"[N]o historian can ignore the most personal of relationships between historians and the past, the one formed during the writing process. . . . historians must prove that they possess the skills that define their position. Writing is the ultimate demonstration, which also makes it the standard by which to measure scholarly success or failure. . . . Historical writing . . . should be the conversation between past and present through which meaning is revealed. This approach necessitates a different relationship both to the past and to our work as writers. In terms of our relationship to the past, it is more about humility than mastery; in terms of our work as writers, it is more an ongoing exchange than a defined task with a clear end point. . . . At the very moment when we commit the past to paper, it changes, because the moment in which we wrote has passed. But that does not make historical writing a futile endeavor. Good scholarship inspires more good scholarship from others as well as ourselves. The most successful historians are those who grow as a result of this conversation and who encourage others to participate."
-Laura F. Edwards, Writing Between the Past and the Present, 49 Perspectives on History No. 1 (Jan. 2011)