INTRODUCTION TO

HISTORY: DEFINITION,
ISSUES, SOURCES, AND
METHODOLOGY
KAY BATHALA H. SANTOS
Di ak’ nahuhulop han tiempo
Amihan
Halu-ag an Leyte nga
pagpipilian
Kada Sabado damo an
bunyagan
Di ak nahuhulop han tiempo
Amihan
Damo an sundalo nga
pagpipili-an
Pipili-on ko an binansilan kay
maupay, Intoy
 Inday kon waray ka la
magyaga-yaga
Kinasal na kita yana
May-ada na naton bata, ay, nga
bata
Nagdurodulagan ha tuna
 Intoy kon waray ka la
magyaga-yaga
Kinasal na kita yana
May-ada na naton bata, ay, nga
bata
Nagdurodulagan ha tuna
Inday, Inday nakain-
ka
Han kasunog han
monyika
Pito ka tuig an
HISTORY: DEFINITION AND
SUBJECT MATTER
WHAT IS HISTORY?
Is the interpretative
Histor
• Wise man;
judge and imaginative study
of surviving records of
Historei
Histor
ein
n
• inquire the past, either written
or unwritten, in order
• knowledge

Histori acquired
through
inquiry or
to determine the
a
meaning and scope.
investigatio
n
• the account of
the past of a
person or of a
Histori group of
people
through
a written
documents
and historical
evidences
hy do we need to study Philippine History again?

Elementary High School College

• Basic • Historical • Historical
Historical Details Analysis
Facts • How? • Why?
• What, Who,
Where, and
When?
 Positivism: “no
document, no history”
WHAT unless a written
COUNTS AS document can prove a
certain historical
HISTORY? event, then it cannot
be considered as
historical fact
 But as any other
academic disciplines,
history progressed and
WHAT opened up to the
possibility of valid
COUNTS AS historical sources, which
were not limited to
HISTORY? written documents, like
government records,
chronicler’s accounts, or
personal letters.
  Loophole was recognized by
historians.
 They started using other
WHAT kinds of historical sources,
which may not be in written
COUNTS AS form but were just as valid.
-oral traditions in forms
HISTORY? of epics and songs
-artifacts
-architecture
-memory
 History thus
became more
WHAT inclusive and
started
COUNTS AS collaborating with
HISTORY? other disciplines
as its auxiliary
disciplines.
QUESTIONS AND ISSUES IN
HISTORY
QUESTIONS AND ISSUES IN HISTORY

What is history?
Why study history?
History for whom?
“HISTORIOGRAPHY”
The history of history
 HISTORY HISTORIOGRAPHY
Object of study: Object of study:
the past • history itself
• the events • How was a certain
that historical text
happened in written?
• Who wrote it?
the past and
• What was the
the causes of context of its
such events publication?
• What particular
historical method
was employed?
• What were the
sources used?
History played various roles in the past.
 States used history to unite a nation.
 A tool to legitimize regimes and forge a sense of
collective identity through collective memory.
Lessons of the past can be used to make sense of
the present.
 Learning of past mistakes can help people to not
repeat them.
Being reminded of great past can inspire people to
keep their good practices to move forward.
 As a narrative, history that
has been taught and written
is always intended for a
certain group of audience.
PROBLEMS:

Accusation that the history is always

written by victors.
This connotes that the narrative of the
past is always written from the bias of
the powerful and the more dominant
player
HISTORY AND 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?
Is it possible to have an exact and
accurate account of the past?
NO!!!
For the very simple reason that we cannot go back
to the past.
We cannot access the past directly as our subject
matter.
Historians only get to access representation of the
past through historical sources and evidences.
“Facts cannot
speak for
themselves.”
HISTORIANS’
Give meaning to
JOB: SEEK
HISTORICAL these facts
EVIDENCES Organize them
AND FACTS
AND Establish causes
INTERPRET
Write history
THESE FACTS.
Historian is not a blank paper
who mechanically interprets
and analyzes present
historical fact.
He is a person of his own.
A historian’s interpretation
of the historical fact is
affected by his context and
circumstances.
His subjectivity will inevitably influence
the process of his historical research: the
methodology that he will use, the facts
the he shall select and deem relevant, his
interpretation, and even the form of his
writings.
Thus, in one way or
another, history is always
subjective.
Can history still be
considered as an
academic and
scientific inquiry?
 Despite the fact
that historians
cannot ascertain
absolute
objectivity, the
YES!!! study of history
remains scientific
because of the rigor
of research and
methodology that
historians employ
 comprises certain
techniques and rules
that historians follow
HISTORICAL
METHODOLOGY in order to properly
utilize sources and
historical evidences in
writing history.
Historical claims done historians and the
arguments that they forward in their historical
writings, while may be influenced by the
historian’s inclinations, can still be validated by
using reliable evidences and employing correct
and meticulous historical methodology.
Historian need not let his bias blind his
judgment and such bias is only acceptable if
he maintains his rigor as a researcher.
HISTORICAL SOURCES
HISTORICAL SOURCES, WHAT ARE THEY?

– an object from the past or

testimony concerning the past on
which historians depend in order to
create their own depiction of that
past.
CLASSIFICATION OF HISTORICAL
RESOURCES

1.Primary Sources
2.Secondary Sources
PRIMARY SOURCES

Primary sources enable the researcher to

get as close as possible to what actually
happened during an historical event or
time period.
SECONDARY SOURCES

Is something written about primary source.

Secondary sources are written "after the fact" - that is, at
a later date.
Usually the author of a secondary source will have studied
the primary sources of an historical period or event and
will then interpret the "evidence" found in these sources.
You can think of secondary sources as second-hand
information.
WHY USE PRIMARY SOURCES?

 Primary sources provide a window into the past—unfiltered

access to the record of artistic, social, scientific and
political thought and achievement during the specific
period under study, produced by people who lived during
that period
 these unique, often profoundly personal, documents and
objects can give a very real sense of what it was like to be
alive during a long-past era.
WHY NOT USE PRIMARY SOURCES?

Primary sources are often incomplete and have

little context. Students must use prior knowledge
and work with multiple primary sources to find
patterns
In analyzing primary sources, students move from
concrete observations and facts to questioning and
making inferences about the materials.
WHY USE SECONDARY SOURCES?

 Secondary sources can provide analysis, synthesis, interpretation,

or evaluation of the original information.
 Secondary sources are best for uncovering background or
historical information about a topic and broadening your
understanding of a topic by exposing you to others’ perspectives,
interpretations, and conclusions
 Allows the reader to get expert views of events and often bring
together multiple primary sources relevant to the subject matter
WHY NOT USE SECONDARY SOURCES

 Their reliability and validity are open to question, and

often they do not provide exact information
 They do not represent first hand knowledge of a subject or
event
 There are countless books, journals, magazine articles and
web pages that attempt to interpret the past and finding
good secondary sources can be an issue
EXTERNAL CRITICISM

-the practice of verifying the authenticity of evidence by

examining its physical characteristics; consistency with the historical
characteristic of the time when it was produced; and the materials
used for the evidence.
-things examined in conducting external criticism of a
document:
 the quality of the paper
 the type of ink
 and the language and words used in the material, among others.
 When
written?

Where was
written?

?
Authentic
Primary
Document
Why did it
survive?

Who was the real

author?
TEST OF AUTHENTICITY

Determine the date of the document to see whether

they are anachronistic (a chronological misplacing of
persons, events, or customs in regard to each other)
Determine the author e.g. handwriting, signature, seal
Anachronistic style e.g. idiom, orthography,
punctuation
TEST OF AUTHENTICITY

Anachronistic reference to events e.g. too early,

too late, too remote
Provenance or custody e.g. determines its
genuineness
Semantics – determining the meaning of a text or
word
INTERNAL CRITICISM

-examination of the truthfulness of the evidence

-looks at the content of the source and examines the
circumstance 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, among others.
TEST OF CREDIBILITY

 Identification of the author e.g. to determine his reliability;

mental processes, personal attitudes
 Determination of the approximate date e.g. handwriting,
signature, seal
 Ability to tell the truth e.g. nearness to the event,
competence of witness, degree of attention
 Eyewitness or secondhand
account?

Why it was
written?

?
Meaning in
Primary Literal
meaning?
context Document
Internal
consistency

Connotations?
ANY QUESTIONS?
TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK

 Write a question you want to ask you things you want to know as we go on with our history subject.
 Inside the bubble quotes, you write the reason why you want to know about it.

Reason 1 Reason 3

Your question
here

Reason 4
Reason 2