ALDERSGATE COLLEGE READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

COLLEGE OF ARTS, SCIENCES AND EDUCATION BENJAMIN C. DULATRE

MODULE 1 INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY: DEFINITION, ISSUES, SOURCES, AND METHODOLOGY

OVERVIEW

This module introduces history as a discipline and as a narrative. It presents the definition of the history, which
transcends the common definition of history as the study of the past. This module also discusses several issues in history
that consequently opens up for the theoretical aspects of the discipline. The distinction between primary and secondary
sources is also discussed in relation to the historical subject matter being studied and the historical methodology employed
by the historian. Ultimately this module also tackles the task of the historian as the arbiter of facts and evidences in making
thus interpretation and forming historical narrative

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this module, the student should be able to

1. To understand the meaning of history as an academic discipline and to be familiar with underlying philosophy and
methodology of the discipline.
2. To apply the knowledge in historical methodology and philosophy in assessing and analyzing existing historical
narratives.
3. To examine and assess critically the value of historical evidences and sources.
4. To appreciate the importance of history in the social and national life of the Philippines.

PRETEST

I. TRUE OR FALSE. Write TRUE if the statement is correct and FALSE if it is incorrect.
1. History is the study of the past. T
2. Historical sources that were not written should not be used on writing history. F
3. The subject of historiography is history itself. T
4. History has no use for the present, thus, the saying “past is past” is true. F
5. History is limited to the story of a hero versus a villain. T

LEARNING FOCUS
Lesson 1
What is History?

 derived from the Greek word historia which means “knowledge acquired through inquiry or investigation.”
 Historia- known as the account of the past of a person or of a group of people through written documents
and historical evidences.
 Also focused on writing about wars, revolutions, and other important breakthroughs.

What counts as history?

 Traditional historians lived with 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;

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ALDERSGATE COLLEGE READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY
COLLEGE OF ARTS, SCIENCES AND EDUCATION BENJAMIN C. DULATRE
 Government records,
 Chroniclers’ accounts, and
 Personal letters.
Some were keener on passing their history by word of mouth. Others got their historical documents burned or
destroyed in the events of war or colonization. Restricting historical evidence as exclusively written is also a discrimination
against other social classes who were not recorded in paper.
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.
Examples:
 Oral traditions- (epics and songs)
 Artifacts
 Architecture
 Memory
With the aid of archeologists’, 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 changes that it has undergone.

Questions and Issues in History

 What is history?
 Why study history?
 And history for whom?
These questions can be answered by historiography.

HISTORIOGRAPHY
 The history of history or 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?).
 It is provided with the understanding of the fact’s and historian’s contexts.
 It is important for someone who studies history because it teaches the student to be critical in the lessons of history
presented to him.

Lessons from the past can be used to make sense of

the present. Learning of past mistakes can help
people to not repeat them. Being reminded of a great
past can inspire people to keep their good practices.

POSITIVISM
 This school of thought that emerged between the 18th and 19th century.
 This thought requires empirical and observable evidence before can claim that a particular knowledge is true.
 It also entails an objective means of arriving at a conclusion.
POSTCOLONLIALISM
 It is a school of thought that emerged in the early 20th century when formerly colonized nations grappled with the
idea of creating identities and understanding their societies against the shadows of their colonial past.

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ALDERSGATE COLLEGE READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY
COLLEGE OF ARTS, SCIENCES AND EDUCATION BENJAMIN C. DULATRE

HISTORY AND THE HISTORIAN

 It is the HISTORIAN’s job not to seek historical evidences and facts but also to interpret these facts. “ Facts cannot
speak for themselves.”
 it is the job of the historian to give meaning to these facts and organize them into a timeline, establish causes, and
write history
 Meanwhile, the historian is not a blank paper who mechanically interprets and analyzes present historical fact.
 he is a person of his own who is influenced by his own context, environment, ideology, education, and influences,
among others. In that sense, his interpretation of the historical facts is affected by his context and circumstances.
 Thus, in one way or another, history is always subjective.

HISTORICAL METHODOLOGY
 Comprises certain techniques and rules that historians follow in order properly utilize sources and historical
evidences in writing history.
 Certain rules apply in cases of conflicting accounts in different sources, and on how to properly treat eyewitness
accounts and oral sources as valid historical evidence.
 In doing so, historical claims done by historians and the arguments that they forward in their historical claims done
by historians and the arguments that they forward in their historical writings, while may be influenced by the
historian’s inclinations, can still be validated by using reliable evidences and employing correct and meticulous
historical methodology.

HISTORICAL SOURCES
 it can be classified between these two categories depends on the historical subject being studied.

A. PRIMARY SOURCES
 Those sources produced at the same time as the event, period, or subject being studied.
B. SECONDARY SOURCES
 Those sources, which were produced by an author who used primary sources to produce the material. In other
words, secondary sources are historical sources.

EXTERNAL CRITICISM
 It is the practice of verifying the authenticity of evidence by examining its physical characteristics;
consistency with the historical characteristics of the time when it was produced; and the materials
used for the evidence.
 Ex. Quality of the paper, the type of the ink, and the language and words used in the materials.

INTERNAL CRITICISM
 It is the examination of the truthfulness of the evidence. It looks at the content of the source and
examines the circumstances of its production. It 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.

C. TERTIARY SOURCES
 Publications that summarize and digest the information in primary and secondary sources to provide
background on a topic, idea, or event.
Ex. Encyclopedias, biographical dictionaries, indexes, almanacs, travel guides, field guides and timelines.

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ALDERSGATE COLLEGE READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY
COLLEGE OF ARTS, SCIENCES AND EDUCATION BENJAMIN C. DULATRE
Philippine Historiography
 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.
 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.
 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.

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ALDERSGATE COLLEGE READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY
COLLEGE OF ARTS, SCIENCES AND EDUCATION BENJAMIN C. DULATRE

LEARNING ACTIVITY

Activity 1

My Primary Source. Using the examples of a primary source in this

module, bring a primary source that can be used in the writing of
your life history. Present this in a PowerPoint Presentation and
discuss how it qualifies as a primary source.

Posttest

I. MULTIPLE CHOICE. Read the statement and answer carefully.

CAPITAL LETTERS ONLY! (10 points)

1. It was derived from the Greek word historia which means “knowledge acquired through inquiry or investigation.” became
known as the account of the past of a person or of a group of people through written documents and historical evidences.
A. History C. Historiography
B. Historian D. Historical Methodology

2. It is the school of thought that merged between the 18th and 19th century. This thought requires empirical and
observable evidence before one can claim that a particular knowledge is true. It also entails an objective means of arriving
at a conclusion.
A. Historiography C. Positivism
B. History D. Postcolonlialism

3. It is the school of thought that emerged in the early 20th century when formerly colonized nations grappled with the idea
of creating their identities and understanding their societies against the shadows of their colonial past.
A. Historiography C. Positivism
B. History D. Postcolonialism

4. Comprises certain techniques and rules that historians follow in order properly utilize sources and historical evidences in
writing history. Certain rules apply in cases of conflicting accounts in different sources, and on how to properly treat
eyewitness accounts and oral sources as valid historical evidence.
A. Historiography C. Historian
B. History D. Historical Methodology

5. It is the most important research tools of the historians with the past as history’s subject matter.
A. Historiography C. Historical Methodology
B. Historian D. Historical Sources

6. Those sources produced at the same time as the event, period, or subject being studied.
A. Historical Sources C. Secondary Sources
B. Primary Sources D. Tertiary Sources

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ALDERSGATE COLLEGE READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY
COLLEGE OF ARTS, SCIENCES AND EDUCATION BENJAMIN C. DULATRE
7. Those sources which were produced by an author who used primary sources to produce the material.
A. Historical Sources C. Secondary Sources
B. Primary Sources D. Tertiary Sources

8. Those sources that identify and locate primary and secondary sources. These can include bibliographies, indexes,
abstracts, encyclopedias, and other reference resources; available in multiple formats.
A. Historical Sources C. Secondary Sources
B. Primary Sources D. Tertiary Sources

9. The practice of verifying the authenticity of evidence by examining its physical characteristics; consistency with the
historical characteristics of the time when it was produced; and the materials used for the evidence. Ex. Quality of the paper,
the type of the ink, and the language and words used in the materials.
A. External Criticism C. Historical Methodology
B. Historical Sources D. Internal Criticism

10. The examination of the truthfulness of the evidence. It looks at the content of the source and examines the
circumstances of its production. It 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.
A. External Criticism C. Historical Methodology
B. Historical Sources D. Internal Criticism

II. A. BINARY CHOICE. Read the statement carefully. Write (O) if the given statement is correct. Otherwise, write (X) if the
given statement is not correct. Write the correct answer on the space provided before the number. (10 points)

1. Only primary sources may be used in writing history. X

2. There are three types of sources: primary, secondary sources, and tertiary sources. O
3. External criticism is done by examining the physical characteristics of a source. O
4. Internal criticism is done by looking at a sources’ quality of paper and type of ink, among others. O
5. The historians are the only sources of history. X

III. WHAT SOURCE? Read the following scenarios and classify the sources discovered as primary, secondary, or tertiary
sources. Write (P) if it is PRIMARY SOURCES, (S) if it is SECONDARY SOURCES and (T) if it is TERTIARY SOURCES.
Then write all the context clues.

1. Evean was exploring the library in her new school in Nueva Vizcaya. She wanted to study the history of Solano, Nueva
Vizcaya during the 19th century. In one of the books, she saw an old photograph of a woman standing in front of an old
church, clipped among the pages. At the back of the photo was a fine inscription that says: “Solano, 19 de Junio 1861”. Is
the photograph a primary, secondary, or a tertiary source?

 P= HINT - In one of the books, she saw an old photograph of a woman standing in front of an old
church, clipped among the pages. At the back of the photo was a fine inscription that says: “Solano, 19
de Junio 1861”.

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ALDERSGATE COLLEGE READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY
COLLEGE OF ARTS, SCIENCES AND EDUCATION BENJAMIN C. DULATRE
2. It was Joy Marie’s first day in her first year of college in a big university. Her excitement made her come to class
unusually early and she found their classroom empty. She explores the classroom and sat at the teachers’ table. She
looked at the table drawer and saw a book entitled U.G. An Underground Tale: The Journey of Edgar Jopson and the First
Quarter Storm Generation. She started reading the book and realized that it was a biography of a student leader turned
political activist during the time of Ferdinand Marcos. The author used interviews with friends and family of Jopson, and
other primary documents related to his works and life. Is the book a primary, secondary, or a tertiary source?

 S= Hint - The author used interviews with friends and family of Jopson, and other primary documents
related to his works and life.

3. Mary Glenne was a new teacher of Araling Panlipunan in a small elementary school in Solano, Nueva Vizcaya. Her
colleagues gave her the new textbook that she ought to use in the class. Before the class started, Mary Glenne studied the
textbook carefully. She noted that the authors used works by other known historians in writing the textbook. She saw that
the bibliography included Teodoro Agoncillo’s The Revolt of the Masses and the Fateful Years: Japan’s Adventure in the
Philippines, 1941-45. She also saw that the author used Ma. Luisa Camagay’s Working Women of Manila During the 19th
Century and many others. Is the textbook a primary, secondary, or a tertiary source?

 S = hint- She saw that the bibliography included Teodoro Agoncillo’s The Revolt of the Masses and the Fateful
Years: Japan’s Adventure in the Philippines, 1941-45. She also saw that the author used Ma. Luisa Camagay’s
Working Women of Manila During the 19th Century and many others.

4. Jereme visited the United States for a few months to see his relatives who have lived there for decades. His uncle
brought him on tours around Illinois. Jereme visited the Field Museum of Natural History where a golden image of woman
caught his eye. Jereme looked closer and read that image was called “The Golden Tara”. It originated from Agusan del Sur
and was bought by the museum in 1922. It was believed to be made prior to the arrival of the Spaniards in the Philippines.
Is the textbook a primary, secondary, or a tertiary source?

 P – Hint = It was believed to be made prior to the arrival of the Spaniards in the Philippines.

5. Kathleen Jane loved to travel around the country. She liked bringing with her travel brochure that informs her of the
different sites worth visiting in the area. Her travel brochure was usually produced by the tourism department of the
province. It shows pictures of destinations visited by tourists and a few basic information about the place like the origin of
the name, the historical significance of the place, and some other information acquired by the office’s researchers and
writers. Is the travel brochure a primary, secondary, or a tertiary source?

 T – Hint = Her travel brochure was usually produced by the tourism department of the province

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