INTRODUCTI

ON TO
HISTORY Definition, Nature,
Methodology and Importance
How can we
explain
human
behavior?
 Importance of
the study of

01 history
The study of History is important
because it provides us with the
capacity to analyze previous events
and phenomena which therefore will
provide us with proper basis on how
to view the present and the future.
This being the case history will
provide is with a strong basis for
providing answers for problems that
pervades at present.
Etymology and Definition
History (from the Greek word Historie or
Historia which means “learning, inquiry and
or investigation”) is a branch of the Social
Sciences that deals with the systematic
study of significant past, a branch of
knowledge that records and explains past
events and which concerns people and
human nature.
Historiography
Historiography on the other
hand refers to the study of
history itself. Historiography
analyzes who is the history
writer, the motives of the
writer, the sources of the
writer, theories applied and
other historical methods. It
also analyzes the context
when the history was written.
 Elements of History
>
01. 02. <

The Historian Place

This refers to the person The location where the
writing the history. history was written

>
03. 04. <

Period Sources
Refers to the context of the Refers to the basis of claims
time when the history was or analysis of the historian
written. such as documents, written
< or oral accounts.
 Nature of History as an academic
discipline
History has no History synthesizes
subject matter of its knowledge from other
own fields
Since it covers all phenomena,
The subject matter of
History as a branch of the
history covers all the
Social Sciences analyzes the
persons and all events
relations of different events,
that have happened in the
their cause and effects using
past.
also the knowledge used in
other fields of the Social
Sciences such as Anthropology,
Sociology Economics etc.
 Nature of History as an academic
discipline

History illuminates History is constantly

pieces of the past changing.
History provides for Since claims to historical facts
explanations of things are based on personal
that happened in the past. accounts, documents and
By looking at relationships artifacts, a historian makes an
of different events and analysis based only on available
phenomena, it provides sources of data. The historian
explanations for cannot conclude something
seemingly unexplainable which is baseless.
gaps.
Nature of History as an academic
discipline

History sheds light to

truth.
Since a historian constantly write about
previous phenomena using historical
sources as basis, all claims therefore
supports only the truth base on the data
available. This however does not preclude
the fact that a historian uses also unwritten
sources such as oral accounts and
traditions
 First, “to know more about the roots of
our current culture”. This being the
case history will provide us with the
basis by which we can understand
better different cultural institutions
and constructs.
According to E. Kent
Rogers, we study Second, “to learn about human nature
by looking at trends that repeat
History because of the through history” and “learn about
following: mistakes of those who have gone
before us”. History deals with
analysis therefore, by studying
different trends that happened before
this could provide us with a clear
analysis of causes of events that
happened.
Sources of
02
History
Primary, Secondary,
Tertiary Sources
 Conclusions

1 Primary
Sources
A primary source provides direct or firsthand
evidence about an event, object, person, or
work of art. These are the evidences by
eyewitnesses or created by people who
experienced the said event or phenomena.
Secondary 2
Sources
Secondary sources, on the other hand, are
interpretations of history They describe,
discuss, interpret, comment upon, analyze,
evaluate, summarize, and process primary
sources. These are the products of people or
writers who were not part of the event or
phenomena.
Primary Sources includes:
Results of
Eyewitness
experimen
accounts
ts

Pieces of Historical
Primary
creative and legal
Sources
writing documents
Speeches, Audio and
and art video
objects recordings
 Secondary Sources includes:

Book or movie
Movies
reviews

articles found in Primary Articles in

scholarly journals Sources news paper
that discuss or
evaluate someone
else's original Popular
research magazines
Tertiary Sources
Others cite another classification,
the Tertiary Sources. Tertiary
sources contain information that
has been compiled from primary
and secondary sources.
Tertiary Sources includes:

Chronologie Encyclopedi
s as

Dictionarie Primary
Guidebook
s Sources
s

Manuals Textbooks
 Types of historical sources
Historians can get his sources, primary or secondary, from the following:

Archival Government
Material Serials
Includes diaries and journals,
Documents
Government documents Journals, magazines, and
legal and financial provide evidence of activities, newspapers are serial
documents, photographs, functions, and policies at all publications that are
maps, architectural drawings, government levels. published on an ongoing
objects, oral histories, basis
computer tapes, and video
and audio cassettes.
 Types of historical sources
Historians can get his sources, primary or secondary, from the following:
Visual and Audio
Materials
Visual materials such as maps, photographs,
prints, graphic arts, and original art forms can
provide insights into how people viewed
and/or were viewed the world in which they
existed.
Books
Most books are secondary sources, where
authors reference primary source materials
and add their own analysis. “The First
Filipino” by Leon Ma. Guerrero is a biography
of Jose Rizal. If you are researching Jose
Rizal, this book would be a secondary source
because the author is offering
his views about the hero.
 Historical
Criticism
03 Historian’s duty is to check on the
authenticity of the sources that are
presented to him to be used as basis
in writing history. Sources have to
undergo doubting and therefore should
be critically tested for validity. There
are two kinds of criticisms that a
historian can use in the process; these
are External and Internal Criticisms.
 External Criticism
The ‘External Criticism’ covers the physical
examinations of sources like documents,
manuscripts, books, pamphlets, maps,
inscriptions and monuments. In original
documents it includes looking at the paper
and ink used whether or not it is within the
same circa as the content of the work.
 Following are the elements that have to be
taken into consideration in doing validation:

Authorship Textual
The name of the author of 01 02 Theerrors
historian should
the document usually always be in the lookout for
provides credence in the errors in the text of
establishment of validity of documents and
a certain document. manuscripts.

Date and place of Meanings of

publication
The date of the document
including the time and place
of publication should be
properly analyzed in order to
establish its authenticity.
03 04 words used
The meaning of words used
usually changes, therefore the
historian have to interpret the
words used based on the time
when the document was made.
 Internal Criticism
Positive criticism refers to understanding
of both literal and real meaning of words. A
historian therefore must be able to analyze
and interpret the contents of documents in
their real meaning. Document contains the
idea of the person who wrote or made the
evidences, therefore they should be
understood within that context.
 NOTE!
Historians should refrain from making their own conclusions so as
not to convey their own interpretation rather than the true meaning of
the content. One important characteristic that a historian should
possess is the capacity to doubt all documents and facts when
these are not yet subjected to authentication. The historian should
question the motive of the writer and question the accuracy of the
document.
 Assignment
Per group, create a poem using
the word HISTORY as your
acronym.

You can design your work in a

short bond paper. Either printed
or written.