80p0VuOvw","pdf",57269,17,"English","# The Inside, Out: Diaries as entry points to historical perspective-taking\n## The importance of historical perspective-taking: Why get ‘inside’?","[{\"question\":\"How does the paper define “inside” and “outside” of historical events?\",\"answer\":\"“Outside” refers to what can be described through observable bodies and their movements, while “inside” refers to unobservable thoughts, emotions, and motivations behind past actions.\"},{\"question\":\"Why are diaries described as useful evidence for historical perspective-taking?\",\"answer\":\"Diaries connect readers with the specific emotions, thoughts, and motivations of people in particular times and places, supporting reconstruction of viewpoints beyond the observable record.\"},{\"question\":\"What obligation do educators have according to the paper?\",\"answer\":\"Educators are obligated to assist learners in developing the capacity to critically reconstruct the past, including engaging with historical processes and learning to interpret sources as evidence of different worldviews.\"}]","The Inside, Out: Diaries as entry points to historical perspective-taking | PDF",1792087105,43]