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Interpretation has always played a role in every imaginable dimension of historical research. First, interpretation is involved at the most fundamental level in which it is first determined what counts as an artifact of history. For example, archaeologists interpret which rocks, shards, and soil samples "count" as artifacts and which do not. Second, all archives are curated, which is an interpretive process in which the curator decides which objects to include and how to organize objects into searchable categories. Third, very little of the past is available in any archive; therefore, we must interpret not only the salience of artifacts, but we must also interpret the silences, gaps, and absences. We must imagine what and how much is not extant. Fourth, historians use interpretation to decide which artifacts from the past ought to be included in any particular research project. For example, when we conduct historical research on philosophy of education, should we include Dewey's shopping lists among our historical data? His daily planner? Why or why not? Finally, of course, composing and organizing an historical narrative is always an interpretive project, as is all reading of historical narratives. When we recognize that interpretation plays a role in every dimension of historical research, it becomes obvious that interpretation is a pivotal concept in historically oriented educational research. Interpretation converts the chaos of objects and ideas into an intelligible order.

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-017-9282-0_41

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