Memory as contested terrain: historiographical challenges in the historian's quest for "objectivity" : a case study of Epworth Mission

Abstract

The quest for “objectivity” is central to the historian’s craft even if its attainment may be tenuous. In this article we highlight some of the historiographical challenges that the historian faces in attempting to craft an “objective history” by incorporating perspectives that have previously been ignored. We focus particularly on the history of Epworth mission, a mission centre whose history has been written mostly from documented mission sources at the expense of oral sources reflecting perspectives of the African members of the mission.