HAND-OUTS IN NGEC 2 (RPH)

WHAT IS HISTORY?
• A branch of knowledge that records and explain past events –Merriam- Webster
• the study of or a record of past events considered together, especially events of a particular period,
country, or subject – Cambridge Dictionaries Online

WHY DO WE STUDY HISTORY?

• To know more about the roots of our current culture.
• To learn about the mistakes of those who have gone before us.
• To learn about human nature in general by looking at trends that repeat through history.
• To learn historical facts.
• To learn about how different factors shape society e.g. religion, greed, the intersection of different
cultures, technology, etc.
In sum we study history to learn about who we are-both our past and our present

WHY IS HISTORY IMPORTANT?

 History allows you to travel to places through a world of books, documents, artifacts, digital media and
images.
 Studying history is excellent at developing attributes for life and a range of skills for employment and it
provides you with a curiosity and creativity to understand the world.

WHO INVESTIGATES HISTORY?

 Archaeologists
 Anthropologists
 Oral Historians
 Chemists
 Linguists

HISTORY IS A MYSTERY TO BE SOLVED

•Finding out about history is a lot like trying to solve a mystery…
• You must look for clues.
• You must interpret those clues
• You must bring all the clues together to shed light on each other.
• You must reinterpret each clue every time you find a new clue.
• You must then try fill in the gaps and come to an educated conclusion.

SOURCES
• History is being written based on the actual evidences, manuscript and written documents which
provide sources of historical information
• Scholars call anything that gives us a clue about history “Sources.”
• Sources fall into two major categories (Primary Source & Secondary Sources)

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.

• It provides direct or firsthand evidence about an event, object, person or work of art.
• It contain “firsthand” knowledge about the historical events, figures and people.
• It provides compelling and direct evidence of human activity
 These are the things that the period of time which were created or in use during is being studied
 These sources are actual records that have survived from the past

What are some examples of primary sources?

 First-hand accounts of events or Eyewitness Accounts
 Fossils
 Relics
 Artifacts
 Legal and Historical documents
 Memoirs
 Autobiographies
 Diaries
 Oral histories
 Newsprint
 Personal Interviews
 Government Document
 Peer-reviewed journal articles of new findings
 Photographs
 Letters
 Speeches
 Video
 Poetries

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

• Textbooks
• Biography
• Encyclopedias
• Thesis/Dissertations
• Interviews
• Movies
• Scholarly journals
• Transcriptions
• Almanacs
• Dictionaries• Magazine or news articles dealing with issues from the past

EVALUATING HISTORICAL DATA

There are two ways on how to examine historical sources for scholastic writers and historians to validate the
authenticity of the sources that they have collected to be used as the reference of the historical account that
they are going to publish.

Internal Criticism
• It looks within the data itself to try to determine the truth-facts and the reasonable interpretation
• It includes looking at the apparent or possible motives of the person providing data
• It indicates the accuracy, trustworthiness, and veracity of the materials which historical data will be
based
External Criticism
• It applies experimental science to certify the authenticity of the material that holds the data in which
historical information will be based.
• It entails such physical and technical tests as dating of paper where a document is written on
• It involves knowledge of when certain things existed, or it supports the claim whether it is possible or
impossible to exist
• It evaluates the authenticity and genuineness of data

Internal and external criticisms are both important in studying history for it is the society’s collective memory
Every historian examines the evidence of the past very carefully to describe the past events with accuracy.

Historians play a major role in our society in the sense that they are the keepers of the most important events in
the history of his generation and of the previous generations.

It is regarded that history is very important in protecting the genuine identity of a certain race, state and country
every primary and secondary sources that serve as relics of the past must be properly evaluate through the
process of science and through investigation with the aid of internal and external criticism

Analyzing Primary Sources

Source: Social Studies School Service www.socialstudies.com

Why Analyze Primary Sources?

• Reading primary sources requires that you use your historical imagination.
• Imagining possible scenarios to address your own concerns will aid your comprehension.
• This process is all about your willingness and ability to ask questions of the material, imagine possible answers,
and explain your reasoning
• When you analyze a primary source, you are undertaking the most important job of the historians.
• There is no better way to understand events in the past than examining the sources that people from that
period left behind.

Why Analyze Primary Sources?

• Everybody can be a historian, including you.

• As such, you will approach a source with a different set of experiences and skills and will therefore interpret
the document differently
• Remember that there is no one right interpretation. However if you do not do a careful and thorough job, you
might arrived at a wrong interpretation.

Why Analyze Primary Sources?

• In order to analyze a primary source you need information about two things:
– Document itself
– The era from which it comes.
• You can base your information about the time period on the readings you do in class and on lectures. On your
own you need to think about the document itself.

Questions for Analyzing Primary Sources

Look at the physical nature of your source. This is very important and powerful if you are dealing with an original
source rather than a transcribed and published version. Think about the purpose of the source.

QUESTIONS:
• What can you learn from the form of the source? Was it written on fancy paper or elegant handwriting, or on
scrap paper, scribbled in pencil? What does this tell you?
• What was the author’s message or argument? What was he/she trying to get across? Is the message explicit,
or are there implicit messages as well?
• How does the across? What author try to get the message method does he/she use?
• What do you know about the author? Race, sex, class, occupation, religion, age, region, political beliefs? Does
any of this matter? How?
• Who constituted the intended audience? Was this source meant for one person’s eyes, or for the public? How
does that affect the source?
• What can a careful reading of the text or even an object tell you? How does the language work? What are the
important metaphors or symbols? What can the author’s choice of words tell you?
• Who created the source and why?
• Did the recorder have first-hand knowledge of the event, or report what others saw or heard?
• Was the recorder a neutral party or did the author have opinions or interests that might have influenced what
was recorded?
• Did the recorder wish to inform or persuade others? Did the recorder have reasons to be honest or dishonest?

Other Things to Remember in Analyzing Primary Sources

Furthermore, you have to consider several factors that contribute to the narratives of the authors of primary
sources. These are the 6 C’s that guide as to effectively analyze primary sources:

1. CONTENT. You must identify the main idea. For documents, list important points, phrase, words, and
sentences. For images, describe what you see.
2. CITATION. You must identify the creator of the document and the time it is created.
3. COMMUNICATION. You must identify the biases of the author. A bias is a prejudice or a tendency to see
something in a particular way. Also, it is important for you to examine the point of view of the author. There
will be a separate discussion about the author’s point of view.
4. CONTEXT. You must understand what is going on in the world, country, region, or locality when the document
was created.
5. CONNECTIONS. You must recognize the connection of the primary source to what you already know.
6. CONCLUSIONS. You must determine the contributions of the primary source to our understanding of history.

Bias or Perspective
• Most evidence that historians analyze is biased in one way or another. It represents a certain perspective from
one person or a group. Historians use the following guidelines when reviewing evidence from the past:
• Every piece of evidence and every source must be read or viewed skeptically and critically.
• Evidence should not be taken at face value. The author’s point of view must be considered.
• Each piece of evidence and source must be crosschecked and compared with related sources.

How to Analyze a Text

What type of document is this? Is it a letter, an official proclamation, a private diary entry, an advertisement, or
perhaps a coded message?
1. Why do you think the document was written?
2. What evidence in the document helps you know why it was written?
3. Is there a bias or certain perspective that the author is writing from?

How to Analyze a Photograph

Study the photograph for several minutes and write down everything that you think is important. Then divide
the image into quadrants (4 sections) and detail the important elements from each section.
• What is the subject of the photograph? What does the photograph reveal about its subject?
• What is the setting for the photograph?
•What other details do you observe?
• When and where in the past do you think the photograph was taken? How can you tell?
• How would you describe the photographer's point of view?

How to Analyze a Political Cartoon

Political cartoons use symbols and hyperbole (exaggeration) to make a point. Here are some helpful tips for
analyzing a political cartoon:

1. List the objects, people or symbols you see in the cartoon.

2. What do you think each symbol means?
3. Describe the action taking place in the cartoon.
4. Are there words? Do they help to clarify the cartoon’s symbols?
5. In your opinion, what is the message of the cartoon? Do you think others will interpret it differently?

How to Analyze a Historical Map

Maps are symbolic representations of places set in relation to one another. All maps necessarily include some
details and leave out others. Next time you look at a map ask yourself the following questions:

1. When and where was the map produced?

2. What details has the map-maker chosen to include (or exclude) in order to complete this representation?
3. Why do you think the map was drawn?

How to Analyze an Artifact

Artifacts take on many forms. They might be a coin, a stone tool found in an archaeology excavation, a piece of
clothing, or even a piece of trash from your classroom’s rubbish bin. Keep these points in mind when analyzing
an artifact:

1. Why was this object created?

2. What and where would it have been used?
3. What does the artifact tell us about the technology at the time it was created?
4. What can it tell us about the life and times of the people who used it?

CONCLUSIONS
• It is important to examine primary sources with a critical eye since they represent unfiltered records of the
past.
• All of these, in more ways than one, can help you better understand our past and our nation as a whole.