GED 105 Readings in Philippine History

Main Topic I: Introduction to History

1. Understand the meaning of history as an academic discipline and to be familiar with the underlying philosophy and
methodology of the discipline.
2. Know the difference between primary and secondary sources
3. Examine and assess critically the value of historical evidences and sources
4. Appreciate research method in history

Lesson 1
History: Introduction and Historical Sources

A. Definition ● recognize the evidence, decide how useful it is

History - refers to the study and interpretation
by a historian on the data and other source of the past
human activity, people, societies and civilizations
leading to the present day
There are three important concepts in the definition.
● based on past events
● interpreted by someone, usually by historians.
They gather, discard and interpret the sources
that they encounter.
● rely on data and documents which historians
call as historical sources
B. History’s Subject Matter
The subject matter of history is the life of people and
humanity.
History has always been known as the study of the
past.
History came from the Greek word Historia which
means inquiry.
Historia does not mean past events. It denotes
asking questions or investigation of the past
done by a person trained to do so or by
persons who are interested in the human past.
We can say that historical accounts must be
based on all available relevant evidence.
Therefore a version of the past that cannot be
supported by the evidence is worthless.
C. History and the Historian
and come to conclusion based on what he has
found out
● responsible for reconstructing the past
According to Gottschalk, historians are many
times removed from the events under investigation. He
added that 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 was survive has come to the historian attention
Moreover only a part of what is credible has been
grasped, and only a part of what has been grasped
can expounded or narrated by the historian.
History
Some authors define history as a study of historical
perspective.
In reconstructing the past, a historian can be
subjective; after all he is human, fallible and capable of
error. People’s memories are filled with bias, self
righteousness, pride, vanity, spinning, obstruction and
outright lies. Each has his own frame of reference or a
set of interlocking values, loyalties, assumptions,
interest and principle of action. The historian is
influenced by his own environment, ideology,
education and influence. His interpretation of the
historical fact is affected by his context and
circumstances.

Historian - an expert or student of history, especially

that of a particular period, geographical region or
social phenomenon.

Duties of a historian:
● seek not only historical evidence and facts but
also to interpret these facts
● gives meaning to these facts and organizes
them chronologically

This is the subjective nature of history, one historian
claims an event happened a certain way, while another
disagrees completely.
The best approach is to do all we can to reconstruct as
fully as possible our picture of the past.
● To do this, most scholars use historiography or
what they call history of history. Historiography
is the study of how history was written, by
whom and why it was recorded as such. It is
concerned with how historians have presented
history. Interpretation about the past can be
objective or true as long as they are free of
inherent contradictions, are not contrary to the
laws of nature and are based on actual
remains from the time period referred to.
● Another way for a historian to be objective is to
follow the historical method. It is the core
protocols historians’ use for handling sources.
An agreed ground rules for researching and
writing academic research or professional
history. An objective historian must verify
sources, to date them, locate the place of
origin and identify their intended functions. It is
important for a historian to base their accounts
on source materials.
D. Sources of History
Historical sources - tangible remains of the past.
● It is an object from the past or testimony
concerning the past on which historians
depend in order to create their own depiction
of the past.
● There are three kinds of sources namely:
primary, secondary, and tertiary sources.
❖ Primary sources
ー a testimony of an individual who was a
participant in or a direct witness to the
event that is being described
ー a document or physical object which
was written or created during the time
under a study
ー present during an experience or time
period and offer an inside view of a
particular event
ー characterized by their content,
regardless of whether they are
available in original format, in
microfilm, in digital format or in
published format
Five Main Categories of Primary Sources
1. Written Sources - most common
primary source
GED 105 Readings in Philippine History
– written or printed materials
that have been produced in
one form or another sometime
in the past
– published materials such as
travelogue, transcription of
speech, autobiographies,
journals or newspapers (La
Solidaridad)
– can be also in manuscript
form or any handwritten or
type record that has not been
printed. Ie. archival materials,
memoirs, diary, personal letter
or correspondence
2. Numerical Records - include any
type of numerical data in printed or
handwritten form
3. Oral Statements - any form of
statement made orally by an
eyewitness.
– It maybe through video
recordings, audio recordings,
or transcribed
4. Relics - any objects whose physical or
visual characteristics can provide
some information about the past.
– These include artifacts, ruins
and fossils
5. Images - includes photograph,
posters, paintings, drawing cartoons
and maps.
❖ Secondary sources
ー interprets and analyzes primary
sources
ー one or more steps removed from the
event
ー prepared by an individual who was not
direct witness to an event, but not who
obtained his or her description of the
event from someone else
ー may have pictures, votes or graphics
of primary sources in them.
ー Some types of secondary sources are
history textbook, printed materials
(serials or periodicals which interpret
previews research), biographies,
nonfiction text such as newspaper,
magazine, journals, works of criticism
and interpretation
❖ Tertiary sources
ー provides third hand information by
reporting ideas and details from
secondary source

ー eyewitness is more reliable than
testimony at second hand, which is
more reliable than hearsay or tertiary
sources
ー encyclopedia, almanac, Wikipedia,
YouTube, dictionaries, message
boards, social media sites and other
search sites
Lesson 2
Historical Criticisms
1. Provide ideas that guide the discipline of history
2. Develop critical and analytical skills with exposure to primary sources
3. Evaluate primary sources for their credibility, authenticity and provenance
4. Opportunities to improve critical thinking
A. Definition
Historical criticism - a branch of criticism that
investigates the origin of text or source in order to
understand the word behind the text
– also known as the historical-critical method
Primary goal to discover the text primitive or
original historical context and its
literal sense
Secondary goal establish a reconstruction of
historical situation of the author
and recipients of the text
Two types of Historical Criticism
1. External criticism - investigates the
documents form
2. Internal criticism - investigates the
content of the documents
B. Additional Goal of Historical Criticism
Historical criticism seeks greater understanding of the
texts by analyzing the historical and social contexts in
which they developed.
The goal of historical criticism, traditionally, has been
to try to understand the text’s meaning in its original
context and to answer questions about the text, such
as:
● Who wrote it?
● When was it written?
● What else what happening at the time of its
writing?
● How did it come to be in the form we have it
today?
● What did it mean to the people who first read
or heard it?
GED 105 Readings in Philippine History
Historical criticism has also often sought answers to
the ever-elusive question of what is called “authorial
intent”: What did the author intend for this text to mean
in his or her time and place?
C. External Criticism
External criticisms - investigates the documents form
– looks for the obvious sign of forgery or
misrepresentation
– tests the authenticity of the sources
– interested in the writing styles of the
eyewitness and his ignorance of the facts
– analyzes the original manuscript; its integrity,
localization and the date it was written
– first test the historian employ to ascertain
sources validity
– To ascertain if a particular data is fabricated,
forged, fake, corrupted or a hoax, that source
must undergo the test of authenticity.
D. Test of authenticity
1. The first step to test a source is to determine
the date of the document to see whether it is
anachronistic.
Anachronism means out of time or
order, something that could not have
been there at that particular time.
It could be a person, thing or idea
placed at the wrong time. Being able
to spot anachronism is important
because it helps us test the reliability
of a source.
If a source is unreliable then we
probably should not use it.
2. The second step is to determine the author’s
handwriting, signature or seal. We can
compare the handwriting of a particular author

to his other writings. Obvious signs of forgery
include patch writing, hesitation as revealed by
ink blobs, pauses in the writing, tremor
causing poor line quality and erasures.
3. The third test in determining the authenticity of
the source is by looking for the anachronistic
style. In this test we will examine idiomatic
expression or the orthography used in the
documents. An idiom is an expression, word or
phrase that has a figurative meaning
conventionally understood by native speakers.
When we say ‘break a leg’ we all know that it
means good luck.
Orthography is a set of conventions
for writing a language. It includes
norms of spelling, hyphenation,
capitalization, word breaks, emphasis
and punctuation.
4. The fourth test is the anachronistic reference
to events. For example if the event cited in the
document is prior to the actual event, then the
document must be forged or fake.
5. The fifth test of authenticity is the provenance
or custody of the document. Provenance is the
place of origin of the earliest known history of
documents. It traces the roots of any source.
The other two tests of authenticity are the semantics
and hermeneutics.
● Semantics is the linguistic study of meaning.
In this test semantics determine the meaning
of the text and words of the source. We may
ask: is the meaning of the statements different
from its literal meaning?
● Hermeneutics on the other hand is theory and
methodology of interpretation. Hermeneutics is
more than interpretation or method used when
immediate comprehension fails. In historical
criticism we determine ambiguities which are a
word or expression that can be understood in
two or more possible ways. Historians may
Main Topic II: Content and Contextual Analysis of Selected Primary
Sources
1. To properly interpret primary sources through examining the content and context of the documents
2. To familiarize oneself with the primary documents in different historical periods of the Philippines
3. To determine the contribution of different kinds of primary sources in understanding Philippine history
4. To learn history through primary sources
A. Background of the Author/Creator
provide brief biographical sketch of the author
or creator of the primary source
GED 105 Readings in Philippine History
look also if the statement is meant to be ironic
(i.e. mean other than what it says).
E. Internal Criticism
Internal criticism - investigates the content of the
documents
− looks for deeper or more intense study of
sources
− implicit character
− document must be verisimilar or as close as
what really happened from a critical
examination of best available resources
− refers to the accuracy of the content of a
document
− investigates the content or substance of a
document and the author’s point of view
− tests the credibility of the source
F. Test of Credibility
1. The first step is the identification of the author.
It determines if the witness is reliable or if he is
consistent by comparing his other works. In
this steps historian also examine the mental
processes of the witness, if he is capable of
telling the truth, or if he is mentally challenge.
Finally we will look for his personal attitudes, if
he is telling something beyond what he saw or
bragging about it.
2. The second step in testing the credibility of the
eyewitness is to determine the approximate
date.
3. The third step in testing the credibility of the
source is its ability to tell the truth. Historians
examine how near an eyewitness is to the
event.
4. The fourth step is the willingness to tell the
truth.
5. The last step is to look for corroboration.
● Family background
● educational attainment
● religion and many others

B. Background of the Document/Primary Source
● Determine:
✔ type of primary source
✔ how many parts or chapter
✔ how long is the document
✔ location where the primary source can be
found
○ Library
○ Archive
○ Museum
○ historical society
○ special collection of private individuals.
● To check the authenticity of the source:
○ check the provenance or origin of the
said document
○ determine the intended audience or
the people the author wants to convey
their ideas with
○ a researcher must find out who are the
creator and the time of creation
● To look for the purpose or motive of the source
1. understand the historical context
2. do a background research
3. look at important historical event at the
time the source was made
4. ascertain intended audience
GED 105 Readings in Philippine History
We have to follow the acronym NAME or Novelty,
Applicability, Memory and Effect.
● Novelty or when something is new or never
been seen before. Example is when Cory
Aquino became President; it is significant
because she is the first female president of the
Philippines.
● Applicability or when it is similar to the
present. The Spanish Flu of 1918 suddenly
became important topic because of Covid-19.
● Memory or how it has been remembered over
time. The typhoon Yolanda is remembered
because it is the strongest weather
disturbance that hit the country.
● Effect or how people have been affected. Taal
Volcanic Eruption is significant particularly in
Batangas area because many were affected.

C. Content Analysis of the Important Historical

Information Found in the Document
1. look for corroboration between the research
you gather from the internet and the primary
source that your instructor has given to you
2. look for bias
○ two kinds of bias: either it is strongly
positive (strongly in favor of) or
strongly negative (strongly against)
3. analyze the historical perspective or a point of
view a creator describe the event
4. analyze the historical context of the document
○ Context is the awareness that
sources were created at times which
were very different to our own

D. Contribution and Relevance of the Document in

Understanding the Grand Narrative of Philippine
History
● cause and consequences of the primary
sources
○ cause - a person or thing that makes
something happen
○ consequence - a direct result of the
cause.

E. Relevance of the documents to the present time.

How to determine the significance of the event?