READINGS IN PHILIPPINE
HISTORY HISTORIAN
MAIN TOPIC 1:
INTRODUCTION TO HISTORICAL
SOURCES AND CRITICISM
HISTORY- refers to the study and
interpretation by a historian on the data or
other source of past human activity, people,
societies and civilization leading to the
present.
There are three important concepts in the
definition:
1. First history as we all know is based
on past events.
2. Second it is interpreted by someone
usually by historian. They gather,
discard and interpret the sources
that they encounter.
3. And finally and the most important
history rely on the data and
documents which historian call as
historical sources.
HISTORY AS RECONSTRUCTION
- The historian is many times
removed from the events under
investigation and should rely on
surviving records.
‘’HISTORIA’’
 Greek word which means knowledge
acquired through inquiry or
investigation.
 Latin word which means, as the
account of the past of a person or of
a group of people through written
documents and historical sources.
 inquiry
 does not mean past events.
- is an expert or student of history,
especially that of a particular period,
geographical region or social
phenomenon.
- Fallable and capable of error, has
his own biases (personal, political,
religious or political idiosyncrasies),
has his own frame of reference
(set of interlocking values, loyalties,
assumptions, interests and
principles of action.)
Historiography- the study of historical
writing, why whom and why it was recorded
as such.
- the study of the history and methodology
of history as a discipline Positivism
- It began as a movement designed to
marginalize religion and strengthen the role
of science in society.
Liberalism- is a political and moral
philosophy based on the rights of the
individual, liberty, consent of the governed,
political equality, right to private property
and equality before the law.
Unalienable rights, that among these are;
1. life,
2. liberty,
3. the pursuit of happiness.
Progressivism
- holds that it is possible to improve human
societies through political action.
- advance the human condition through
social reform based on purported
advancements in science, technology,
economic development, and social
organization.
- believe that individuality, progress, and
change are fundamental to one's education.
Postcolonialism
- idea of creating their own identities and
understanding their societies against the
shadow of their colonial post.
- Postcolonial theory holds that decolonized
people develop a postcolonial identity that is
based on cultural interactions between
different identities
Historian- has his own flame of reference.
( Loyalty, values, assumptions, interest and
principles of action)
- causes and effects that help to explain
how and why events happened. - fallible
and capable of error. - has his own biases.
- abs cbn but trying to be objective.
Example: Indian parable of an elephant and
blind men Historical sources
SOURCES OF HISTORY- are tangible
remains of the past.
• PRIMARY SOURCES- is a testimony of
an individual who was a participant in or a
direct witness to the event that is being
described.
Five main categories of primary sources:
It includes
Written Sources
- numerical records
- oral statements
Non Written Sources
- relics
- images.
• SECONDARY SOURCES
- interprets and analyzes primary
sources.
- The testimony of anyone who is not
an eyewitness, that is of one who
was not present at the event of
which he tells.
HISTORICAL CRITICISM
Historical Method/Historical Criticism
– the process of critically
examining and analyzing the records and
survival of the pasts.
External Criticism (Test of Authenticity)
Internal Criticism (Test of Credibility)
EXTERNAL CRITICISM - This type of
criticism looks for the obvious sign of
forgery or misrepresentation.
(meanings/definition are from google)
 Anachronism- 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 in
a wrong time.
 Author’s Handwriting- signature or
seal. Compare the handwriting of
particular author to his other
writings.
 Anachronistic Style- out of time or
order, something that could not have
been there at that particular time.
 Reference of Events- For example
if the event cited in the document is
prior to the actual event, then the
document must be forge or fake.
 Custody of the document- history
of documents.
 Semantics- the linguistic study of
meaning.
 Hermeneutics- the process of
bringing something from
unintelligibility to understanding
Understanding.
INTERNAL CRITICISM - This type of
criticism looks for deeper or more intense
study of sources.
 Author’s ID- identification of the
author. It determines if the witness is
reliable or if he is consistent by
comparing his other works.
 Eyewitness’ Credibility- determine
the approximate date.
 Ability to tell the truth- Historians
examine how near an eyewitness is
to the event.
 Willingness to tell the truth- If the
eyewitness is coerced, forced or
somebody threaten him to tell
something then his account is not
valid.
 Corroboration- This particular step
rest upon the independent testimony
of two or more reliable sources
• TERTIARY SOURCES
- It provides third hand information by
reporting ideas and details from
secondary source. An eyewitness is
more reliable than testimony at
second hand, which is more reliable
than hearsay or tertiary sources.
• TSISMIS- verbal or oral history.
Kasabihan ng mga bayan. Kwentong bayan.
LESSON 2
HISTORICAL CRITICISM
Historical criticism is a branch of criticism
that investigates the origin of text or source
in order to understand the word behind the
text.
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.
C. External Criticism
This type of criticism looks for the obvious
sign of forgery or misrepresentation. This
type of criticism tests the authenticity of the
sources.

D. Test of authenticity
The first step to test a source is to
determine the date of document to see
whether it is anachronistic.

E. Internal Criticism
This type of criticism looks for deeper or
more intense study of sources. Usually
historians first apply external criticism
before undergoing the test of credibility
because of internal criticisms implicit
character.
F. Test of Credibility .