at Doing History: A Guide for Students Learning Objectives: + To manifest interest in local history and cultural heritage. + To apply historiographical methods in writing the history of one’s locality or country. + To incorporate technology in the discipline of history. + Toappreciate the value of doing history to the present day. It is not enough that we know our history. We must also realize that ‘as agents of social change, we can contribute to the narrative of the nation by participating in writing about our past and our present. This chapter focuses on applying the skills we have learned in the previous chapters in writing history. Special attention will be given to doing online research, library/archival research, biographiesilife history, and locaV/oral history. An additional diseussion on interacting with history through historical shrines and museums will also help us in appreciating the story of the past as it ‘comes to life through our own experiences in visiting and interacting with these learning spaces. 0sDoing Historical Research rat any student nowadays Would use to become the primary means by infact, that it would be easy to get lost in reat resource for research if you know how to use just hecause information is available does not ‘mean you should just get such as an idea, as yours i considered plagiarism, which is one of the worst crimes in the academe. Treat anything you find online as a source and use the same historical methods you have learned to analyze the data you get online, A simple skill that will get you far in doing historical research online is knowing where to look and how to look. Search engine websites such as ‘Yahoo! (www yahoo.com) or Google (www. gooele.com) could lead you to a lot sources for scanned books, where you may be able to read some el for free. This could be useful if you want to know if a certain book sae your tach betelnut "rhc i elem ter photocopy pages of it. = ill come ou from Wikipedia. Wikipedia is the biggest open source encyclo tol of eyberspce. fn 2017, ha to ah has 40 lon tise in 29 languages cing am pen source enced anyone could catches et es inthe st, which make me oth inmates Nonetheless Wikipedia proves 4 amc pd oso 106 eng Pac tanry nay use for research. When you read from Wikiped ations in the articles, which could lead you ene Sour own research, However, exerese cat the academe frown upon research that utilizes Wikipedia, Ac ‘Wikipedia to gain a general overview of what you need to know may be guided in looking for credible and reliable sources that you ne sour research. OU to/n source you may ved for ‘There are websites that ou may ee lel downlad scanned ni ot books and other materiale for fie, especialy the hols ith ep tonights and are in public domain: Projet Gutenberg owe een Geni the oldest gal brary in the wor funded 971, rho me than 60.00 items ints ellotion, whith include many works somseng the Philippines, such asthe Dotna Critana (he Be Palsed bok inthe Philipines), the pubahe travelogues foreigner wh ied he Philippines such as Jagr, de Comyn, Virco, Foreman, and Worcester and 100,000 software programs. Philippine government websites (wew.gov.ph) aro starting to be enriched with sources that may be used for historical research, especially ‘on laws and other government issuances that may be useful when doing topies of a more contemporary period, Websites of newspapers, magazines, broadcasting stations, and other media outlets usually keep an archive of their articles from a particular date. For older issues, you may have to find copies, either digitized or physical copies, in the library: Doing Historical Research in Libraries and Archives Resenrch in libraries and archives is necessary inthe study of history ‘as these are repositories of primary and secondary sources that allow us to create narratives of the past through accepted methods of historical scholarship. Iti imperative upon students to be able to devplop an aptitude toward doing research in these venues 0 ast further develop their ails in historical research. chr ng ey A br Ssor historical research ies have forgone the: und have been using the digi the Library Catalog. In this system, physical index eards, a simple search ted to what you are searching for. Searching by su library. many results—si using more definite keywords to History” as “Philippine Revel land other more defined strings ‘The catalog lists down all kinds of materials i what you might be looking for. Do 1 books and other published materials when you may be al ‘other forms of sources, Materials that may be too old tobe ph may also be av rary of the Philippines in Ermita, Manila provides 4 rich treasure trove of materials forthe student it Philippine history, espec ion, several sets of Blair and Robertson's Th rare Filipiniana books, Philippine Presid hat are accessible tothe publi, especi may be a lot more dif ‘advanced, but will provide you with many sources not ilable in the usual to eating poi sbraries. The National Archives of the ry of the government mandated to able records of the governm ory and development of ly forthe years of Spanish cola ay not be accessible to college jut other materials may be ‘and it would not hurt to ask assistance from the staff in the archives in research. The collections lain Library in Gonzales Hall are rich in resources aries are also accessible tothe public. The Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City holds the Americen Histo fa rich source for the American period in the Philippines. The cf Santo Tomas in Espafia, century, owing to the fact that country and isa historic site in itsl data sources. Your city or town may have its own loc ‘or public library where you may access primary sources and other materials {or your research, Doing Life Histories and Biographical Research history because it is seen as trivial realize ‘and civilizations. However, students of history should individual is a significant contributor to various historical breakthroughs sof time, Individuals make up societies and individual ac «an cause large-scale social change. ager ie A br Sstures and generations. Individuals sus Chi started also ‘and persist up tothe present, Jose Rizal, on the ‘generations of Filipinos. His novels inepired colonizers, and his death was seen as the tipping point of the revolution, However, his influence was limited to the Philippines. cases of exceptional individuals. History has iad @ huge impact crest in history ean be perked up onee they realize that their lives can be plotted alongside the trajectory of history ofa larger or even local community. There is ration, sore ‘not an easy task. The researcher sho would lament that studying indivi studving societies, For example, studying the life of Jose Rizal does not only require looking at big events in his life that affeeted the nascent the pul ‘of his novels, his exile to Dapitan, or his execution in Bagumbayan, A more thorough understanding of Ri necessitates looking at different aspects of it affected his persona, Examples are education, his peers, bi fone should also look a characteristics of smba, Laguna in the nineteenth century? What was the mo hood in that town? Was it a rich progressive municpy the terrain like? Was it an agricultural locality? These questions context to Rizal's childhood and family 0 gi Pe ry ly and genea eeioeconomic status. Such will answer How did he afford to study in good schools in M lamba hacienda incident? Who 1d upon him the value of education? Who was his greatest influence? And 500. tutions where the individual belonged should also be looked at in studying his life history. Ifthe family and the community where he ‘elonged will give us clues ak tan be understood wi afiated example, one can learn ‘aot about the development of his ideas by knowing the kind of education taught at the Universidad de Santo Tomas and Atenco Municipal. His political opinions and biases shaped his work with the Propagandistas in Europe and in his stint in La Solidaridad. Institutions, indeed. are not only ‘would provide hist to simply state facts about the individual but also to make sense of these facts and establish connections about diferent aspects of the individuals ie ler to understand the person that he has become Doing Local and Oral History ‘The history subjects and courses usually taught 0 tre Philippine history, wor history, and story of is alway ol vansive and taught in broad strokes of his yrical periods, of shen jes, Little is known about the ie the study of the history of © Debates, however, students in sebools cag Eng ry AG Sr,sec na fee eel tne nt ee consti’ Neva rere tan eet Breen ari, oe My eared wep teva ot Me Hcy oo Scan hanes Dam ae eee Ue eto, set bon comes Lace BU en, ake a Dowd and Rene BEM of amour ha atm 2s Dee a sag umsvestamding ofa cea ANN, ec Sary san seve a Sainer of ene teens br aig the pe cee ea a percee nat rapes or continent ‘Sabre ed es ca roe new and ahernave terprecatnes oc Se Se 5 Se seen Leer te he el aching ce Dissng Socal basry. however. is net an easy task. Despite the. sr scape of ay, arian ae atten faced with challenges in cating sos fer ocala eect cbpces of say. For example. ino ech sy Se ie of neal heroes than chat of a local hee. Sources abound ieee of mace mperaace ba ede oeerae ar co lal cab see ca rn ecicnogy. One pres an rate a ‘lal Riscary in oral Aaazory. historical methodology = Sate = terete Interacting with History through Historical Shrines and Museums We have been discussing ways to study the past through variety of sources available to us, While research isa valuable tol to learn more about the experiences of the nation and our history, there exists venues where ‘we can experience history, and these ure through historical shrines and ‘museums, aera ny Cae sefirsthand experiences make historic, se a historical personality lived. The learning by experiencing that | events more real for us; and research store aids with retention of the learning later in lif st. Bi Historical shrines and museums serve as portals to the past. But on, must also take note that visiting a museum entails Paes courae af your studs, you are bound to vist one or two of thes Sieh, One ¥ou know what you wile isting itis esentil to doa background reading on the place you will visit ao that you may Know what to exPee mere can situate the importance ofthe place you willbe visiting in the nating historical narrative. For example, a visit to the Rizal Shrine in Calambs, Laguna, will be more enriching if you are able to do a little reading about Jose Rizal's early life, Upon arriving in the historical shrine or museum, one thing that you can do is to look for the historical marker. These markers put up by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP, or formerly National Historical Institute or NHI) provide the basic details on what makes a certain site historical. These markers ensure that the site where it is located is indeed, of historical and cultural value to the nation. The instructor or professor, who handles your course and who will Sreanize your visit to the shrine or museum, should provide you with a handout or a worksheet to accomplish while in the site, and maybe, he may assign you to write a reflection paper that should represent your own critical evaluation of the site. That is why it is important to spend time reading the captions/texts accompanying the artifacts or opportunities to experience history firsthand. Watch the videos, listen to the sounds, and enjoy the experience. This is also A great chance to analyze the artifacts since artifacts are also texts that are, i reopen for read criticism, and evaluation, ing, interpretation, 14 eadig i PhilppneHiry