John N.

Schumacher,
Readings in Phil Church
History, 2nd Edition, 1989
Preliminary Remarks
Readings in
Philippine
Church
History
• Revised edition, 1987
• First edition, 1979
• Mimeographed edition
 John N.
Schumacher,
SJ, 1927-
2014
Follows format of H. de la Costa’s Readings in Philippine
History.

Schumacher admits “This book is frankly modeled on the well-

known and much appreciated work of the late Fr. Horacio de la
Costa, Readings in Philippine History” (1987, vii)

This approach was used earlier by the 50 plus volumes of

Alexander Blair and Emma Robertson’s The Philippines Islands.

And much later by the DepEd mandated course on Phil History

and José Rizal for the Senior HS of the revised K-12 curriculum.
 Historiography
But much more than format is involved. Schumacher shared
much of de la Costa’s historiography, i.e. assumptions and
theories about writing history.

Both de la Costa and Schumacher began with Classicist

assumptions about historical writing.

Classicist historiography assumes that there is ONE history,

one human story rather than many stories.

A strict Classicist historiography assumes a norm or center of

history. By default, this is Western history where Classicism
arose.
 Historiography
Classicist historiography tends to be the story of
“greats.” Great persons who shape events.

The white male dominates the flow of history but there

occasionally exceptions in historical figures like Isabela
I of Spain, Joan of Arc, Teresa of Avila, Catherine the
Great and Madame Marie Curie, who break the glass
ceiling. The exception illustrates the rule.

Classicist historiography is largely political. It is about

wielding power in society.
Post-colonial Historiography
While Schumacher may have started as a Classicist,
his later works demonstrate that he did dialogue with
the growing body of post-colonial and nationalist
historical writing that grew in the 1970s, the era of
rising nationalist consciousness, esp. among students
and members of academia.

An earlier work of Schumacher on Fr. José Burgos

and later works on 19th century nationalism showed
Schumacher beginning dialogue with post-colonial
and nationalist historiography.
Schumacher on Burgos
Schumacher on 19 cent Ph
th
 Schumacher and Filipino
Clergy
One of the last
monographs of
Schumacher in which he
traces the role of the
Filipino clergy in 19th
century nationalist
movements,
Schumacher on the Church
Anthology of essays on
the Catholic Church, a
good complement to
Readings in Philippine
Church History (2nd ed.,
1989).

Other authors published

numerous books on
topics related to Phil Ch
History between 1970
and 2000.
Villaroel and de la Rosa on the Dominicans
 Batanes
scholar, Dr.
F. Hornedo’s
work on
Domican
architecture
in Cagayan
Valley
Books on Church History
Books on Church Architecture
Books on church architecture were exposing a history
of material culture rather than politics.

These were also beginning historiography “from

below” as the contribution to church construction
involved the people.

Authors on church architecture: Alice M-L Coseteng,

Visitacion de la Torre, Regalado T. Jose, Jr., R.
Javellana SJ, Pedro Galende, OSA, Romanillos,
Marilyn Canta and Esperanza Bunag-Gatbonton.
 R.T. Jose, Simbahan:
Guidebook for Documentation
Pedro Galende OSA, Angels in Stone

Galende’s work on
Augustinian churches had
two editions, an earlier
black and white and a
colored edition.

He also did book,

Façades, and study on the
Santo Niño
 Other Works on Art and Culture
Works on art and culture
Nicanor Tiongson, Sinakulo
René Javellana, pasyon studies
J. Mario Francisco, pasyon studies and Philippine Lit
Bienvenido Lumbera, Phil Poetry during the colonial era.
Doreen G. Fernandez, Palabas (on theater)
Damiana Eugenio and Francisco Demetrio on folk beliefs
UP’s series on folk and popular literature
Nicole Ravel on epics.

Net result of these studies is to enrich our understanding of the

Philippine dimension of our history
 Nationalist Challenge
Renato Constantino’s
Marxist interpretation of
Phil Hist.

Teodoro Agoncillo,
Revolt of the Masses.
History from below
Historiography from Below
Vicente Rafael, Contracting
Colonialism

Rafael plays with the word

“contracting” as in being infected
like contracting a disease and
“contracting” opposite of
expanding, therefore limiting.

He shows how the people of the

Philippines were not passive
victims of colonial rule as the
nationalists contend but active in
resisting colonialism.
 Reynaldo Ileto,
Pasyon and Revolution
Reynaldo Ileto made
the bold suggestion
that the Philippine
Revolution
appropriated the
concepts and terms of
popular religion and
used it to make sense
of the Revolution and
kindle its fire.
Reynaldo Ileto
Ileto’s
anthology of
essays on the
Philippine
Revolution,
1896-98.
History from below does
not limit itself to written or
printed documents, usually
in the form of official
reports but will look at other
sources of data. For
instance, music. For a
music-loving people, what
we sing, how we sing, when
and why and for whom we
sing tell us about daily life
and the ordinary aspirations
of people. Music can be an
important document.
 Readings and Phil Hist
Course
Schumacher’s Readings is helpful because he brings
us in contact with primary sources, the best beginning
for any historical writing.

What did contemporaries and witnesses to the events

say?

Primary sources are the solid foundation of critical

history.
 Readings and Phil Hist
Course
But we should read the book with a critical eye.

First, the connecting text of Schumacher that weaves a

narrative have to be read with the consciousness that
underlying the anthology is a Classicist historiography.

Second, the cited text have to read with the questions

who is speaking? Why is it reported this way? What
biases does the primary source have.

To borrow from W.H. Scott we have to see through the

“cracks in the parchment curtain.”
William Henry Scott
 Transition
We begin reading Schumacher critically by reframing his
anthology.

We will not begin with 1521 or 1565 but will go back to Philippine
pre-history.

This pre-history is often unknown even to educated Filipinos

because we have been conditioned by Eurocentric historical
writing, that before Spain we had no history. Furthermore that we
cannot know the past because our indigenous ancestors left
nothing in writing.

Yes, maybe not in writing but they left a lot in human remains and
artifacts.
Hala, Bira!