Procopius of Caesarea, court chronicler for the Roman Emperor Justinian, was a vociferous defender of the inviolable truth of historical narratives. Although Bernadine Dodge is certainly at odds with him in accepting the 'linguistic turn' which asserts the constructed, fictional nature of the traditional linear history, it seems that she is unwilling to abandon altogether the idea that historians have some ability and responsibility to seek truth. Indeed it seems that we have some special faculty for discerning fact from fiction, for she says "The conscientious historian can differentiate between a digitized copy of the Declaration of Independence and the orations of a bored blogger," (Dodge, 2006, p. 352). She suggests that we must 're-imagine the past,' not abandon it. Still she is radically dubious about the certainty and authenticity with which historical narratives can be constructed, regardless of our conscientiousness.

It is difficult to disagree with Dodge's argument that the way in which documents are first written, the archives in which they are then either discarded or preserved and categorized, and the ways in which historical narratives are constructed from them, are all particular, situated, biasing events full of fallible judgements and dubious motives. Certainly, Procopius was not motivated entirely by fidelity to 'truth alone' when he wisely decided not to record the famous infidelity of the Empress. Few academic discussions of truth are free from the considerations of career.

Dodge discusses several ways in which historians and archivists might embrace the contradiction between our well-justified self-doubt and our deeply-entrenched need to know. One way, she suggests, is for archivists and historians to be explicitly self-conscious about the processes of their work, it's relevance to society, and the researcher's position in relation to it. She also suggests that a rejection of the authority of so-called "factual accounts" may open up researches to untapped resources. Tim Hitchcock's writing on eighteenth century British poverty is a superb example of an attempt to use such resources.