READINGS in

Philippine
History
Mr. Patrick John S. Espiritu, MPA
 Objectives:
1. Understand the meaning of history as
an academic discipline

Apply the knowledge in history in

2. assessing and analyzing historical events

Appreciate the importance of history in

the social and national life of the
3. Philippines
 Let’s Think !

Think of any word that you can

associate with HISTORY.
Activity: ●R =

● S=

● H=

● E=

● P=
History is…..
Derived from the Greek word
historia

Always known as the study of

the past
The records of the significant human
events that happened in the past
 HISTORY vs
HISTORIOGRAPHY
• Study of the • How was a certain
historical text written?
past • Who wrote it?
• The events that • What was the context
happened in of its publication ?
• What method was
the past employed?
• Causes of such • What were the sources
events used?
 Why study History?
 History helps us develop a better History helps us develop a new level of
understanding of the world. appreciation for just about everything.

History helps us learn to understand other

people.

History teaches a working understanding of

change.

History gives us tools we need to be decent

citizens.

History makes us better decision makers

 Issues and Problems
1.
Is history always written by victors?

2. Is it possible to come up with historical

truth?
3. Can history be considered as an
academic and scientific inquiry?
Primary – a piece of evidence written or created during the period
under investigation. It can be an eyewitness account or a
Source first-hand account of a particular event.

• Original item that provides evidence about the past

 ‘raw materials’ often considered as the foundation of
historical research and writing
 Can either be written or unwritten

•Kinds:
• Personal journals/diaries/memoirs
• Letters, newspaper, magazine
• Court proceedings, legislative debates
• Movies, music, art
Example:

Sources of the Commonwealth Constitution Convention of 1935



minutes of the convention 

draft of the constitution 

photographs of the event 

eyewitness accounts 

memoirs
Secondary works produced after the event
has taken place.
Source
• Offer an analysis or a restatement of primary
sources
•Piece of historical entity that is anchored in
primary sources and informed by secondary
sources
Examples: 

History of the Filipino People (written by Teodoro Agoncillo) 

The Past Revisited (written by Renato Constantino)

Other forms: 
books 
textbooks 
monographs (specialized work with a narrow scope) 
articles on journals, magazines, newspapers 
dissertations which offers analysis and adds to the knowledge  papers
read in conferences
Historical Criticisms ● Goals of Historical Criticisms
1. Discover the meaning of the text
● Examines the 2. Establish historical situation of
origins of earliest the author and the recipient of
text to appreciate the text
underlying 3. Determine the authenticity of the
circumstances upon text
which the text came 4. Weigh testimony to the truth
to be
Components of Historical Methods
External Criticism – aims at checking the authenticity of the primary source;
it aims to check whether the source is fake or not. It focuses on the
genuineness of the documents a researcher uses in a historical study.

Considerations:
a. Examining the physical characteristics
b. Accuracy with the historical characteristics of the time it was produced
c. Materials used for the evidence

Examples:
 Quality of the paper
 Type of the ink used language and words used in the material
Components of Historical Methods
Internal Criticism – is the examination of the truthfulness of
the evidence. Focuses on the accuracy of the contents of a
document

Considerations:
a. author of the source
b. its context
c. agenda behind its creation
d. knowledge which informed it
e. intended purpose
 “
“Evolution in education is the best hope of the
nation to enjoy the highest standard of living
and thinking. The system of education for the
Filipino must be based on science and
technology, and not on prayers and theology.”
—JOSE P. RIZAL
 THANKS!
Do you have any questions?

patrickjohnespiritu@gmail.com
0916-437-8146

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