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General Education Department: NGEC 2: Readings in Philippine History

This document provides an overview of the topics to be covered in the first two weeks of a Philippine history course. It will discuss: 1) The meaning, importance, and relevance of studying history to understand past events and their influence on the present. 2) The distinction between primary and secondary sources, with primary sources being first-hand accounts and secondary sources being analyses that rely on primary sources. 3) External and internal criticism techniques used to evaluate the authenticity and reliability of historical sources. External criticism examines physical attributes while internal criticism analyzes content and context.

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Cyril Jeanne
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170 views

General Education Department: NGEC 2: Readings in Philippine History

This document provides an overview of the topics to be covered in the first two weeks of a Philippine history course. It will discuss: 1) The meaning, importance, and relevance of studying history to understand past events and their influence on the present. 2) The distinction between primary and secondary sources, with primary sources being first-hand accounts and secondary sources being analyses that rely on primary sources. 3) External and internal criticism techniques used to evaluate the authenticity and reliability of historical sources. External criticism examines physical attributes while internal criticism analyzes content and context.

Uploaded by

Cyril Jeanne
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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General Education Department

NGEC 2: Readings in Philippine History


First Semester of A.Y. 2020-2021

WEEK 1 & 2- MODULE 1: HISTORY: It’s Meaning, Importance, and Relevance; Distinction of Primary and Secondary
Sources; External and Internal criticism;
Introduction:
This is a module intended for two weeks which aims to explain the meaning, importance and relevance of
history. As well as the distinction of Primary and Secondary Sources; External and Internal Criticism.

Rationale
To understand the past and the present is to have a better group of the condition of being human. All human beings are
living histories. For example, the human species speak languages that are inherited from the past. They use technologies that
they have not themselves invested. Thus, an individual us born of an inherited “genetic template” which has evolved during
his lifespan. Thus, the study of Philippine history is not only relevant, it is also useful and essential.

Discussion
History: Its Meaning, Importance and Relevance
Meaning of History
The word history is derived from the Greek term “historia” which means “inquiry or
research”. Thus, the term history refers to accounts or inquiries of events that happened in the
past and are narrated in a chronological order.
Importance of History
1. It is said that history is to the human race whereas memory is to each man. It does not only
shed the light of the past upon the present time. It also:
2. Helps every person to draw conclusion from the past events helping the person to understand
himself by being acquainted with other people.
3. Helps the person or the government avoid the pitfalls of the present by knowing the rise and
fall of the rulers, government and empires.
4. Makes a person’s life richer and fuller by giving meaning to the books he reads (especially
history books, the cities and metropolis he visits and the cultural performances he hears and
listens to)
5. Broaden the person’s outlook in life by learning and understanding the various races, cultures,
idiosyncrasies, habits, rituals, ceremonies, etc. of the making of contemporary society out of
the diverse forces of the past.
6. Enable a person to grasp his relationship with the past, such as to who ordered the killing of
Ninoy Aquino or why China insists on occupying territories claimed by the Philippines – and
because of the events, one has to turn to history for a complete answer.
7. Helps social and political scientists or researchers engaged in research as for example a
political researcher doing a research on federal form of government has to draw his data from
the materials of history and finally,
8. History preserves the cultural values of nation because it guides society in confronting various
crisis. As Allen Nerins puts it, history is like a bridge that connects the past with the present
and “pointing the road to the future.”

Relevance of History
Understanding Philippine history is essential to a good understanding of the
condition of being human. People build, people destroy, and people change. Neither of
these option can be understood well without understanding the context and starting point
of all these. All human beings live in the here and now, but it took a long unfolding history
to get enough to “NOW.”

Distinction of Primary and Secondary Sources


A comparative analysis of primary and secondary sources in a table format is shown.
Primary Sources are the raw materials of historical Secondary Sources are analysis or a restatement of
research – they are the documents or artifacts primary sources. They often describe or explain primary
closest to the topic of investigation. Often, they are sources. Some secondary sources not only analyse
created during the time period which is being primary sources, but also use them to argue or
studied (correspondence, diaries, newspapers, persuade the reader to hold a certain opinion.
government documents, art) but they can also be Secondary sources are not evidence, but a commentary
produced later by eyewitnesses or participants on and discussion of evidence.
(memoirs, oral histories). You may find primary Examples include:
sources in their original format (usually in an archive)  Bibliographies
or reproduced in a variety of ways; books, microfilm,  Biographical works
digital, etc.  Commentaries, criticisms
Examples include:  Dictionaries, Encyclopaedia
 Artifacts (e.g. coins, plant specimens, fossils,  Histories
furniture, tools, clothing, all from the time  Journal articles
under study)  Magazines and newspaper articles
 Audio recordings (e.g. radio programs, oral  Monographs, other than fiction ad
histories) autobiography
 Diaries  Textbooks
 Internet communication on email  Websites
 Interviews (e.g., oral histories, telephone, e-
mail)
 Journal articles published in peer-reviewed
publications
 Letters
 Newspaper articles written at the time
 Original Documents (i.e. birth certificate, will,
marriage license, trial transcript)
 Patents
 Photographs
 Proceeding of meetings, conferences, and
symposia
 Record of organizations, government
agencies (e.g., annual report, treaty,
constitution, government document)
 Speeches
 Survey Research (e.g., market surveys, public
opinion polls)
 Video recordings (e.g., television programs)
 Works of art, architecture, literature, and
music (e.g., paintings, sculptures, musical
scores, buildings, novels, poems, websites)
Source: Steven Profit, Oct. 4, 2017 (internet)

Primary Sources – are direct first-hand evidences regarding an object, person, or work of art. They
include historical and legal documents, eyewitness accounts, results, experiments, statistical data,
pieces of creative writing, audio, video recordings, speeches, and art objects. In the most natural
and social sciences, primary sources are often empirical studies – research where experiment was
performed or a direct observation was done. The results of such empirical studies are found in
some scholarly articles or papers delivered at conferences.
Secondary Sources – on the other hand describe, discuss, interpret, comment upon, analyse,
evaluate, summarize, and process primary sources. Secondary source materials are those that can
be found in newspapers or popular magazines, book or movie reviews, or articles written in
scholarly journals that discuss or evaluate someone else’s original research.

EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL CRITICISM


EXTERNAL INTERNAL
Verification of authenticity by examining physical Looks at the truthfulness and factuality of the
characteristics; consistency with the historical evidence by looking at the author of the source, its
characteristics of the time when it was produced; context, the agenda behind its creation, the
materials used. knowledge which informed it, and its intended
We can ask the following questions: purpose.
1. When was it written? It looks at the content of the source and examines the
2. Where was it written? circumstances of its production.
3. Who was the real author? We can ask the following questions:
4. Why did it survive? 1. Was it written by eyewitnesses or secondhand
5. What were the materials used? account? (author)
6. Were the language and words used in the 2. Why was it written?
document consist with the language and 3. Is there consistency?
words being used during those times? 4. What are the connotations?
7. Is it authentic? 5. What is the literal meaning?
6. What is the meaning in context?

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