/ Introduction to Histor Definition, Issues, Source and Methodology Learning Objectives: Yo understand the meaning of history aw an academic discipline and to be familiar with the underlying philosophy and metho dology of the discipline ‘To apply the knowledge in historical methodology and philosophy in assessing and analyzing existing historical narratives: Yo examine and assess critically the value of historical evidences and sources, 'Yo appreciate the importance of history in the social and national life of the Philippines. ‘Thin chaptor introduces history am a discipline and as a narative, Ht presenta the definition af the history, whieh trinseends the common definition of history aa the study of the past, This chapter also discusses several ities in history that consequently opens up for the theoretionl aspects of the discipline, The distinction between primary and secondary sour discussed in relation to the historical subject matter being abudic as iv also and the: hiatorical methodology employed by the historian, Ulimately, this chapter also tacklow the task of the historian a the arbiter of faota and evidences in making bis interpretation and forming historion! narrativeDefinition and Subject Matter History has always been known as the study of the past. Students of general education often dread the subject for its notoriety in requiring them to memorize dates, places, names, and events from distant eras. This low appreciation of the discipline may be rooted from the shallow understanding of history’s relevance to their lives and to their respective contexts. While the popular definition of history as the study of the past is not wrong, it does not give justice to the complexity of the subject and its importance to human civilization. History was derived from the Greek word historia which means "knowledge acquired through inquiry or investigation." History as a discipline existed for around 2,400 years and is as old as mathematics and philosophy. This term was then adapted to classical Latin where it acquired a new definition. Historia became known as the account of the past ofa person. or of a group of people through written documents and historical evidences. ‘That meaning stuck until the early parts of the twentieth century. History became an important academic discipline. It became the historian’s duty to write about the lives of important individuals like monarchs, heroes, saints, and nobilities. History was also focused on writing about wars, revolutions, and other important breakthroughs. It is thus important to ask: What counts as history? Traditional historians lived with the mantra of “no document, no history.” It means that unless a written document can prove a certain historical event, then it cannot be considered as a historical fact. But as any other academic disciplines, history progressed and opened up to the possibility of valid historical sources, which were not limited to written documents, like government records, chroniclers’ accounts, or personal letters. Giving premium to written documents essentially invalidates the history of other civilizations that do not keep written ae Some were keener on passing their’ history by word of mouth. thers got their historical documents burned or destroyed in the events of war or colonization. Restricting historical evidence as exclusively written is also discrimination against other social classes who were not recorded in ee ieee aie monarchs, the elite, and even the middle class would have nee a ee ara marriage, and death as matters of government and ord. But what of peasant families or indigenous groups wh? Readings in Philippine Historywere not given much thought about being registered to government records? Does the absence of written documents about them mean that they were people of no history or past ? Did they even exist? This loophole was recognized by historians who started using other kinds of historical sources, which may not be in written form but were just as valid. A few of these examples are oral traditions in forms of epics and songs, artifacts, architecture, and memory. and started collaborating with other di story thus became more inclusive iplines as its auxiliary disciplines. With the aid of archaeologists, historians can use artifacts from a bygone era to study ancient civilizations that were formerly ignored in history because of lack of documents. Linguists can also be helpful in tracing historical evolutions, past connections among different groups, and flow of cultural influence by studying language and the changes that it has undergone. Even scientists like biologists and biochemists can help with the study of the past through analyzing genetic and DNA patterns of human societies. Questions and Issues in History NS Indeed, history as a discipline has already turned into a complex and dynamic inquiry. This dynamism inevitably produced various perspectives on the discipline regarding different questions like: What is history? Why study history? And history for whom? These questions can be answered by historiography. In simple terms, historiography is the history of history. History and historiography should not be confused with each other. The former's object of study is the past, the events that happened in the past, and the causes of such events. The latter’s object of study, on the other hand, is history itself (i.e., How was a certain historical text written? Who wrote it? What was the context of its publication? What particular historical method was employed? What were the sources used?). ‘Thus, historiography lets the students have a better understanding of history. They do not only get to learn historical facts, but they are also provided with the understanding of the facts’ and the historian’s contexts. The methods employed by the historian and the theory and perspective, which guided him, will also be analyzed. Historiography is important for someone who studies history because it teaches the student to be critical in the lessons of history presented to him. ” History bas played various roles in the past. States use history to unite a nation. It can be used as a tool to legitimize regimes and forge a sense of Chapter 1 | Introduction o History: Definition sues, Sources, and Methodology 3the past can b lective identity through collective memory. Lessons from pi e resent. Learning of past mistakes can help people ded of a great past can inspire people to keep coll used to make sense of the p to not repeat them. Being remint their good practices to move forward. e school of thought that emerged between the eighteenth cal and observable ght requires empiri hat a particular knowledge is true. iving at a conclusion. In Positivism is th and nineteenth century. This thou evidence before one can claim Positivism also entails an objective mei a the discipline of history, the mantra “no document, no history” stems from this very same truth, where historians were required to show written primary documents in order to write a particular historical narrative. Positivist historians are also expected to be objective and impartial not just in their arguments but also on their conduct of historical research. ans of arr ‘As a narrative, any history that has been taught and written is always intended for a certain group of audience. When the ilustrados, like Jose Rizal, Isabelo de los Reyes, and Pedro Paterno wrote history, they intended it for the Spaniards so that they would realize that Filipinos are people of their own intellect and culture. When American historians depicted the Filipino people as uncivilized in their publications, they intended that narrative for their fellow Americans to justify their colonization of the islands. They wanted the colonization to appear not as a means of undermining the Philippines’ sovereignty, but as a civilizing mission to fulfill what they called as the “white man’s burden.” The same is true for nations which prescribe official versions of their history like North Korea, the Nazi Germany during the war period, and Thailand. The same was attempted by Marcos in the Philippines during the 1970s. Postcolonialism is a school of thought that emerged in the early twentieth century when formerly colonized nations grappled with the idea of creating their identities and understanding their societies against the shadows of their colonial past. Postcolonial history looks at two things in writing history: first is to tell the history of their nation that will highlight their identity free from that of colonial discourse and knowledge, and second is to criticize the methods, effects, and idea of colonialism. Postcolonial history is therefore a reaction and an alternative to the colonial history that colonial powers created and taugh: i tne ght to their 4 Readings in Philippine HistoryOne of the problems confronted by history is the accusation that the history is always written by victors. This connotes that the narrative of the past is always written from the bias of the powerful and the more dominant player. For instance, the history of the Second World War in the Philippines always depicts the United States as the hero and the Imperial Japanese Army as the oppressors. Milipinos who collaborated with the Japanese were y of traitors or collaborators. However, a more thorough Jumped in the catego historical investigation will reveal a more nuanced account of the history of that period instead of a simplified narrative as a story of hero versus villain. History and the Historian Ifhistory is written with agenda or is heavily influenced by the historian, is it possible to come up with an absolute historical truth? Is history an objective discipline? If it is not, is it still worthwhile to study history? These questions have haunted historians for many generations. Indeed, an exact and accurate account of the past is impossible for the very simple reason that we cannot go back to the past. We cannot access the past directly as our subject matter. Historians only get to access representation of the past through historical sources and evidences. Therefore, it is the historian’s job not just to seek historical evidences and “Facts cannot speak for themselves.” facts but also to interpret these facts. ts and organize It is the job of the historian to give meaning to these fac them into a timeline, establish causes, and write history. Meanwhile, the er who. mechanically interprets and analyzes historian is not a blank pap' his own present historical fact. He is a person of his own who is influenced by context, environment, ideology, education, and influences, among others. In his interpretation of the historical fact is affected by his context will inevitably influence the process of hat he will use, the facts that he and even the form of his ys subjective. If that that sense, and circumstances. His subjectivity his historical research: the methodology tl shall select and deem relevant, his interpretation, writings. Thus, in one way or another, history is alway is so, can history still be considered as an academic and scientific inquiry? ch requires rigor. Despite the fact that historians Historical researt t :n absolute objectivity, the study of history remains scientific ology that historians employ. techniques and rules that cannot ascertail because of the rigor of research and method Historical methodology comprises certain Chapter 1 | Introduction to History: Definition, Issues, Sources, and Methodology 5d deception and to come up with o conduct an external and y sources which can age istori avoi' scrutinize these historical sources tO istori 1d be able t istorical truth. The historian shou 2 patna et e, especially prima the practice of veri internal criticism of the soure’ i i criticism is . . a et eer al characteristics; consistency with the d; and the materials of evidence by examining its physical che se historical characteristic of the time when it was pro‘ ai andthe meters used for the evidence. Examples of the things that wil = conducting external criticism of a document include ine quality of ue paper, the type of the ink, and the language and words used in the material, among others. fying the authenticity Internal criticism, on the other hand, is the examination of the truthfulness of the evidence. It looks at the content of the source and examines the circumstance of its production. Internal criticism looks at the truthfulness and factuality of the evidence by looking at the author of the source, its context, the agenda behind its creation, the knowledge which informed it, and its intended purpose, among others. For example, Japanese reports and declarations during the period of the war should not be taken as a historical fact hastily. Internal criticism entails that the historian acknowledge and analyze how such reports can be manipulated to be used as war propaganda. Validating historical sources is important because the use of unverified, falsified, and untruthful historical sources can lead to equally false conclusions. Without thorough criticisms of historical evidences, historical deceptions and lies will be highly probable. One of the most scandalous cases of deception in Philippine history is the hoax Code of Kalantiaw. The code was a set of rules contained in an epic, Maragtas, which was allegedly written by a certain Datu Kalantiaw. The document was sold to the National Library and was regarded as an important precolonial document until 1968, when American historian William Henry Scott debunked the authenticity of the code due to anachronism and lack of evidence to prove that the code existed in the precolonial Phili, z iety. Ferdinand Marcos also claimed that he was a decorated World We wr olde who led a guerilla unit called Ang Maharlika. This was wi st betiev d by students of history and Marcos had war medals to One tee ane . This , however, was disproven when histori : istorians counterch: i ; ee ' with the war records of the United States. These cases nr Maron's caine can propagate without rigorous historical research, ON AeeePto™The task of the historian is to look at the available historical sources and select the most relevant and meaningful for history and for the subject matter that he is studying. History, like other academic discipline, has come a long way but still has a lot of remaining tasks to do. It does not claim to render absolute and exact judgment because as long as questions are study of history can never e the past that is being continuously asked, and as long as time unfolds, the be complete. The task of the historian is to organ created so that it can offer lessons for nations, societies, and civilization. It is the historian’s job to seek for the meaning of recovering the past to let the people see the continuing relevance of provenance, memory, remembering, and historical understanding for both the present and the future. @ historiography underwent several changes since the Philip} precolonial period until the present. Ancient Filipinos narrated their history through communal songs and epics that they passed orally from a generation to another. When the Spaniards came, their chroniclers started’ recording their observations through written accounts. The perspective of historical writing and inquiry also shifted. The Spanish colonizers narrated the history of their colony in a bipartite view. ‘They saw the age before colonization as a dark period in the history of the islands, until they brought light through Western thought and Christianity. Early nationalists refuted this perspective and argued the tripartite view. They saw the precolonial society as a luminous age that ended with darkness when the colonizers captured their freedom. They believed that the light would come again once the colonizers were evicted from the Philippines. Filipino historian Zeus Salazar introduced the new guiding philosophy for writing and teaching history: pantayong pananaw (for us-from us perspective). This perspective highlights the J conversation and discourse among importance of facilitating an internal Filipinos about our own history, using the language that is understood by everyone. ‘Chapter 1 | Introduction o History: Definition, Isues, Sources, and Methodology