FIRST YEAR - FIRST SEMESTER

ZGE-1106
READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

PREPARED FOR:
PROF. MARK FABELLA
PREPARED BY::
DIANE S. ALVAREZ
M1: History and Science Learning Activity 1

1. Try to remember the last national holiday that we have. Why

do you think that the common perception of a holiday is “no
classes” (walang pasok) to the point that it has become its
meaning? What were lost, that we have come to view national
holidays as this? Is this a positive or negative
perception already? Why?
The last holiday I can recall was the second and largest
of the two major festivals celebrated in Islam, Eid al-
Adha, is usually celebrated on July 10. The idea that a
holiday is merely a "rest day" for us students is, in my
opinion, a popular misperception about us. As a result
of this assumption, we students are now losing sight of
the real meaning of holidays. And as a result, I think its
a negative attitude of us because, rather than
understanding why we should celebrate the holiday and
what its true meaning is, students merely refer to it as a
rest days, which devalues the significance and
importance of the holiday.
2.In Gottschalk’s book, history as now being read, is only a very
minute portion of the totality of history for very few information
of the past were observed, few were remembered, few were
recorded, few survived. How would this affect your reading and
appreciation of history today?
I think that students today are disinterested in studying
history for a variety of reasons, but the most prevalent
one is that they find the topic boring and uninteresting
since they feel that studying history consists solely of
listening to lectures and reading texts. The second is a
lack of potential employment chances because, let's
face it, there is currently such a low demand for history
graduates in our day.
3. In the same book, a monument, a relic, a document would
remain simply data and will never be historical source without
human element. What does this mean?
According to my understanding of this statement, a
historical item cannot exist without a human component,
and I believe this is true because humans are both the
primary source and component of history. If a necklace
was not worn by a prominent person from that time
period or a leader, it may not qualify as a historical
object but if it is worn by those people who are
prominent in that era those jewelry can be a historical
artifact. I believe that t hese various artifacts can
enlighten us more about our history.
4. In the historical method as discussed by Gottschalk, the
third stage of the historical method is the examination of
genuineness of the source or material. Why, do you think, the
genuineness of the material should first be established before
the extraction of credible particulars would follow?
To prevent the spread of false information, I believe it is
important to first determine an object's genuineness. We
make mistakes every time we learn new knowledge
since history itself is a difficult and delicate topic. And as
a result of those fake news, both students and teachers
may believe those assumptions to be true.