I.

Subject: GE2 Readings in Philippine History

Chapter 1:
Meaning and Relevance
of History

History
Traditional understanding:
History is the study of change over time, and it covers all aspects of human society. Political, social, economic, scientific,
technological, medical, cultural, intellectual, religious and military developments are all part of history.
Chronological record of significant events often
including an explanation of their causes
Study of the past

Modern Understanding:
Came from Greek word “Historia” that means “Knowledge acquired through
inquiry or investigation”
Sources are oral traditions in forms of epics, songs, artifacts, architecture, memory etc.

Ang kasaysayan ay SALAYSAY na may SAYSAY sa SINASALAYSAYANG SALINGLAHI.”

-Zeus Salazar

Divisions of History
1.Pre-History
period where no written records exist or when the writings of people were not preserved
analyzed through fossils and artifacts by Archaeologists and Anthropologists.

2.History
period when man started to write and record events using a system of writing
analyzed through wood carves, engraved metals, written papyrus, written papers.

Historiography
“Writing of history” (Historical Writing)
Done through “Historical Research” with the aid of “Historical Methodology”

Historical Sources
1. Primary Sources
Produced at the same time as the event being studied (Contemporary Accounts)
Include documents or artifacts created by a witness or participant of the event
“Firsthand testimony,” “Eyewitness accounts”
Written or non-written.

Examples of primary sources:

Autobiographies and memoirs
Diaries, personal letters, and correspondence
Interviews, surveys, and fieldwork
Internet communications on email, blogs, listservs, and newsgroups
Photographs, drawings, and posters
Works of art and literature
Books, magazine and newspaper articles and ads published at the time
Public opinion polls

2. Secondary Sources
Produced by authors who used and interpreted primary sources
Analyzed a scholarly question and often use primary source as evidence
Written or non- written
Examples of secondary sources:
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

How to tell if a source is primary or secondary

To determine if something can be used as a primary or secondary source in your research, there are some simple questions
you can ask yourself:
Does this source come from someone directly involved in the events I’m studying (primary) or from another researcher
(secondary)?
Am I interested in analyzing the source itself (primary) or only using it for background information (secondary)?
Does the source provide original information (primary) or does it comment upon information from other sources (secondary)?
If you are researching the past, you cannot directly access it yourself, so you need primary sources that were produced at the
time by participants or witnesses (e.g. letters, photographs, newspapers).
If you are researching something current, your primary sources can either be qualitative or quantitative data that you collect
yourself (e.g. through interviews, surveys, experiments) or sources produced by people directly involved in the topic (e.g.
official documents or media texts).

Primary vs secondary sources: which is better?

Most research uses both primary and secondary sources. They complement each other to help you build a convincing
argument. Primary sources are more credible as evidence, but secondary sources show how your work relates to existing
research.

What do you use primary sources for?

Primary sources are the foundation of original research. They allow you to:
Make new discoveries
Provide credible evidence for your arguments
Give authoritative information about your topic

If you don’t use any primary sources, your research may be considered unoriginal or unreliable.

HISTORY and its HISTORICAL SOURCES

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

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

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.
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
PRIMARY SOURCES
SECONDARY SOURCES
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

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.

Finding Primary Sources

Use the library catalog

Ask your librarian
Search article databases and limit to primary sources or peer-reviewed
Search Google Books

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.
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 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?

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.
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.

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.

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;
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?
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.
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

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.