Pamantasan ng Cabuyao

City of Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippines

Alex S. Sanchez

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY
Lesson 1: MEANING AND RELEVANCE OF HISTORY

This lesson introduces history as a discipline and as a narrative. It presents the definition of the
history, which transcends the common definition of history as the past. Thus in this lesson it will help
you not only to understand the meaning of HISTORY but it will help you interpret or to handle a rich
variety of sources in order to draw out their general relevance of why and how change occurs. Also it
provides a series of perspectives intended to convey a sense of their, relevance, breadth, interest, and
stimulus, which exemplify historical learning, and the usefulness of contemporary history in particular.

In this module it will help you not only to learn historical facts but also provided with the
understanding of the facts and historians context, it will help you assess critically the value of historical
evidences and sources before one can claim that particular knowledge is true.

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

At the end of this module you are expected to:

1. To understand the meaning of history as an academic discipline;
2. Differentiate History from Historiography; and
3. Reflect on the importance and relevance of History to every student and citizen.

LET’S TRY THIS ACTIVITY

ACTIVITY 1: CONCEPT MAP
Using the Concept Map below, think of the words that you associate when you hear the word
“HISTORY”. From those words, construct a meaningful definition of HISTORY. Write it on the blank
space provided below.

HISTOR
Y

Alex S. Sanchez
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
City of Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippines
Alex S. Sanchez

Your Definition of History:

LET’S READ!

The term history has become a universal word conceptualized differently by various scholars. For
instance, the Traditional conception of history epitomized by historians like Herodotus (Father of
History), his great successor Thucydides, Livy and Tacitus, the greatest of the Roman historians, viewed
history as any written narrative of events (Osokoya, 1996). This definition is however inadequate and
unacceptable in view of contemporary realities. First, the definition did not acknowledge the development
of history overtime. Second, it did not recognize the division of the discipline into such fields as political,
social, economic, military intellectual, constitutional and educational history. Third, the conception of
history as mere narration of events is now archaic because history has metamorphosed from mere
description of events into critical and analytical interpretation of events (Osokoya, 1996).
Arthur Marwick on his own part, provided a tripartite definition of history. First, he defined
history as “the entire human past as it actually happened”, second, as “man’s attempt to describe and
interpret the past” and third, as “a systematic study of the past” (Marwick 1970). However, it must be
noted that in contemporary times, history as a field of knowledge encompasses not only past events but
also their consequences. In addition, not all events of the past capture the interest of the historian, rather
important historical events with consequences are usually preferred. It is in this light that Walsh defines
history as “a reconstruction of the past which is both intelligent and intelligible” (Walsh, 1967). In a
similar vein, Geoffrey Barraclough defines history as “the attempt to discover on the basis of
fragmentary evidence the significant things about the past”, noting that “the history we read, though based
on facts, is strictly speaking not factual at all, but a series of accepted judgements” (Barraclough, 1955).
For Edward Carr, history is “a continuous process of interaction between the present and the
past”, affirming that, interpretation is the lifeblood of history (Carr, 1961). The point in all these is that
there is yet to be unanimity regarding the exact meaning of history. However, it is possible and desirable
to identify certain features which may be described as defining characteristics of history.
This is important because history, is the product of historical research, and therefore the nature of
history and of historical research are symbiotic. One of the basic characteristics of history is in its
humanistic nature (Ajetunmobi, 2005). History concerns human actions in the past. It involves other
Alex S. Sanchez
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
City of Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippines
Alex S. Sanchez
actions that emanate from human society which can be perceived by ordinary human senses and powers.
Hence, actions or events attributed to the gods or spirits are not to be regarded as history. Since history
relies on evidence and the evidences from believers in spirits, gods and goddesses are mythical,
speculative, extraordinary, unscientific and illogical, they are considered outside the action of man.
History is fragmentary by nature. It focuses on aspects or parts of an event, but not the whole event. No
matter the efforts of an historian, it is impossible for him to capture everything about his choice of study.
Availability of evidence, its reliability and consistency, available time and the objectives of the study
shape his selection and utilization of sources and evidence.
As Akinjogbin notes, History is an organized critical study of such past activities of human
beings as had produced significant effects on subsequent course of events (Adeniran, 2002). History
terminates in the present. As Hegel posits, History cannot talk of the future because nothing has happened
in the future in question. Thus, the future to the historian is not an object of knowledge but of hopes,
aspirations and fears, elements which are not history. History is dynamic, in a sense. History is always in
a state of flux because it deals with a state of continuous change (Barraclough, 1975). Human society
which is the primary focus of history involves the cyclical manifestations of existence. Evidence is the
pillar of historical research. This is because without evidence there will be no historical interpretation.
The submission of the historian is not a product of speculation or imagination. History is not fabricated
and thus cannot be manufactured. Instead, evidence is the rubric upon which history stands. Finally,
history is an outcome of diligent research. History is critical in the selection, interpretation and analysis of
available data. It is these features of history that have made it look science (Ajetunmobi, 2005). These
aspects of history imply that what is presented as history is a product of honest inquiry and not that of the
historian’s sensibilities or imagination.
(Source: Ezekiel Oladele et.al International Journal of Educational Research and Technology “Issues,
Challenges and Prospects from http://www.soeagra.com/ijert/ijertdec2012/6.pdf?)
[ CITATION His18 \l 13321 ]

Ambeth Ocampo (2014) says “in my history classes, I always propose the working definition of
kasaysayan or History as a narrative (which can be written, visual, oral or a combination of all three)
about past events that have meaning to a certain group of people in a given time and place. These two
components of kasaysayan salaysay and saysay are inseparable without both, you cannot have true
history”

Activity 2: HE SAYS
Instruction: From the selection above, identify what did the following historians/ scholars said about the
term History. Write the definition beside the name.

Alex S. Sanchez
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
City of Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippines
Alex S. Sanchez

SCHOLARS THEIR DEFINITION OF HISTORY

Herodotus, Thucydides, Livy and Tacitus

Arthur Marwick

Walsh

Geoffrey Barraclough

Edward Carr

Ajetunmobi

Akinjogbin

Hegel

QUICK QUERY: What are the similarities among the views of the different personalities
abovementioned?

Scholars abovementioned have more or less given you an overview of what History is, and how
does it characterizes. The discipline can be rooted in the Greek work historia which means “to know” or
“to inquire”. History is associated with the discipline that studies the past through excavating, analyzing
and implicating from evidences and stories. In the wider sense, History is all that has happened, not
merely all the phenomena of human life, but those of the natural world as well. It is everything that
undergoes change; and as modern science has shown that there is nothing absolutely static, therefore, the
whole universe, and every part of it, has its history (New World Encyclopedia, 2018).
History is then formulated from varied kinds of sources like written documents, printed records,
artifacts, paintings, photographs, and even oral stories. In the next lessons, you will be introduced by
these kinds of sources and how do historians treat these sources. Through Historiography (the study and
Alex S. Sanchez
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
City of Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippines
Alex S. Sanchez
analysis of history through a philosophy or school of thought), readers have a better understanding of
History. Alporha and Candelaria (2018) asserted that while History seeks to study the past,
Historiography studies the History, answering questions such as: (1) How was a certain historical text
written? (2) Who wrote it? (3) What historical method was used? (4) What were the sources used?
Historiography lets the readers understand the context of the History and be able to measure its
consistency and accuracy. It makes people be more critical and analytic to the Histories presented to
them.
When a group of historians interpret historical events or eras through the same lens, those
combined interpretations form what’s called a Historical School (literally a school of thought about
history). There are many different schools that all focuses on different elements of history, such as
politics, economics, and world cultures.

LEARN FURTHER: To learn more on History, watch this Webinar entitled:

“Kasaysayan, Kaysaya! Ano ba ng Kasaysayan” ni Prof. Xiao Chua sa Facebook Page
ng Vibal Group.
Link: https://web.facebook.com/vibalgroup/videos/1830829457058864/

Importance of Studying History

History as a discipline has able to sustain itself from the Greek times up to date not only as a
measure of intelligence or educational capability but was used by different societies for varied purposes.
History has help us understand the behavior of the people and societies. (Stearns, 1998) Some
sociological theories developed by renowned social scientists was a result of analyzing past events to
understand human and social behaviors. History serves as a guide from the past in an attempt to put order
and clarity in the present and in the future. In anything that happened in the contemporary world, we have
to examine the factors from the past that led to that effect. Stearns (1998) in an article from American
Historical Association (AHA) had laid down the importance of taking History as a discipline:

History Contributes to Moral Understanding

History also provides a terrain for moral contemplation. Studying the stories of individuals and
situations in the past allows a student of history to test his or her own moral sense, to hone it against some
of the real complexities individuals have faced in difficult settings. People who have weathered adversity
not just in some work of fiction, but in real, historical circumstances can provide inspiration. "History
teaching by example" is one phrase that describes this use of a study of the past—a study not only of
certifiable heroes, the great men and women of history who successfully worked through moral
dilemmas, but also of more ordinary people who provide lessons in courage, diligence, or constructive
protest.

History Provides Identity

History also helps provide identity, and this is unquestionably one of the reasons all modern
nations encourage its teaching in some form. Historical data include evidence about how families, groups,

Alex S. Sanchez
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
City of Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippines
Alex S. Sanchez
institutions and whole countries were formed and about how they have evolved while retaining cohesion.
For many Americans, studying the history of one's own family is the most obvious use of history, for it
provides facts about genealogy and (at a slightly more complex level) a basis for understanding how the
family has interacted with larger historical change. Family identity is established and confirmed. Many
institutions, businesses, communities, and social units, such as ethnic groups in the United States, use
history for similar identity purposes. Merely defining the group in the present pales against the possibility
of forming an identity based on a rich past. And of course nations use identity history as well—and
sometimes abuse it. Histories that tell the national story, emphasizing distinctive features of the national
experience, are meant to drive home an understanding of national values and a commitment to national
loyalty.

Studying History Is Essential for Good Citizenship

A study of history is essential for good citizenship. This is the most common justification for the
place of history in school curricula. Sometimes advocates of citizenship history hope merely to promote
national identity and loyalty through a history spiced by vivid stories and lessons in individual success
and morality. But the importance of history for citizenship goes beyond this narrow goal and can even
challenge it at some points.

History that lays the foundation for genuine citizenship returns, in one sense, to the essential uses
of the study of the past. History provides data about the emergence of national institutions, problems, and
values—it's the only significant storehouse of such data available. It offers evidence also about how
nations have interacted with other societies, providing international and comparative perspectives
essential for responsible citizenship. Further, studying history helps us understand how recent, current,
and prospective changes that affect the lives of citizens are emerging or may emerge and what causes are
involved. More important, studying history encourages habits of mind that are vital for responsible public
behavior, whether as a national or community leader, an informed voter, a petitioner, or a simple
observer.

History Is Useful in the World of Work

History is useful for work. Its study helps create good businesspeople, professionals, and political
leaders. The number of explicit professional jobs for historians is considerable, but most people who
study history do not become professional historians. Professional historians teach at various levels, work
in museums and media centers, do historical research for businesses or public agencies, or participate in
the growing number of historical consultancies. These categories are important—indeed vital—to keep
the basic enterprise of history going, but most people who study history use their training for broader
professional purposes. Students of history find their experience directly relevant to jobs in a variety of
careers as well as to further study in fields like law and public administration. Employers often
deliberately seek students with the kinds of capacities historical study promotes. The reasons are not hard
to identify: students of history acquire, by studying different phases of the past and different societies in
the past, a broad perspective that gives them the range and flexibility required in many work situations.
They develop research skills, the ability to find and evaluate sources of information, and the means to
identify and evaluate diverse interpretations. Work in history also improves basic writing and speaking

Alex S. Sanchez
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
City of Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippines
Alex S. Sanchez
skills and is directly relevant to many of the analytical requirements in the public and private sectors,
where the capacity to identify, assess, and explain trends is essential. Historical study is unquestionably
an asset for a variety of work and professional situations, even though it does not, for most students, lead
as directly to a particular job slot, as do some technical fields. But history particularly prepares students
for the long haul in their careers, its qualities helping adaptation and advancement beyond entry-level
employment. There is no denying that in our society many people who are drawn to historical study
worry about relevance. In our changing economy, there is concern about job futures in most fields.
Historical training is not, however, an indulgence; it applies directly to many careers and can clearly help
us in our working lives.

What does a well-trained student of history, schooled to work on past materials and on case studies in
social change, learn how to do? The list is manageable, but it contains several overlapping categories.

The Ability to Assess Evidence. The study of history builds experience in dealing with and
assessing various kinds of evidence—the sorts of evidence historians use in shaping the most accurate
pictures of the past that they can. Learning how to interpret the statements of past political leaders—one
kind of evidence—helps form the capacity to distinguish between the objective and the self-serving
among statements made by present-day political leaders. Learning how to combine different kinds of
evidence—public statements, private records, numerical data, visual materials—develops the ability to
make coherent arguments based on a variety of data. This skill can also be applied to information
encountered in everyday life.

The Ability to Assess Conflicting Interpretations. Learning history means gaining some skill in
sorting through diverse, often conflicting interpretations. Understanding how societies work—the central
goal of historical study—is inherently imprecise, and the same certainly holds true for understanding what
is going on in the present day. Learning how to identify and evaluate conflicting interpretations is an
essential citizenship skill for which history, as an often-contested laboratory of human experience,
provides training. This is one area in which the full benefits of historical study sometimes clash with the
narrower uses of the past to construct identity. Experience in examining past situations provides a
constructively critical sense that can be applied to partisan claims about the glories of national or group
identity. The study of history in no sense undermines loyalty or commitment, but it does teach the need
for assessing arguments, and it provides opportunities to engage in debate and achieve perspective.

Experience in Assessing Past Examples of Change. Experience in assessing past examples of

change is vital to understanding change in society today—it's an essential skill in what we are regularly
told is our "ever-changing world." Analysis of change means developing some capacity for determining
the magnitude and significance of change, for some changes are more fundamental than others.
Comparing particular changes to relevant examples from the past helps students of history develop this
capacity. The ability to identify the continuities that always accompany even the most dramatic changes
also comes from studying history, as does the skill to determine probable causes of change. Learning
history helps one figure out, for example, if one main factor—such as a technological innovation or some

Alex S. Sanchez
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
City of Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippines
Alex S. Sanchez
deliberate new policy—accounts for a change or whether, as is more commonly the case, a number of
factors combine to generate the actual change that occurs.

Historical study, in sum, is crucial to the promotion of that elusive creature, the well-informed
citizen. It provides basic factual information about the background of our political institutions and about
the values and problems that affect our social well-being. It also contributes to our capacity to use
evidence, assess interpretations, and analyze change and continuities. No one can ever quite deal with the
present as the historian deals with the past—we lack the perspective for this feat; but we can move in this
direction by applying historical habits of mind, and we will function as better citizens in the process.

Guide Questions:
1. What is the difference between History and Historiography?
2. By what way do historians get significant findings that would later be part of history?
3. How does History lay down the foundations of citizenship?
4. Cite a situation wherein History is used in the world of work.
5. In general, why does history matters?

LET’S STUDY

If history is written with agenda or heavenly influenced by the historian is it possibly to come up
with an absolute historical truth? This question has haunted historians for many generations. Indeed, an
exact and accurate account of the past is impossible 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 access
representation of the past through historical sources and evidences.
Therefore, it is the historian’s job not just to seek historical evidences and facts but also to
interpret these facts. “Facts cannot speak for themselves”. It is the job of the historian to give meaning to
these facts and organize them into a timeline, establish causes and write history. Meanwhile, the historian
is not a blank paper who mechanically interprets and analyses present historical fact. He is a person of his
own who influenced by his own context, environment, ideology, education, and influences among others.
In that sense, his 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 that 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. If that is so, can history 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 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 as valid historical sources and on how to properly treat
eyewitness accounts and oral sources as valid historical evidence. In doing so, historical claims done by
Alex S. Sanchez
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
City of Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippines
Alex S. Sanchez
historian and the arguments that they forward in their historical writings while may be influenced by the
historians inclination, can still be validated by using reliable evidences and employing correct and
meticulous historical methodology.
Non-historians often say that “history repeats itself” or that “things were always this way.”
History cannot repeat itself because history is not a living, thinking being. History is an intellectual
discipline practiced by historians who try to make sense of the past. Because history is about change,
nothing was ever “always” a certain way.
Non-historians often romanticize the past and speak of the “good old days” when they believe
that things were generally better than at present. Conversely, some see history exclusively as a story of
progress with everything constantly improving. People of all eras have made great achievements and
committed terrible blunders; so processes of historical change cannot be categorized as either simple
progress or regression. Historical processes involve complex relations between interrelated factors.
Non-historians derive information mainly from television, movies, and the internet as well as
some books or magazines. They generally accept any sources uncritically as long as the source is
interesting. Historians know that all sources, even those original to a particular historical time period,
have some biases, omissions, contradictions, or various other limitations. That does not mean that such
sources are completely invalid and useless; rather it means that historians have to know and study much
to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of different sources.
Historians who write history emphasize the value of primary sources, that is those sources
actually dating from a particular time period, while understanding the limitations of such sources.
Nonhistorians read books or watch documentaries, while historians do that plus go to archives in search
of original records. [Historians who study non-English speaking regions must learn and use foreign
languages.]
Historians who write list all the sources that they have used in footnotes and bibliographies in
their works. This helps other scholars who are interested to find those sources, and it shows that the writer
is careful, thorough, and honestly giving credit for the origin of the writer’s information. Providing
footnotes and a bibliography is how historians demonstrate their methodology and support their
conclusions.
Non-historians assume that historians have always approached history the same way. Historians
know that the philosophy and methodology of history have changed over time and will keep changing.
Many different interpretations of all historical topics exist. Historians must work to recognize the
difference between facts and interpretations in their field. Historiography refers to the history, philosophy
and methodology of history. Historians must be familiar with the historiography of their particular area of
study.
Non-historians often make broad generalizations about people, ideas, events, or time periods in
history. Historians tend to focus more on the specific, detailed developments that underpin the
generalizations, and sometimes question or reject the generalizations themselves. Non-historians may
assume that time periods are fixed and absolute, whereas historians have various ways of organizing
history thematically and chronologically. Periodization, to historians, is just a convenient form of broad
organization, especially useful for course listings in university catalogs and subject headings in library
catalogs.
Alex S. Sanchez
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
City of Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippines
Alex S. Sanchez
No historian can be 100% objective, but historians try to recognize their own limitations and
biases. Historians try not to place the values, beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes of the present onto the
topics they study. Historians try to understand their topics in the context of how and why people of that
era thought and behaved, and not how people think and act today.
(Source: Readings in Philippine History by Candelaria and Alporha; Rex Bookstore)

LET’S THINK ABOUT THIS

1. Traditional historians lived with the mantra of “no document, no history”. Based from the text do
you agree that the absence of written documents about them mean that they were people of no
history or past? Write your answer on the space provided.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. History has no use for the present thus the saying “past is past” is true?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

3. Historians from different generations defined History as the record of the past specifically the
people and the events of the past. Does History Repeat Itself? Justify your answer.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

4. If history is written with agenda or is heavily influenced by the historians, is it possible to come up
with an absolute historical truth?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

5. Is history an objective discipline? If it is not, is it worthwhile to study?

LET’S REMEMBER

- HISTORY defined as the knowledge of the past acquired through Alex S. Sanchez
inquiry and investigation
- A disciple existed at around 2,400 and became known as the
account of the past of a person or a group of people through written
documents and historical evidences.
- History is both less than the past and more than the past. As an academic
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
City of Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippines
Alex S. Sanchez

LET’S APPLY WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED

To find out how much have you learned, answer the following question.
1. In understanding the meaning of History, for you, what counts as history?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

2. Based from the text History is an academic discipline. As a student, why do we need to study
history?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

Alex S. Sanchez
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
City of Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippines
Alex S. Sanchez
3. As a student, would you think historical sources that were not written should still be used in
writing history?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

REFERENCES:

Candelaria, J. L. (2018). Readings in Philippine History. Manila: Rex Book Store.

History. (2018). Retrieved from New World Encyclopedia:
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/History
Oladele, E. e. (2005). Issues, Challenges and Prospects. Retrieved from International Jornal of Education
Research and Technology: http://www.soeagra.com/ijert/ijertdec2012/6.pdf?)
Streans, P. N. (2018). Why Study History? Retrieved from American Historical Association:
https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/historical-
archives/why-study-history-(1998)

Alex S. Sanchez