HISTORICAL METHOD

Historical Sources

Historical Criticism

Ma. Florina Orillos-Juan, Ph.D.

Department of History De la Salle University Manila ma.florina.orillos-juan@dlsu.edu.ph

Reminder

 This powerpoint presentation may be used as a reference but please make the necessary
acknowledgment and documentation of your source.

Outline of Discussion

I. History as Reconstruction

II. The Historical Method

III. Historical Sources [Written and Nonwritten; Primary and Secondary]

IV. Historical Criticism [External and Intenal]

Introduction: History as Reconstruction

the historian is many times removed from the events under investigation

historians rely on surviving records

Introduction: History as Reconstruction

“Only a part of what was observed in the past was remembered by those who observed it; only a part
of what was remembered was recorded; only a part of what was recorded has survived; only a part of
what has survived has come to the historian’s attention.”

 Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History

Introduction: History as Reconstruction

“Only a part of what is credible has been grasped, and only a part of what has been grasped can be
expounded or narrated by the historian.”

 Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History

What is the Historical Method?

Historians have to verify sources, to date them, locate their place of origin and identify their intended
functions

In short, the Historical Method is…

The process of critically examining and analyzing the records and survivals of the past

 Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History

Historical Sources

Sources – an object from the past or testimony concerning the past on which historians depend in
order to create their own depiction of that past.

 Howell and Prevenier, From Reliable Sources an Introduction to Historical Method

Tangible remains of the past

 Anthony Brundage, Going to Sources

Written Sources

1. Published materials

Books, magazines, journals,

Travelogue

 transcription of speech 2. Manuscript [any handwritten or typed record that has not been printed]

Archival materials

Memoirs, diary
Non- written Sources

Oral history

Artifact

Ruins

Fossils

Art works

Videorecordings

Audiorecordings

What are Primary Sources?

Testimony of an eyewitness

A primary source must have been produced by a contemporary of the event it narrates

Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History

What are Primary Sources?

A primary source is a document or physical object which was written or created during the time under
study.

These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular
event.

http://www.princeton.edu/~refdesk/primary2.h

What are Primary Sources?

Primary sources are characterized by their content, regardless of whether they are available in original
format, in microfilm/microfiche, in digital format, or in published format.
http://www.yale.edu/collections_collaborative/primarysources/primarysources.html

Four Main Categories of Primary

Sources

1. Written sources

2. Images

3. Artifacts 4. Oral testimony

What are Secondary Sources?

A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps
removed from the event.

Secondary sources may have pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources in them.

http://www.princeton.edu/~refdesk/primary2.html

What are Secondary Sources?

Examples:

History textbook

Printed materials (serials, periodicals which interprets previous research)

Practical Example/Worksheet

Topic: Tejeros Convention

Primary Source: Santiago Alvarez’ account

Secondary Source: Teodoro Agoncillo’s Revolt of the Masses

What is Historical Criticism?

In order for a source to be used as evidence in history, basic matters about its form and content must
be settled

1. External Criticism

2. Internal Criticism

What is External Criticism?

The problem of authenticity

To spot fabricated, forged, faked documents

To distinguish a hoax or misrepresentation

Tests of Authenticity

1. Determine the date of the document to see whether they are anachronistic

e.g. pencils did not exist before the 16th Century

2. Determine the author

e.g. handwriting, signature, seal

 Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History

Tests of Authenticity

3. Anachronistic style

e.g. idiom, ortography, punctuation 4. Anachronistic reference to events

e.g. too early, too late, too remote

5. Provenance or custody

e.g. determines its genuineness

 Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History

Tests of Authenticity

6. Semantics – determining the meaning of a text or word

7. Hermeneutics –determining ambiguities

 Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History

What is Internal Criticism?

The Problem of Credibility

Relevant particulars in the document – is it credible?

Verisimilar – as close as what really happened from a critical examination of best available sources

 Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History

Tests of Credibility

1. Identification of the author

e.g. to determine his reliability; mental processes, personal attitudes

2. Determination of the approximate date

e.g. handwriting, signature, seal

 Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History

Tests of Credibility

3. Ability to tell the truth

e.g. nearness to the event, competence of witness, degree of attention

4. Willingness to tell the truth

e.g. to determine if the author consciously or unconsciously tells falsehoods

 Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History

Tests of Credibility

5. Corroboration

i.e. historical facts – particulars which rest upon the independent testimony of two or more
reliable witnesses

 Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History

Three Major Components to

Effective Historical Thinking

1. Sensitivity to Multiple Causation

2. Sensitivity to Context
3. Awareness of the interplay of continuity and change in human

affairs