Lesson 1

Meaning And
Relevance Of History
What is
History?
Introduction
 The term history was derived from Greek word “historia"
which means inquiry or Knowledge acquired from
investigation. History is the study of the past as it is
described in written documents. It provides the analysis and
interpretation of the human past enabling us to study
continuity and changes that take place over time.
Why Study
History?
Dizon et al (2011) citing Perry (1999) enumerated the reasons why we
need to study history, these are:

1. To learn about our past.

2. To understand the present.

3. To appreciate our heritage in a broad perspective.

4. To acquire a background for critical thinking.

 Relationship of History
with other Social Sciences
1. History and Political Science

2. History and Economics

3. History and Sociology

4. History and Ethics

5. History and Psychology

6. History and Geography

 Classification of Historical Sources
Historical sources may be classified as primary or secondary (Fox,
1969). A primary source is regarded as the source of the "best
evidence". This is because the data come from the testimony of able
eye and eye witnesses to past events. They may also consist of actual
objects used in the past which you can directly scrutinize or examine.
Secondary source are information supplied by a person who was not
a direct observer or participant of the event object, or condition
(Sevilla et. al, 1992).
 
Distinction between Primary
Sources and Secondary
Sources
"Primary sources, the only solid bases of historical work, are the
original documents or remains, the first witnesses to a fact"
(The stenographic notes of a court trial and the news reporter's account of the trial are
primary sources. All physical objects, including photographs, and cultural institutions and
practices are primary sources themselves and all accounts written about them by those who
had actually seen and experienced are primary sources.)
 
(For fact gathered through questionnaire and the interview, all data supplied by
respondents and interviewees who have actually experienced and observed the events
upon which the data have been based are primary data.)
 
(All writings by people who have been experienced nor observation personally
the object and have based their writings upon information gathered from those who
have knowledge of the events are secondary sources.)
 Sources of Data from Primary and
Secondary Sources
Amante et. Alsources
The primary (2008) criting
areCooper
as: (2003) indentified sources of data from primary and secondary
sources.
1. Individual person.  
2. Organized groups or organization such as associations, fraternities, schools, business firms,
church, army, navy, air force, government, lawmaking bodies, family, tribes, etc.
3. Established practices such as marriage, religion rites, legal system, economic system,
democracy system, etc.
4. Documents in their original forms such as the constitution, laws, orders, proclamations,
trities, contracts, census and all kinds of original records, letters, diaries, etc.
5. Living organisms such as animals, fowls, lower forms of organisms.
6. Manmade material things such as buildings, machines, weapon, artifacts, appliances,
roads, bridges, dams, radio, television, electricity, etc.
7. Natural objects and phenomena such as rain, wind typhoon, water, earthquake, mountain,
snow etc.
Secondary sources are as follows:
1. Books including dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, etc.
2. Articles published in professional journal, magazine, newspaper,
and other publications.
3. Unpublished master’s theses and dissertations, and other studies.
4. Monograph, manuscript, etc.
5. All other second-hand sources.
6. Verbal or written data.
 Internal and External Criticism
 
External criticism refers to the genuineness of the documents a researcher
used in a historical study. Questions that illustrate external criticism includes:

 Who was the Author?

 What was his/her qualifications, personality, and position?
 How soon after the events was the documents written and?
 How the document was written?
 Is it related to other documents?
 
On the other hand, internal criticism is textual criticism, it involves factor such as competence, good
faith, position, and bias of the author (Sanchez, 1980)
 
 Internal criticism looks at the content of the documents to determine its
authenticity. It also involves determining the intention of the source of data while
external criticism conducts document analysis using science. It applies physical and
technical test to the document.
 
To simplify, the authenticity of the document is determined by external criticism,
whereas credibility is established by internal criticism.
 Auxiliary Science that Help in
Determining Authenticity
And& Gonzales
Calderon Genuineness of a(1972)Documents
(1993) citing good & Scates enumerated some auxiliary
science that help in determining the authenticity and genuineness of a document among which
are:

1. Epigraphy is the study of inscriptions and the art of deciphering them.

2. Diplomatic is the science of charters and diplomas and includes knowledge of the
practices and of the forms used in them.

3. Paleography is the study of writing, which has a history all of its own.

4. Philology in all its branches is of the greatest use in determining a dates and authenticity.
5. Archaeology, anthropology, and prehistory in general have the greatest influence upon the
study of history; and the first of these might almost be called the science of remains.
Archaeology is the scientific study of life and culture of the past, especially ancient people, as
far as excavations of ancient cities, relics, artifacts, etc., Anthropology on the other hand, is he
study of human, especially of the variety, physical and cultural characteristics, distribution,
customs, social relationships, etc. of humanity. Prehistory is history.

6. Chemistry and the papermaker’s art may be able to say and have often said that a given
document written on wood pulp with a particular ink, for example, cannot be older than the
definite date when these materials were first manufactured. Coins and medals, too, are often of
great historical value.