Republic of the Philippines

NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY

Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: IM-GEHISTORY-1STSEM-2020-2021

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Bayombong Campus

DEGREE General Education COURSE NO. GE HIST

PROGRAM
SPECIALIZATION Philippine History COURSE TITLE READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

YEAR LEVEL All Level TIME FRAME 6 HRS WK NO. 2 IM NO. 1

I. Unit 1: Introduction to the Study of History

II. LESSON TITLE

Chapter 1: History: It’s meaning and Relevance, Sources, and methodology.

III. LESSON OVERVIEW

This chapter introduces history as a discipline and a narrative relative to the Philippine context. It
discusses the meaning of history as well as its relevance to society. It also distinguishes the
different types of historical sources, the Philippine repositories of these sources, and the
historical-critical methods used by historians to establish historical truths. Extra tools employed
by historians, specifically on the technical analysis of sources, are also included.

IV. DESIRED LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

 Understand the meaning and relevance of history and to be familiar with the underlying
philosophy and and methodology of the discipline;
 Evaluate primary sources for their credibility, authenticity, and provenance;
 Develop critical and analytical skills with exposure to primary sources;
 Describe the repositories of primary sources.

V. LESSON CONTENT

History: It’s meaning and Relevance

History has always been popularly known as the study of the past which is obviously
correct but let us transcend from this common meaning by understanding the etymology and
various definitions of history by some scholars.

“History is a systematic account of a set of natural phenomena which are arranged in

their chronological order.”

- Aristotle

“A kind of research or inquiry that seeks to find out actions of human beings that have

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: IM-GEHISTORY-1STSEM-2020-2021
been done in the past.” -Collingwood, 1976

“History is a learning inquiry about the past of mankind.”

- Thucydides; Herodotus, Father of History

“History as never-ending dialogue of events between the past and the present.”

- E.H. Carr

The above definitions explain History as a significant records of events of the past, a
meaningful story of mankind depicting the details of what happened to man and why it happened.
Mainly it deals with the human world.

The word history is derived from the Greek term “historia” which means “knowledge
acquired through inquiry or research”. Thus, the term history generally refers to accounts or
inquiries of events that happened in the past and are narrated in a chronological order. This then
acquired a new definition as “the account of the past of a person or a group of people through a
written documents and historical evidences.” As history became important academic discipline, it
became the historian’s duty to write about the lives of important individuals, revolutions and other
important breakthroughs which will be tackled in the next chapters.

 Relevance of Studying Philippine History

Let’s be honest. The subject is known for its notoriety in requiring students to memorize
dates, places, names, and events from distant eras. Thus, students often see this as a dead and
boring subject and would ask questions like : what’s the use of studying this course if we are not
concern about what happened a long time ago? This low appreciation of the discipline may be
rooted from the shallow understanding of history’s relevance to their lives and to their respective
contexts. In response to this, Penelope J. Cartfield goes on to say “history is inescapable”. A
support to this is another saying that “all people are living histories-which is why history
matters”. Since history connects things through time, we need to to take a view on its relevance
as follows:

1.Human Knowledge. History serves as a wonderful treasure-house of information and can it

can offer guidance for the solution to all human problems. It shows us the roots without uprooting
the tree. History is a path finder of man’s future as it helps us understand what happened in the
past and how does this affect your present and even your future. It provides us necessary
information and understanding of terms, facts, principal events, trends, etc, which is related to the
study of history.

2. History contributes to moral understanding. History helps in the teaching of morality in the
sense that you can get inspiration from life stories of great leaders. A student comes close to the
valuable thoughts of history characters like heroes, reformers, leaders, important persons and
sages. What’s interesting here is that as you come across real life stories, it can instill in you
moral values like courage, respect, love to your country and fellowmen, etc.

3. History helps us understand people and societies. Cultural and social values: It is essential
that one should You can only come to understand the importance of your own cultural and social
values if you go back to see the way of life of Filipinos from the pre-colonial period until now. As it

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: IM-GEHISTORY-1STSEM-2020-2021
makes us understand our present culture, it also develops our attachment to our our cultural
heritage because it expounds the culture of the present time by describing the past. Since it
explains the origin of existing state of things, our customs, and institutions, it develops an
understanding of the different forces which have shaped the destiny of man and paved the way
for his development in society

4. Studying history is essential for good citizenship. History teaching renders an effective
service in imbibing the young minds with a sense of patriotism. It is through history alone that a
Filipino comes to know the various deeds performed by such patriots as Rizal, Gomburza,
Apolinario Mabini, etc. By reading their great lives and deeds, a person can easily be inspired to
emulate them. A proper study of history can prepare the way for sober nationalism. In short,
studying history instills nationalistic value among learners.

 History and Historian

In our quest to study the past, we cannot access it directly as our subject matter, that is
why we recognize the importance of historians as they play a vital role in seeking historical
evidences and facts. More importantly, as much these evidences and facts cannot speak for
themselves, it is the role of the historians to interpret these facts for us to understand . They give
meaning to these facts and organize them into a timeline, establish causes and write history.

However, as human, while he interprets historical facts, it is inevitable for a historian to be

influenced by his own ideology, context, environment, education and influences, among others.
Thus, in one way or another, history becomes subjective to the historian. In that sense, if
interpretation of facts can be swayed by context and circumstances of the historian, a question
has risen: “can history still be considered as an academic and scientific inquiry”?

The answer is yes, it still remains scientific because a historian has to employ historical
methodology which comprises techniques and rules in order to properly utilize sources and
historical evidences in writing history. Meaning, even if they are influenced by their personal
inclinations, their historical claims can still be validated by using a reliable evidences and
employing correct and meticulous historical methodology. For example, if a historian chooses to
use an oral account as his data in studying the ethnic history of the Ifugaos during the Japanese
period, he still needs to validate the claims of his informant through comparison and
corroboration with other written sources. Thus, while bias is inevitable, the historian can balance
this by relying to other evidences to back up his claim.

Another important question is, “what counts as history?”

For traditional historians, they lived with the mantra “no document, no history” which
means a historical event cannot be considered a historical fact unless proved with a written
document. In short, without a written proof, it cannot count as history. But, how about those who
were not recorded in paper? Does this invalidate the history of other civilizations that do not keep
written record, those that got burned or destroyed in the events of war or colonization, and
indigenous groups who were not given much thought about being registered to government
records? Does it mean they are people of no history or past? Or did they even exist?

This drawback was recognized by historians and started to be more inclusive by using
other kinds of historical sources other than written documents like artifacts, songs, video
recordings, etc. They also started to collaborate with other disciplines like archeologists and
linguists. With the help of archeologists, historians can use artifacts from bygone era to study
ancient civilizations that were formerly ignored by history just because of lack of documents.

 Historical Sources

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 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: IM-GEHISTORY-1STSEM-2020-2021
As historians started to be more inclusive in using historical sources, we can see that one
of the most important research tools to study the past are historical sources. In general, they are
classified into two: primary sources and secondary sources.

Primary and Secondary 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. These sources give us direct firsthand evidences regarding
an object, person, or work of art. They include historical and legal documents , eyewitness
accounts, diaries, , experiments, statistical data, pieces of creative writing, audio, video
recordings, speeches, art objects, and other artifacts. They certainly provide a window into the
past—unfiltered access to the records during the specific period under study, produced by people
who lived during that period.

Examples:

ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS: Diaries, speeches, manuscripts, letters, interviews, news film

footage, autobiographies, official records
CREATIVE WORKS: Poetry, drama, novels, music, art
RELICS OR ARTIFACTS: Pottery, furniture, clothing, buildings

Secondary sources, on the other hand is a document or recording that describe, discuss,
interpret, comment upon, analyze, evaluate, summarize, and process original sources.
Secondary source materials are those that can be found in newspapers or popular magazines,
book or movie reviews, or articles written in scholarly journals that discuss or evaluate someone
else’s original research.

“The testimony of anyone who is not an

eyewitness, that is, of one who was not
present at the events of which he tells”.

-Gottschalk, 1950

Examples:

PUBLICATIONS: Textbooks, magazine articles, histories, criticisms, commentaries,

encyclopaedias

PRIMARY SOURCES SECONDARY SOURCES

 They are raw materials of historical  Analysis or a restatement of primary

research. sources. They often describe or
 They are the documents or artifacts explain primary sources.
closest to the topic of investigation.
 Some secondary sources not only
 Often, they are created during the time
period which is being studied analyze primary sources, but also
(correspondence, diaries, newspapers, use them to argue or persuade the
government documents, art) but they can reader to hold a certain opinion.
also be produced later by eyewitnesses  Secondary sources are not evidence
or participants (memoirs, oral histories) but a commentary on and discussion
 You may find primary sources in their of evidence.
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 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: IM-GEHISTORY-1STSEM-2020-2021
original format (usually in an archive) or
reproduced in a variety of ways: books,
microfilm, digital, etc.
Examples:
Examples include:
Bibliographies
Artifacts ( coins, plant specimens, fossils,
furniture, tools, clothing, all from the time Biographical works
under study )
Commentaries, criticisms
Audio recordings ( e.g. radio programs,
oral histories) Dictionaries, encyclopedias

Diaries Histories
Internet communications on email Journal articles
Interviews ( e.g. oral histories, telephone, Magazines and newspaper articles
e-mail)
Monographs, other than fiction and
Journal articles published in peer –
autobiography
reviewed publications
Letters Textbooks

Newspaper articles written at the time Websites

Original documents (birth certificate, trial

transcript)
Photographs
Patents
Proceedings of meetings, conferences
Records of organization, government
agencies ( annual report, treaty,
constitution, government document)
Speeches
Survey research (market surveys, public
opinion polls)
Video recordings (television programs)
Works of art, architecture, literature, and
music ( paintings, sculptures)

 Internal and External Criticisms

Historical sources plays one of the most pertinent role in understanding the past, but even so, in
order for us to avoid deception and come up with a historical truth, we need to carefully scrutinize
these historical sources by conducting an external and internal criticism of the source. In support,
Dr. Lynn Sims, a history professor also noted these two methods of applying a set of data.

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: IM-GEHISTORY-1STSEM-2020-2021

External criticisms

It refers to the evaluation of a document in order to test its authenticity. It involves such
physical and technical tests as dating of paper a document is written on, but it also involves a
knowledge of when certain things existed or were possible, e.g. when zip codes where invented.
Basically, it answers questions like “Is the information concerning the author , the place, and the
time it was written correct?

The purpose of external criticism is to identify the genuineness of a certain document ( Is

it legit?)

Internal criticism

It refers to the accuracy of the content of the document. A researcher has to evaluation a
document concerning the content as he/she looks within the data itself to try to determine truth-
facts and “reasonable” interpretation. This is the phase in which a researcher engages with the
meaning of the text rather than the external elements of the document. It includes looking at the
apparent or possible motives of the person providing the data.

It seeks to falsify or demonstrate its continuity with an idea by hypothetically assuming

its truth in order to prove some internal inconsistency or contradiction with it.

Note: understanding the difference between an internal and external criticism is of vital
importance for all people since falling to do this may lead in to unfocused conversations where
topic of investigation is never sufficiently addressed due to the ever-elusive objective. It is
important therefore to focus the conversation by identifying what type of objection you have or
else are confronted with and, as a result, you will be in a better position for having more fruitful
conversations with those whom you may disagree with.

Repositories of Primary Sources

Primary sources are considered embodiment of our cultural heritage, collective memory, as well
as testaments to shared national experiences. Thus, our government is tasked to preserve and
make the primary sources of information in Philippine history accessible to the public through
various depositories in the Philippines.

1.National Archives of the Philippines

-presently, it is the home of 60million documents from the centuries of Spanish, American,
and Japanese rule in the Philippines, as well as the years of the Republic.

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: IM-GEHISTORY-1STSEM-2020-2021
2. Official Gazette( published by the national printing office)

-it is where Republic Acts and other legislative enactments or statutes are stored.

3. Museums

-local repositories of primary sources found in each provinces, cities, and municipalities.

4. Supreme Court Reports Annotated (SCRA)

-it is where court decisions are reposited.

VI. LEARNING ACTIVITIES (Learning activities are included in the answer sheet next to this page)

VII. ASSIGNMENT (Assignments are included in the answer sheet next to this page)

VIII. EVALUATION (Note: Not to be included in the student’s copy of the IM)

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