I have a historian friend who likes to post about a phenomena called mood affiliation; it would seem to be related to the problem you've pointed out here. The overall problem is determining what the preferred outcome of your study/story is before you start your work. A person will tend to accept or reject evidence based on whether it supports their preconception (or mood).
"Any story that proposes a nice tidy package of partisanship should just be ignored."
I think I'd quibble with this line just a bit. Most of the time, those clear partisan narratives are indeed either false or at best misleading, but every once in a while there's some truth in them that shouldn't be ignored entirely.
Excellent report
I have a historian friend who likes to post about a phenomena called mood affiliation; it would seem to be related to the problem you've pointed out here. The overall problem is determining what the preferred outcome of your study/story is before you start your work. A person will tend to accept or reject evidence based on whether it supports their preconception (or mood).
"Any story that proposes a nice tidy package of partisanship should just be ignored."
I think I'd quibble with this line just a bit. Most of the time, those clear partisan narratives are indeed either false or at best misleading, but every once in a while there's some truth in them that shouldn't be ignored entirely.
Your thoughtful work and careful analysis and your open pursuit of kindness has helped me get through the last year. Thank you.