Introduction to History It challenges us to think outside the box and

Definition of History to be creative

Ancient Greek ἱστορία (historía)-
“Knowledge acquired through inquiry or
investigation” Candelaria, JL& Alporha, V. Why Do We Need to Study Readings in
(2018) Philippine History?
ἱστορία (historía)- meaning “Learning” It allows the students of the country’s past to
Gottschalk, L. (1969) read the actual sources of the story of the
History - A study of the events of the past, nation .
how and why they happened, as well as It allows the students to develop his own
what happened as a result Halili, (2004) perspective about his country’s past.
• History - “ recorded struggle of the It will fulfil the desire to allow every
people for ever increasing freedom and generation to have their own insight about
for newer and higher realization of the the past and how they will be able to learn
human person” Constantino, R. & from it.
Constantino , L. ( 1993) How do we understand history?
• History- “a record of events shoeing Historians/Political Scientists, Social
the evolution of man and his society Scientists, etc. use the Scientific Method to
from the earliest and from the age of address various questions….
barbarism to what is today “– De e.g.
Viana, 2019 1. What were the causes of the French
Revolution?
2.Why was there an EDSA Revolution?
History as a discipline
Existed around 2400 years
As old as mathematics and philosophy Definition of Historiography
Latin historía – adapted and acquired a new  Historiography: the writing of
definition – it became known as the “ history; especially : the writing of history
account of the past of a person or of group based on the critical examination of sources,
of people through written documents and the product of historical writing ,( merriam-
historical evidences webster.com/dictionary)
Historian’s duty to write about the lives of
important individuals like monarchs, heroes,
saints, and nobilities.
Is History Useful? Scientific Process for historians
Window of the past How do we know what we know about
Understanding the past is the key to history when we were not there?
understanding the present Sources of History- sources of information
It helps us to appreciate multiple provide the evidence from which the
perspectives and interpretations historian obtains facts about the past (Halili,
Analysing history strengthens our critical 2004)
thinking skills • Primary Sources – historical sources
It trains us to gather evidences, and find that are contemporaneous to the
patterns and trends period under study.(Camagay et al. ,
It gives us understanding of other people 2018)
and culture
 2. Secondary Sources - historical sources recorded music of a particular era can also
which utilize primary sources to provide an serve as primary source material.
interpretation of the past. (Camagay et al. , Types of Primary Sources
2018) Some types of primary sources include:
Primary Sources ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS
Reading Primary sources enables us to give (excerpts or translations acceptable):
our own interpretation of the past and not Diaries, speeches, manuscripts,
only rely on the interpretation of others. letters, interviews, news film
A primary source provides direct or first footage, autobiographies, official
hand evidence about an event, object, records 
person, or work of art. CREATIVE WORKS: Poetry, drama,
novels, music, art 
Primary Sources RELICS OR ARTIFACTS: Pottery,
The use of primary sources exposes students furniture, clothing, buildings
to important historical concept:
• students become aware that all Types of Primary Sources
written history reflects an author's Parish records- Libro de bautismo , Libro de
interpretation of past events. matrimonio
Therefore, as students read a Court Transcript
historical account, they can Business ledgers
recognize its subjective nature. Artifacts e.g. Manunggul Jar, edifices of
• through primary sources the students colonial churches, clothes, jewellery, &
directly touch the lives of people in paintings
the past.
• as students use primary sources, they Archival Material as a Primary Source
develop important analytical skills.
Types of Primary Sources Manuscripts and archives are primary
Primary sources include: sources, including business and personal
historical and legal documents, correspondence, diaries and journals, legal
eyewitness accounts, and financial documents, photographs,
results of experiments, maps, architectural drawings, objects, oral
statistical data, histories, computer tapes, and video and
pieces of creative writing, audio cassettes.  
audio recordings, Government Documents as a Primary
speeches, Source
art objects
Films,  government documents provide
videos, evidence of activities, functions, and
TV programs, policies at all government levels.
Documentaries,  These documents include hearings and
TV news broadcasts can provide insights debates of legislative bodies; the
into the fantasies, biases, political attitudes, official text of laws, regulations and
and material culture of the times in which treaties; records of government
they were created. expenditures and finances; and
oral histories, statistical compilations of economic,
demographic, and scientific data.
Examples of Primary Sources in Phil. Tertiary sources contain information that has
History been compiled from primary and secondary
Topic: Religion of Early Filipinos sources.
Primary Sources: Las costumbres de los Tertiary sources include almanacs,
Tagalos en Filipinas ( Customs of the chronologies, dictionaries and
Tagalogs) by Fr. Juan de Plasencia encyclopedias, directories, guidebooks,
Relación de las Islas Filipinas ( An Account indexes, abstracts, manuals, and textbooks.
of the Philippine Island) by Fr. Pedro
Chirino Historical Method
Nonreligious accounts : Consists of the techniques and guidelines by
 Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (1609) which historians utilize primary sources and
Historical Events of the Phil Island  by other evidences to conduct a research and to
Antonio de Morga write history.
Relacion de las Islas Filipinas ( An Account The process of critically examining and
of the Philippine Islands) by Miguel de analysing the records and survivals of the
Loarca , 1582 past.
Historical Analysis: an element of
Secondary Sources historical method , historians investigate,
are usually an assessment or a commentary collects, and examine sources
of events, people, or institutions of the past. Components of Historical Method:
Often use primary sources for the • External Criticism- aims at
aforementioned purpose checking the authenticity of the
Secondary sources describe, discuss, primary sources
interpret, comment upon, analyze, evaluate, It also aims to check whether the sour is real
summarize, and process primary sources. or fake
Examples: Validating the authenticity of the documents
• History of the Filipino People by requires the ff:
Teodoro Agoncillo  Check the paper & ink of the
• The Past Revisited by Renato document
Constantino  Check the handwriting
Secondary Sources  Check the style and language of the
Secondary Sources may come in many text
forms: Historical Method
articles in newspapers Components of Historical Method:
Articles in a popular magazines 2.Internal Criticism- checks the reliability
chapters in a book based on primary source of the source
movie reviews - refers to the accuracy of the contents
articles found in scholarly journals that of a document
discuss or evaluate someone else's original Questions to check on the reliability of the
research source:
Monograph- is along article or a short book • How close was the author to the
on a particular subject event being studied?
Essays based on a primary source Ex. A. Pigaffeta’s account of the Battle of
Tertiary Sources Mactan in his book
“ Primo Viaggio Intorno Al Globo
Terracqueo”
 Ex. Letter of Bishop Salazar to the King of
2.Internal Criticism Spain – informing the king about the abuses
Questions to check on the reliability of the of the encomienderos in the Philippines
source: Questions to check on the reliability of the
2. When was the account made? A primary source:
source should be closest or contemporary to
the period being studied. 6. Is the account corroborated by other
EX. Unbana and Felisa by Modesto De accounts?
Castro A primary sour cannot stand by itself
It was published in 1864 There should be corroboration from other
It was about the norms of conduct of a sources as well
woman in the 19th century
3. Who was the recipient of the account? Who Am I?
Ex. Elecciones de Gobernadorcillo –
election results of the town of Muntinlupa What does a Historian do?
during the Spanish period
Historian is a professional in Social Sciences
Questions to check on the reliability of the that specializes in the discipline of History.
source: Their main objective is to research, study,
analyze, interpret, and document facts of
4. Is there bias to be accounted for? past human history.
Ex. The Tejeros Convention – ended the A Historian may analyze and research
existence of KKK history from a specific point of view, such as
Primary sources have bias political, artistic, or economical.
The bias will be coming from the author They are considered as experts in their field
Sample Articles:
Santiago Alvarez “ Si Andres Bonifacio, Purpose of a Historian
Ang katipunan at Himagsikan” “So that human achievements may not
Artemio Ricarte “ Mga Gunita ng become forgotten in time, and great and
Himagsikan” marvellous deeds – some displayed by
Carlos Ronquillo “ Ilang Talata sa Tungkol Greeks, some by barbarians – may not be
sa Paghihimagsik nang 1896-1897” without their glory; and especially to show
Teodoro Agoncillo “ Seed of Discontent” why the two people fought with each other”
– Herodotus
Questions to check on the reliability of the
source: What does a Historian do?

5. Does informed common sense make the Historians follow a method of investigation
probable? that relies heavily on facts and historical
“One cannot get absolutely conclusive records left by past colleagues.
answers in history “ They look for solid evidence and reliable
( Camagay et al. 2018) sources, sometimes liaising with
The test whether a given testimony is Archeologists, to explain how and why
believable or not , is when there is an things happened and how past events shaped
inherent probability of it being true and is modern society.
supported by appropriate evidence. One of the key characteristics of a good
Historian is their objectivity. It is normal for
people to tell and interpret history from their Exaggeration –this is when a writer makes
own point of view. However, Historians something seem greater than it really is.
must maintain a level of complete and total
objectivity and simply refer to facts avoiding Prejudice – is where writers have made up
opinions or any form of bias. their minds in advance and present only
their own point of view
Historians Judge Whether the Source is: an idea or opinion that disregards basic
1. Accurate facts.
2. Bias It's akin to ignorance, or a lack of
3. Exaggerated knowledge, experience or education.
4. Propaganda It's something that should not be tolerated,
5. Prejudice as we all strive for betterment and higher
learning.
1.Propaganda – is where writers are trying to Some of the more common prejudice
win the reader over to their point of view examples include:
using posters, radio, TV and speeches Racism
Propaganda can be used in several areas, Sexism
such as commercial advertising, public Homophobia
relations, political campaigns, diplomatic Religious prejudice
negotiations, legal arguments, and collective Ageism
bargaining.
Religious Prejudice
2.Bias – This means that the writer may In Afghanistan, the prejudiced interpretation
have a strong , personal opinion about an of Islamic law when the Taliban was in
event and tries to show that their opinion is government, meant women were unable to
right. learn or work, or even be seen unveiled by
Regardless of whether they are conscious or men outside their family. Who can claim to
learned implicitly within cultural contexts, understand the mindset of extremists, but the
biases have been part of historical Taliban considered an educated female to be
investigation since the ancient beginnings of "more threatening than armies equipped
the discipline. with all-seeing drones.“