HISTORY and

its
HISTORICAL
SOURCES

Annalyn M. Caymo, Lpt, Maed-

Edma
Think about these..

If history is written with agenda or is heavily influenced by

the historian, is it possible to come up with an absolute
historical truth?
Is history an objective discipline?
If it is not, is it still worthwhile to study history?
History and the Historian

– Historians only get to access representation of the past

through historical sources and evidences
– It is the historian’s job not just to seek historical evidences
and facts but also to interpret these facts.
– He is a person of his own who is influenced by his own
context, environment, ideology, education, and influences,
among others.
– His subjectivity will inevitably influence the process of his
historical research
History and the Historian

If history is always
subjective, can it still be
considered as an academic
and scientific inquiry?
History and the Historian

Historical research requires rigor. Despite the fact

that historians cannot ascertain absolute objectivity, the
study of history remains scientific because of the rigor of
research and methodology that historians employ.
Historical Methodology

- Comprises certain techniques and rules that historians follow in

order to properly utilize sources and historical evidences in writing
history.

- Certain rules apply in cases of conflicting accounts in different

sources, and on how to properly treat eyewitness accounts and
oral sources as valid historical evidence.
Some School of Thoughts in
History
POSITIVISM
-is the school of thought that emerged between the
18th and 19th century.
-it requires empirical and observable evidence
before one can claim that a particular knowledge is
true.
-the mantra, “no document, no history” stems from
this very same truth.
Some School of Thoughts in
History

POSTCOLONIALISM
-it emerged in the early 20th century when formerly
colonized nations grappled with the idea of creating their
identities and understanding their societies against the
shadows of their colonial past.
-it looks at two things in writing history:
Some School of Thoughts in
History
Postcolonialism looks at two things in writing history:

1. To tell the history of their nation that will highlight their

identity free from that of colonial discourse and
knowledge .

2. To criticize the methods, effects, and idea of colonialism.

Some School of Thoughts in
History

THE ANNALES SCHOOL of HISTORY

-is a school of history born in France that challenged the
canons of history
-it did away with the common historical subjects that were
almost always related to the conduct of states and monarchs

-scholars were concerned with social history and studied

longer historical periods
SOURCES OF HISTORY

1. PRIMARY SOURCES
2. SECONDARY SOURCES
3. TERTIARY SOURCES
PRIMARY SOURCES

– are those sources produced at the same time as the event, period,
or subject being studied
– are the original sources of information recorded at the time an
event occurred.
– are original materials that have not been altered or distorted in
any way.
– is something that originates from the past.
Examples of Primary Sources

– archives and manuscript material

– photographs, audio recordings, video recordings, films
– journals, letters and diaries
– speeches
– scrapbooks
– published books, newspapers and magazine clippings
published at the time
Examples of Primary Sources

– government publications
– oral histories
– records of organizations
– autobiographies and memoirs
– printed ephemera
– artifacts, e.g. clothing, costumes, furniture
– research data, e.g. public opinion polls
Why use primary sources?

– To explain how major events are related to each other in

time.
– To think critically and distinguish between fact and
opinion.
– To recognize point of view in print and visual materials.
Why use primary sources?

– To develop your own conclusions and analyze how

historical events affect your life.
– To recognize failures and successes in the past in order to
make better decisions as a citizen.
– To understand who you are by examining your roots or
placing yourself in that time period or situation.
Finding Primary Sources

– Use the library catalog

– Ask your librarian
– Search article databases and limit to primary sources or peer-
reviewed
– Search Google Books
Some databases will let you limit to Primary
Sources.
Finding Primary Sources

To find primary documents on the web, try the following internet search
topic + “primary source”
SECONDARY SOURCES

– Are those sources which were produced

by an author who used primary sources
to produce the material
– These are historical sources, which
studied a certain historical subject
SECONDARY SOURCES

– is made up of information collected from

numerous primary sources that is
interpreted by the collector.
– A secondary source may offer information
that is more analytical and comprehensive
than that found in a primary source.
SECONDARY SOURCES

– Secondary sources of information are

derived from primary sources
– Summaries of primary sources
– Analyses or interpretations of primary sources
When using secondary sources, it thus
helps to ask these questions:

– Has the author been trained in the right

field, and does he or she have decent credit
in the academic world?
– Where was the source published and could
that impact the contents at all?
– When was the source published?
When using secondary sources, it
thus helps to ask these questions:

– What is the scope of the source?

– Which sources has the author used and
how critical has he or she been?
Why use secondary sources?

– To get expert opinions in order to evaluate

what really happened.
– To gain insight by examining the same event
from different perspectives.
Why use secondary sources?

– To form your own opinion.

– To save time by reading information
collected from a number of different
sources.
 Secondary Source Examples

Some types of secondary sources include:

-magazine articles
-histories
-criticisms
-Commentaries
-Book reviews are secondary sources.
Secondary Source Examples

– Bibliographies (also considered tertiary);

– Biographical works;
– Commentaries, criticisms;
– Dictionaries, Encyclopedias (also considered
tertiary);
Secondary Source Examples

– Histories;
– Literary criticism such as Journal articles;
– Magazine and newspaper articles;
– Monographs, other than fiction and
autobiography;
– Textbooks (also considered tertiary);
– Web site (also considered primary).
TERTIARY SOURCES

– Tertiary sources consist of information

which is a distillation and collection of
primary and secondary sources.
– These are sources that index, abstract,
organize, compile, or digest other sources.
TERTIARY SOURCES

– Some reference materials and textbooks are

considered tertiary sources when their chief
purpose is to list, summarize or simply
repackage ideas or other information.
– Tertiary sources are usually not credited to a
particular author.
Examples of Tertiary Sources

– Almanacs;
– Bibliographies (also considered secondary);
– Chronologies;
– Dictionaries and Encyclopedias (also considered
secondary);
– Directories;
Examples of Tertiary Sources

– Fact books;
– Guidebooks;
– Indexes, abstracts, bibliographies used to locate
primary and secondary sources;
– Manuals;
– Textbooks (also be secondary).
Some general questions you should
ask of any type of source are:

– What type of source is it? What does its

form tell us? Is it a neatly engraved
inscription, an undecorated, heavily used bit
of earthenware, or a roughly scribbled letter
on cheap paper?
Some general questions you should
ask of any type of source are:

– Who created the source? How did they

gather the necessary information? Were
they an eyewitness, or did they rely on
researching other sources or on the stories
of people who had witnessed the event?
Could they be biased?
Some general questions you should
ask of any type of source are:

– With which goal was the source created?

Did the creator want to tell a truthful story
or, for instance, influence others through
propaganda? How reliable does that make
it?
Some general questions you should
ask of any type of source are:

– What is the context in which the source was

created? To understand a source it helps to
know something about the society and
immediate context in which it was made.
Some general questions you should
ask of any type of source are:

– What is the content of the source and how

do we interpret it? What does it tell us and
what does it not tell us? What are its
limitations? What sorts of questions could
this source answer?
In practice the difference between
primary and secondary sources depends
upon:

– how close the writer was to the events

described, whether or not the account was
produced at the time or later and the
motives of the writer.
– On the subject of the historical research
 EXTERNAL CRITICISM

– Is the practice of verifying the authenticity of

evidence by examining its physical
characteristics;
– Its consistency with the historical characteristic
of the time when it was produced;
– The materials used for the evidence
Examples :

– Quality of the paper

– Type of the ink
– Language and words used in the material
 INTERNAL CRITICISM

– Is the examination of the truthfulness of the evidence

– Looks at the content of the source
– Examines the circumstances of its production
– Looks at the truthfulness and factuality of the evidence
by looking at the author of the source, its context, the
agenda behind its creation, the knowledge which
informed it, and its intended purpose.
Cases proven to be hoax:

Japanese reports and declarations during

-

the period of the war should not be

taken as a historical fact hastily.
Cases proven to be hoax:

– Code of Kalantiaw (set of rules contained in an epic

Maragtas, which was allegedly written by certain Datu
Kalantiaw)
– Was sold at the National Library
– Was regarded as an important precolonial document
until 1968
– William Henry, debunked the authenticity of the code
due to anachronism and lack of evidence
Cases proven to be hoax:

– Ferdinand Marcos also claimed that he was a

decorated WWII soldier who led a guerilla unit
called Ang Maharlika
– Disproven when historians counterchecked
Marco’s claims with the war records of the US
Task of the Historians:

– Look at the available historical sources and

select the most relevant and meaningful for
history and for the subject matter he is
studying
– Organize the past that is being created
– Seek for the meaning of recovering the past
 Changes in Philippine
Historiography
– Ancient Filipinos narrated their history through
communal songs and epics
– Spanish colonizers narrated the history of their
colony in bipartite view
– Early nationalists refuted the view of the Spaniards
and argued the tripartite view
Changes in Philippine
Historiography
– Filipino historian Zeus Salazar introduced the
new and guiding philosophy for writing and
teaching history: pantayong pananaw (for us-
from us perspective):
This persperctive highlights the importatnce
of facilitating an internal conversation and
discourse among Filipinos about our own history,
using the language that is understood by everyone.
 Seatwork: Classify the following words according to their
proper classification. Write your answer in their column.

– Autobiographies and memoirs

– Diaries, personal letters, and correspondence
– Interviews, surveys, and fieldwork
– Internet communications on email, blogs, listservs, and newsgroups
– Photographs, drawings, and posters
– Bibliographies
– Biographical works
– Reference books, including dictionaries, encyclopedias,
and atlases
– Articles from magazines, journals, and newspapers after
the event
– Literature reviews and review articles (e.g., movie
reviews, book reviews)
– History books and other popular or scholarly
books
– Works of criticism and interpretation
– Commentaries and treatises
– Indexes and abstracts
– Almanacs
– dictionaries and encyclopedias
– Works of art and literature
– Books, magazine and newspaper articles and ads
published at the time
– Public opinion polls
– Speeches and oral histories
– Historical documents