Readings in Philippines History

MODULE 1. Introduction-Basic concepts, importance

and ways in understanding history

Section 1-A Fundamentals in Understanding History

History
-record of the past or record of the human past from the written records began to appear.
-reconstruction of the past or the study of the event concerning people in the past
-interpretative and imaginative study of surviving records of the past, either written or unwritten in order
to determine the meaning and scope of the human existence.

Historia
-a greek word meant inquiry, the act of seeking knowledge, the results of to inquiry it means Not all told
are historical unless it is investigated and supported by facts and evidences.

Importance of History:
-bridging the gap between the present and the past:
-explaining the causes of the things and events;
-projecting the future;
-interpreting condition of a given and space and time;
-promoting nationalism and patriotism.

Section 1-B Sources of History

In conducting any historical research, different sources of information are required to gain extensive
knowledge on a particular topic. Historical sources are, at their most basic level, something that tells us about
history. It may be document, a picture, a sound recording, a book, a cinema film, a television program or
an object.

Sources
-is anything and or anyone that tells us about history ranging from eyewitness, memoirs to artifacts.

Divisions of Historical Sources

Primary Sources include documents or artifacts created by a witness or participant in an event.

They can be first-handed testimony or evidence created during the time period that you are studying.
Examples include diaries, letters, interviews, oral histories, photographs, government documents.

Secondary Sources refer to the testimony of anyone who is not an eye witness—that is one of who
was not present at the event of which he tells. These are books, articles, and scholarly journals that had
been interpreted the primary source or had used them to discuss certain subjects of history.

Tertiary Sources are compilation of secondary sources and or primary sources. Examples of tertiary
sources are encyclopaedia, almanacs, and dictionary. Etc.

Generally, there is no history if there is no source and, if there is so called history without source or with
source but not a legitimate source, it is what we call conspiracy. To avoid deception and to arrive with the
historical truth, it is important to thoroughly examine these stories.

Source should undergo internal and external criticism especially the primary source suggested
Candelaria and Alphora.
Section 1-C Source Criticism and Contextual Analysis

External and Internal Criticism

External Criticism
Is the practice of verifying the authenticity of evidence by examining the following:
Its physical characteristics; consistency with historical characteristics of the time when it was
produced; and the materials use for the evidence.

Internal Criticism
Is the examination of the truthfulness of the evidence (provenance).
It looks at the content of the source and examines the circumstances of its production.
Internal criticism 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.

Context Analysis
Context analysis considers the time and place the historical documents were written, as well as,
the situation or the circumstances during that time. Works pertaining to events in the past are analysed by also
taking into account the author of the document, person’s biographical background, role in the event, and thr
intent for writing the document.

The two other questions to consider when doing context analysis are as follows: (1) How authoritative is
the account/source?; (2) How is it relevant today?

The task of the historian is to look at the available historical sources and select the most relevant and
meaningful subject matter for study.

It is the historian’s job to seek for the meaning of recovering the past to let the people see the
continuing relevance of provenance, memory, remembering and historical understanding for both the present
and the future (Candelaria & Alphora , 2018)