1.3 PPT Pantayong Pananaw

HIST 01. MODULE ONE.
Lesson 1.3. Perspectives in History
Hi, guys! In the two previous lessons for this module, we talked about how history is an
interpretation, an argument, and an instrument, and how different sources of history,
both primary and secondary, can be used to build up the story of our past. Now we go
to our third lesson for Module 1, which is on perspectives in history. Ready?
1
What is a perspective? — It’s just another word for viewpoint or point of view (or POV).
No matter what kind of story you’re telling, the perspective you take affects the way the
story is told.
For those of you who read fiction, you know that a story told from a first-person POV
using the pronoun “I” has a different effect from a story told from a third-person POV
using the pronouns “he” or “she.”
2
It’s basically the same thing for history, but with more factors to consider. In history, we
do not only think of the author; we also keep in mind the content or the subject matter.
We ask: “Who is the author of the story?” and we ask, “Who is the author writing
about?”
But we also ask, “Who is the author writing for?” so we’re also thinking of the audience.
And finally, we ask, “How is the author writing?” and that makes language the fourth
thing we should consider when studying history.
When identifying perspectives in history, these are the 4 things to look out for: author,
content, audience, and language.
3
Let’s try that out. What if we had a foreign, non-Filipino author, writing about foreign
events, for a Filipino audience, in a foreign, non-Filipino language?
A history textbook with all this would be writing using the perspective “We / us,” as in
“We foreigners, this is us.” Got it?
4
Let’s try another example. What if a foreign author writes about Filipinos, for a foreign,
non-Filipino audience, using their foreign language? What perspective would they use?
Pause this video for a second and try to work it out. It’s okay, I’ll wait. [PAUSE] Okay, did
you try it yourself?
The correct answer is, the perspective “They / them,” as in, “They are Filipinos, look at
them, look at how their country works.”
5
Let’s keep going. What if a foreign author writes about Filipinos, for a Filipino audience,
using a foreign language? What do you think?
The perspective is……. “You!” It’s “You” as in, “You Filipinos, you fight with your own
siblings, you are like this, you are like that.”
6
Are we getting it? Now let’s turn the tables a bit, and look at the Filipino side.
What if we had a Filipino author, writing about the Philippines, in our own Filipino
language, but for a foreign audience?
Right, the perspective is “Kami.” That’s “kami” as in “Kaming mga Pilipino, ganito
kami.” There is, of course, no guarantee that a foreign audience will understand our
language, but you get the idea.
7
Let’s have one last example. What if a Filipino author writes about the Philippines, for a
Filipino audience, in the Filipino language? What perspective would they use?
That’s right, the perspective is “Tayo,” as in “Tayong mga Pilipino, ganito tayo.” This last
perspective, naturally, is called “pantayong pananaw.” It is the most pro-Filipino, and
therefore the most important, among all the historical POVs.
8
The main proponent of pantayong pananaw was the historian Zeus A. Salazar. He wrote
that we need to talk about our country and our history, but not as if these are objects we
can hold in our hand and detach from ourselves.
Rather, our history is something we have to study from within, because by writing
Philippine history, we are already writing about ourselves. Perhaps the worst thing that
could happen is that an outsider should be the one to explain our experiences to us.
We’ve already had enough of that from when we were colonized by Spain and the US.
You’ll see when we tackle more primary sources in later modules.
9
Is that last part making sense? Think of it this way. In a couple of years, you will be
preparing your write-ups for your college yearbook. Which write-up do you think will be
more authentic: the one written by that person who was maybe your classmate in a
minor subject, or the one written by the person closest to you among your barkada, the
person you’ve shared everything to since first year?
That second write-up, boys and girls, is the one with pantayong pananaw, and I think
most people would want to be described in their yearbook through this perspective.
10
How are we doing so far? We’ll end this lecture with one more idea about historical
perspectives. We have to be aware that pantayong pananaw is still very general. A
wealthy Filipino and a middle-class Filipino can both be historians using the “Tayo”
perspective, but the way they write could still be very different.
This is because there are more factors in play than just the author’s nationality, though
that is something to start with.
11
If we go back to our very first definition of history, we said that it is an interpretation of

evidences from the past. We also said that people interpret these evidences differently,
because our own personal biases affect how we see and think.
If you still recall, these are some of the factors that shape our biases: our upbringing or
the way we were raised, our place of origin, the languages we speak. But then we can
also be biased because of our age, our gender, our religion, and even because of the
school we go to. How do we put all these together? That will be for our next lesson on
content and context analysis.
12

1.3 PPT Pantayong Pananaw

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1.3 PPT Pantayong Pananaw

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

1.3 PPT Pantayong Pananaw

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

HIST 01. MODULE ONE.

Lesson 1.3. Perspectives in History

If we go back to our very first definition of history, we said that it is an interpretation of

You might also like