--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My wish is to humanize history." description: "\"My wish is to humanize history.\" — Svetlana Alexievich" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d76/svetlana-alexievich-2742_history_my-wish-is-to-humanize-history-2908418_2908418.jpg" --- # My wish is to humanize history. ![“My wish is to humanize history.” quote by Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d76/svetlana-alexievich-2742_history_my-wish-is-to-humanize-history-2908418_2908418.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d76/svetlana-alexievich-2742_history_my-wish-is-to-humanize-history-2908418_2908418.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d76/svetlana-alexievich-2742_history_my-wish-is-to-humanize-history-2908418_2908418.jpg) > “My wish is to humanize history.” [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humanizing history means giving voice to ordinary people, turning statistics into lived experiences. **In simple terms:** Make history relatable by focusing on personal stories. Key Takeaway Seek personal narratives to understand past events. Themes history humanity empathy voice Mood thoughtful empathetic Type documentary philosophical When to use this quote - education - documentary work - community interviews Key Concepts oral history journalism social science Questions to Reflect On - Whose stories are missing from mainstream histories? - How can you amplify marginalized voices? A Different Perspective Focusing on individuals may overlook structural forces. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Humanize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanize/) [Humanize History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanize-history-3786125/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [Wish Humanize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish-humanize-4174323/) ## Related quotes > [I think it's important to humanize history; fiction can help us remember. A lot of books I've read in the past have been so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/i-think-it-s-important-to-humanize-history-fiction-can-help-us/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [History is but the record of the public and official acts of human beings. It is our object, therefore, to humanize our history and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/history-is-but-the-record-of-the-public-and-official-acts-of-human/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [“They pretend to themselves that they fix you and then release you back into the world, back amongst your prey. "Humanize people, Ryan." They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ker-dukey/they-pretend-to-themselves-that-they-fix-you-and-then-release-you/) [Ker Dukey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ker-dukey/) > [“Never ever humanize a dog, you might raise and place a human being in a cage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-lawsin/never-ever-humanize-a-dog-you-might-raise-and-place-a-human-being-in/) [Joey Lawsin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-lawsin/) > [With my writing, what I want to do is humanize the young people I write about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/with-my-writing-what-i-want-to-do-is-humanize-the-young-people-i/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [“Awake, arise ‘n humanize.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/awake-arise-n-humanize/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [We're trying to humanize the trans community. It's about showing us as normal, everyday human beings who just happen to be trans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominique-jackson/we-re-trying-to-humanize-the-trans-community-it-s-about-showing-us-as/) [Dominique Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominique-jackson/) > [I always try to humanize a character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-kulkarni/i-always-try-to-humanize-a-character/) [Atul Kulkarni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-kulkarni/) > [The arts are what humanize science and history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-k-davis/the-arts-are-what-humanize-science-and-history/) [Danny K. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-k-davis/) > [“The more we humanize the society, the more we will become humans.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-more-we-humanize-the-society-the-more-we-will-become-humans/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There's no question that the best way to get people to care about an issue is to humanize it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mcbride/there-s-no-question-that-the-best-way-to-get-people-to-care-about-an/) [Sarah McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mcbride/) > [As you go in there, you keep winning; after you've had a loss or two, people start to humanize you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyoto-machida/as-you-go-in-there-you-keep-winning-after-you-ve-had-a-loss-or-two/) [Lyoto Machida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyoto-machida/) > [I would put all the efforts to humanize the "masculine" and "feminine" gender roles that are the beginning of a false human hierarchy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-would-put-all-the-efforts-to-humanize-the-masculine-and-feminine/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“The world needs the kind of religion that sets humanity free, not the kind that binds it with textual fanaticism. The world needs the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-world-needs-the-kind-of-religion-that-sets-humanity-free-not-the/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [What we need to do is to humanize the scientist and simonize the humanist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-p-snow/what-we-need-to-do-is-to-humanize-the-scientist-and-simonize-the/) [C.P. Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-p-snow/) ## More by Svetlana Alexievich > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [In the post-Soviet era, instead of freedom, various stripes of autocratic-totalitarianism have flourished: Russian, Belarusian, Kazakh... We are finding our way out from under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/in-the-post-soviet-era-instead-of-freedom-various-stripes-of/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [“How can we preserve our planet on which little girls are supposed to sleep in their beds, and not lie dead on the road…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/how-can-we-preserve-our-planet-on-which-little-girls-are-supposed-to/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [I write my books at moments of shock. I meet people in extremis and their stories are highly emotionally charged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/i-write-my-books-at-moments-of-shock-i-meet-people-in-extremis-and/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [I don't love great ideas. I love the little human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/i-don-t-love-great-ideas-i-love-the-little-human-being/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [Women tell things in more interesting ways. They live with more feeling. They observe themselves and their lives. Men are more impressed with action.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/women-tell-things-in-more-interesting-ways-they-live-with-more/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [Many times, I have been shocked and frightened by human beings. I have experienced delight and revulsion. 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The orderlies who tried to bring him back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/the-germans-rolled-back-and-a-wounded-lieutenant-the-artillerist/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [What I'm concerned with is what I would call the missing history - the invisible imprint of our stay on Earth and in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/what-i-m-concerned-with-is-what-i-would-call-the-missing-history-the/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) [Explore all 121 Svetlana Alexievich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. 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It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) [C-DASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-dash/) > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My wish is to humanize history.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Svetlana Alexievich" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/my-wish-is-to-humanize-history/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/my-wish-is-to-humanize-history/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d76/svetlana-alexievich-2742_history_my-wish-is-to-humanize-history-2908418_2908418.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d76/svetlana-alexievich-2742_history_my-wish-is-to-humanize-history-2908418_2908418.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d76/svetlana-alexievich-2742_history_my-wish-is-to-humanize-history-2908418_2908418.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My wish is to humanize history.” — Svetlana Alexievich", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Svetlana Alexievich", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My wish is to humanize history.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/my-wish-is-to-humanize-history/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/my-wish-is-to-humanize-history/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```