LESSON 1: Meaning, relevance, &

sources of history
Learning Outcomes:

1. Define history.
2. Explain relevance of history.
3. Evaluate primary sources for their
credibility, authenticity and provenance.
Etymological Definition of History
Historia
 Greek: Knowledge acquired through
inquiry or investigation
 Latin: Account of the past of a
person or of a group of people
through written documents and
historical evidences
 No document, no history
Traditional Definition of History
 History is the record of the past.
 History is a record of the human
past from the time written records
began to appear.
History is actuality; hence, it must study the past as it happened.
(Gottschalk, 1964)
Contemporary Definition of History
 History is the reconstruction of the
past based on available written
records, oral history, cultural
artifacts, and folk traditions.
 It is the study of events and
developments concerning people in
the past.
 It basically involves collection,
analysis and synthesis of limited
available materials
 History is the
interpretative and
imaginative study of
surviving records of the
past, either written of
unwritten, in order to
determine the meaning
and scope of human
existence.
Relevance of History
1. Bridging the Gap Between the
Present and the Past
 What we are today is the result
of what happened in the past.
 The nature and the extent of
contemporary problems can best
be understood by examining its
historical roots.
Relevance of History
2. Explaining Causes of Things and
Events
 Delving back in time explains
the stateside mentality of the
Filipinos.
 History deals with the cause and
effect relationship of things.
Relevance of History
3. Projecting the Future
 Taking stocks of similarities and
parallels between the past and the
present also leads to consideration
of likely scenarios in the future.
 Present and future intelligent
actions spring from sound
knowledge of the past.
Study the past if you would define the future.
Confucius
Relevance of History
4. Interpreting Conditions of a
Given Space and Time
 It provides information and
corresponding interpretation
of periods of history.
Relevance of History
5. Promoting Nationalism
and Patriotism
 It inspires and
develops a sense of
national pride and
sense of devotion to
country by recoding
the exploits of
struggles of our people
towards winning our
freedom and
independence.