Week 1 Course Outline Reviewer for RPH

History- History is the study of people, actions, decisions, interactions and behaviors. It is so compelling a
subject because it encapsulates themes which expose the human condition in all of its guises and that resonate
throughout time: power, weakness, corruption, tragedy, triumph.
Philippine History-The Philippines takes its name from Philip II, who was king of Spain during the Spanish
colonization of the islands in the 16th century. Because it was under Spanish rule for 333 years and under U.S.
tutelage for a further 48 years, the Philippines has many cultural affinities with the West. It is, for example, the
second most-populous Asian country (following India) with English as an official language and one of only two
predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia (the other being East Timor). Despite the prominence of such
Anglo-European cultural characteristics, the peoples of the Philippines are Asian in consciousness and
aspiration.
Primary Source- Immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic, from people who had a direct connection with it.
Examples of primary sources are theses, dissertations, scholarly journal articles (research based), some
government reports, symposia and conference proceedings, original artwork, poems, photographs, speeches,
letters, memos, personal narratives, diaries, interviews, autobiographies, and correspondence.
Primary Source in History-The use of primary sources exposes students to important historical concepts. First,
students become aware that all written history reflects an author's interpretation of past events. Therefore, as
students read a historical account, they can recognize its subjective nature.
Secondary Source- A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more
steps removed from the event. Secondary sources may contain pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources.
Some types of secondary source include: Textbooks; journal articles; histories; criticisms; commentaries;
encyclopedias.
Secondary Source in History-Secondary sources are written after the historical event they describe has occurred.
These materials analyze primary sources and draw conclusions from them. Secondary sources provide
hindsight, and usually incorporate multiple sources of information about the same event. Secondary materials
include monographs, journal articles, biographies, encyclopedias, and documentaries--anything that includes a
list of historical sources.
External criticism- External criticism, also called lower criticism, determines the authenticity of the source. The
method of external criticism is also known as heuristics. Heuristics is a technique to detect, trace and locate
historical evidence. In another way, it is a method to find out the authenticity of the document.
Functions of External Criticism-The functions of external criticism are many. Primarily, external criticism sets
three questions to test the authenticity of a document:
Who produced the document?
When was it produced?
Where was it produced?
Elements of Enquires in External Criticism
1. Authorship-Authorship is the first question while examining the authenticity of a document. The
character, connections and trustworthiness of the author are often reflected in his writings. Thus, to
identify the author of a document is very important. If the ideas and style do not match or resemble the
idea and style of the author it can be safely assumed that they were not the parts of the original
manuscript and were forged by the later ones.
2. Period/Date/Time-The period of the document must be inquired to determine its authenticity. In modern
publications, the year can be found on the book or document on the title page or backside. Extensive
knowledge of the period of enquiry is also a prerequisite.
3. Location/Place-The place of publication of the document must be inquired to determine the authenticity
of the document. Highly specialized techniques like carbon dating, linguistic analysis, chemical analysis,
etc., are required to authenticate some documents and artefacts.
Internal Criticism-Internal criticism aims to establish the credibility of the content of the document. t is
concerned with the authenticity of the information and its purpose is to establish the trustworthiness of the
contents of the document. Internal criticism is used to detect and determine whether the document contains
errors or lies. If heuristic deals with the external aspects of a document, hermeneutics deal with the internal
aspects of the document.
Hermeneutics-Hermeneutics, or ‘the theory of interpretation,’ is a field in contemporary Western
Philosophy. It deals with principles and processes instrumental in the course of interpretation, especially the
interpretation of texts. Thus, hermeneutics is an art of discovering meaning.
Key Themes in Hermeneutics

 Explanation: The focus of the explanation is on the validity of textual meaning. In explanation, a text
can be treated like a window or like a mirror. In window reading, one sees through a text in order to
explore its nature and origins, without any influences. In mirror reading, one stands before a text in
order to understand it from within a particular context and is guided by personal and social interests.
Both methods have positive and negative aspects.

 Understanding: In order to understand the whole text, it is essential to understand the individual parts
of the text. Similarly, in order to understand the parts, it is important to understand the whole idea of
the text. Thus, for a better understanding of the text, the connected thinking between the whole and
the parts of the text is necessary.

 Trust and Suspicion: While interpreting a text, the hermeneutical trust operates from an
understanding standpoint. On the other hand, the hermeneutical suspicion operates from a critical
perspective. The blend of these two is necessary.

Method of Internal Criticism

More than anything else, the process of internal criticism requires a healthy doubt and a critical and
analytical mind. While approaching a historical source, doubt is an inevitable thing. This doubt helps the
historian to find out the most reliable account of the past. The critical approach guards the researcher against
errors. The content of the document should be critically analyzed. The document should be divided into
several parts. Each trace is separately analyzed and tested. The critical method should be applied to know
the nature of historical facts and to test their authenticity.
In order to establish the credibility of the content of a document, the researcher has to investigate several
aspects like:

 The character of the document

 The literal and real meaning of the text
 The knowledge of the author
 Competence and reliability of the author
 Author’s personal connection with the event, which he explains
 Author’s source of information in producing the document
 The influences prevalent at the time of writing
 The elements of personal bias
 The elements of deliberate and intentional errors
 Corroborating evidence
 Positive and Negative Interpretative Criticism

Internal criticism involves two operations:

1. Positive interpretative criticism- The aim of positive interpretative criticism is to understand the literal
and real meaning of the document. Words have two senses: literal and real. The literal is the grammatical
meaning of the word i.e. "according to the letter". But words are not always used in the literal sense alone.
The word may be used in a figurative or metaphorical sense also. The real sense of the word is the
significance attached to it by the author or witness. Therefore, one should read the meaning of the word in
letter and spirit. Again, the language of a people never remains static. It changes from generation to
generation and so an understanding of the idioms of the time of the document's origin is quite essential.
Familiarity with the language, linguistic usage, manner of writing and style, changes in expression, etc. are
necessary to understand the literal meaning of the text. Similarly, the real meaning concealed in the text
must be detected. The real meaning must be separated from the hidden meaning, as grain from the chaff.
The researcher should determine the literal sense and the real or the inner meaning of the contents of the
document under scrutiny. In short, internal criticism is intended to extract the real meaning of the text from
the literal meaning. Its purpose is to know what the author really means by making a particular statement.

2. Negative interpretative criticism-The aim of the negative interpretative criticism is to determine the
element of truth contained in the text. Historian sometimes comes across documents that contradict each
other. Hence the need for eliminating statements and facts which are obviously wrong and false is
necessary. Negative criticism is concerned with the process of eliminating statements that are obviously
false, fabricated, or forged. It is possible that a single statement is a mixture of true and false ideas, and
accurate and inaccurate narration.

Errors may be deliberate or intentional. It may be due to several reasons. The author might be the victim of
circumstances. Social obligations, religious practices, or political pressures would have led the author to
write contrary to his personal convictions. Further, personal preferences, prejudices, and preferences
towards events or persons might have influenced the author to deviate from the truth. Similarly, errors of
accuracy occur when the source of information is defective. The researchers may be sincere, honest, and
faithful but the information he gets may be wrong or defective due to reasons beyond his control. He may
pass on the information in good faith without knowing that it is not true. These are committed because the
historian is not the observer of events and has to necessarily depend on second-hand accounts.

Hence, negative interpretative criticism also deals with the truthfulness of the author. It examines the
circumstances under which the document was written. It deals with the author's official status and his place
in society. It investigates the degree of subjectivity and bias of the author. It also examines the sources of
the author and his relation to the event that he narrates. Thus, negative criticism inquires not only about the
good faith of the author but also the accuracy of the statement he makes.
Repositories- A place where things are stored and can be found. A repository can be either a physical or
digital location, depending on the recording format and the project goals; in any case, the term refers to the
long-term storage of permanently valuable material.
Repositories of Primary Sources (Philippines)
 Asia Pacific Research Center
 Ateneo de Manila University. American Historical Collection
 Ateneo de Manila University. Pardo de Tavera Room
 De La Salle University. University Archives
 Filipinas Heritage Library
 National Archives of the Philippines