Module 1

HISTORY AND HISTORIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION
This module will focus on understanding History as a discipline. Hence, the first lesson
will delve into the meaning of important concepts as a course starter, and which will include
History; Historiography, Historia, Historical Research, and Historical Method. The idea is such
that students might be inspired to really appreciate this course with a fresh interest to learn
about their heritage if they have a deeper understanding of what the subject is.
This second topic in this module is expected to further enhance their interest. The
subjects on Historical Sources and Historical criticisms, coupled with sample cases for the
students to exercise their analytical skills are expected to give them additional excitement to
love the study of history.

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of a study on this module, the student is expected to come up with a reflection
paper that will show the students skill in interpreting historical sources.
At the end of the study on the topic, the student will be able to:
1. Make a critical judgment on enduring issues that are part of Philippine history.

2. Develop critical and analytical skills on understanding primary and secondary

sources.
Distinguish primary and secondary sources; differentiate external and internal
criticism

CONTENTS OF THE MODULE

This module contains the following lessons:
Lesson 1: Meaning and Relevance of History
Lesson 2: Historical Sources and Criticism

DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO USE THE MODULE PROPERLY

This material intends for the students to maximize their learning about the history of our
nation, the Philippines, even without the physical guidance of the teacher. This is carefully
crafted such that the lessons are, as much as possible, comprehensively covered to help the
students do the assigned tasks, answer the tests and complete the assignments through a deep
understanding of the concepts and ideas presented in the lesson. This material will be greatly
helpful if the student:
 1. Will carefully and thoroughly read the overview of the lesson and take into heart the
Learning Outcomes;
2. Will truthfully do the learning activities;
3. Will freely contact the teacher for questions/inquiries about the lessons;
4. Will complete the Assessment and Assignments.

LESSON 1 – Meaning and Relevance of History

Specific Learning Outcomes

1. Differentiate history from historiography
2. Explain the sources of history
3. Recall some Filipino historians and their contributions to historiography.
Motivation/Prompting Questions
What historical fact or story do you remember has been repeatedly told from your
elementary to high school Araling Panlipunan classes? Have you wondered whether
they are really factual or just made up? Why do you think so?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________.
Discussion
The most common definition of the term history, is that, it is a study of the past.
Nobody will refute that. History allows us to have a glimpse of the past - what happened
(events); when it happened (dates); who were involved in the events (people); where it
happened (places), and why it/they happened (factors/causes). This common understanding
of what history is has also led to the most common approach of studying history – the traditional
unearthing of events, dates, people, places, and causes. These facts are, more often than not,
taken from “historians” whose investigation has also led them to their conclusions of what they
found out. To make the study a little more challenging, memorization of all these aspects, and
personal interpretation is required. Thus for many, if not most, students of history find the
course really boring. They were made to accept what historians have provided for them in their
books and/ or articles.

History, as it is, is taken from the Latin term “historia” which is defined as the account of
the past of a person or a group of people through written documents and historical evidence.
(Candelaria,2018). This understanding of the concept demands for students of history to
investigate “valid historical sources, which were not limited to written documents, like
government records, chronicler’s accounts, or personal letters. However, this does not
disregard the fact that non-written sources such as oral tradition in the form of epics, songs,
architectural designs, and relics may be considered reliable sources of history. As time
progressed, the study of history has become more complex such that differing perspectives on
historical sources cannot just be easily accepted as legitimate. These sources need to be
investigated and validated. This, now, has become the concern of Historiography.
Meaning of Historiography:

Historiography, is understood as the history of history. Hence, its focus is on the study
of historical sources, such as how authoritative is the historian; what evidence have been used,
what method was used in presenting historical facts, and the like. On this note Historiography
of the Philippines refers to the studies, sources, critical methods, and interpretations used by
scholars to study the history of the Philippines.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historiography_of_the_Philippines
In historiography, students do not just memorize historical facts but are made to really
grasp these facts and the context in which a historical perspective is presented. This makes
students of history more analytical and critical of what they read. This enables students to forge
a valid interpretation of current events in light of what happened in the past.

Historiography demands that historians to not just look for reliable historical evidence to
facts, but to interpret these all in the most authentic way. Hence, historical research, a
rigorous and scientific method of searching for evidence, should be employed. Historians should
not allow their presentation of history to be influenced just by how they see it or how others
perceive the facts. They need a historical methodology to do so which involves techniques and
principles to search, analyze and use sources properly.

Learning Activities/Exercise

1. Identify one historical event that you remember hearing from the time you were
small, either from school or from your parents. Recap the story by identifying the
following:
a. Name of event
b. Famous personality involved (maybe a hero)
c. One sentence explanation why it is worthy of remembrance.

2. Given the first letter of the word, determine what is being described. (1 point each)

_____a. (HM) The process of treating and using historical facts/evidences

properly.
_____ b. (H) History of history.
_____ c. (HR)Scientific method of seeking for pieces of evidence.
_____ d. (H)The account of the past of a group of people through written
documents and historical evidence.
_____ e. (H) Study of the past.
.

Teacher Intervention
Should you need to clarify some concerns in this module, please feel free to
contact me through the group chat created for your class..
Practice Task/Assessment
TASK: Get to know two famous Philippine historians. Record their credentials as
historians vis a vis:
 1. Educational Background
2. Family Background
Feedback to Assessment

1. Historical Method
2. Historiography
3. Historical
Research
4. Historia
5. History

Assignment
Enrichment
In three sentences, explain the following statement:
“ Lessons from the past can help people to not repeat them”

Reflection
History has no use for the present, thus, the saying past is past, is true. What do
you think of this statement.

References/Reading Material
Gonzalez, M C, Madrigal, C., San Juan, DM, Ramos, DJ (2014). Chronicles in a changing
world: Witnesses to the history of the Filipino people. Santillan, NM (Chapter): Diwa Learning
Systems Inc: Innovation in Education, Makati.

R. Sebastian, Raul Roland. "Philippine Historiography: Issues and Trends" (PDF). Polytechnic

University of the Philippines. Retrieved 1 October 2019.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historiography_of_the_Philippines#:~:text=Historiography%20of
%20the%20Philippines%20refers,the%20history%20of%20the%20Philippines.&text=The
%20arrival%20of%

LESSON 2 – HISTORICAL SOURCES and CRITICISMS

Specific Learning Outcomes

1. Differentiate the different historical sources
 2. Create a concept map on Historical criticism.
3. Evaluate a current issue based on the credibility and reliability of its source..

Motivation/Prompting Questions
Have you heard about the issues that has been spread about popular actress
Angel Locsin? What are the different sides of the issue that you have heard or read?
What is your personal assessment of the issue?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________.

Discussion
When you think about stories of the past, you get to think about how reliable the sources
are because the people involved in it are not around anymore to tell us the factual narrative.
When there are differing accounts to a story, one can only assume one is true and the other
false. The inability to objectively asses can lead to confusion and then result to unacceptance of
the reality of the event. This is why it is important to posses the skill of identifying and
understanding the type of source an event is taken because the source contributes a lot to its
historical truth. On this, there are two types of historical sources, one is primary and the other is
secondary which may be identified based on the historical subject being examined. Primary
sources are those records of the event which were taken at the actual time of the event or as we
usually hear “real time”. The right persons to issue these sources were those who were really
there during the event, either participant or witness. Secondary sources, on the other hand, are
sources made from primary sources. Meaning, they are sources done or written after the actual
event has happened and which are taken from either documents or write ups during the actual
event or related by personas who heard from the witnesses or the participants.

From these two types of sources, historians need to be able to examine the facts to
come up with the historical truth. Failure to do this would lead to confusion, worse is, deception.
The examination of these sources is what is called historical criticism. There are two types of
criticism, internal and external. As defined, external criticism is the practice of verifying the
authenticity of evidence by examining its physical characteristics, consistency of the historical
characteristics of the time when it was produced, and the materials used for the evidence.
(Candelaria, 2018). This includes an evaluation of the quality of the paper, the type of ink used
and the language and words used in the material. Internal criticism, “deals with the credibility
and reliability of the content of a given historical source. This kind of criticism focuses on
understanding the substance and message that the historical materials wants to convey by
examining how the author frame the intent and meaning of a composed material. (Torrentira,
Readings in Philippine History Course Module).

Learning Activities/Exercise
 1. Read one controversial issue in Philippine history. Understand the event by
identifying the following facts:

a. Name of event/Issue
b. Famous personality involved
c. Describe in three sentences the controversy.

2. Given the first letter of the word, determine what is being described. (1point each)

_____a. (P) Sources that were produced at the same time the event was
happening,.
_____ b. (S) Sources which include among others books or articles that were
written
by people who interviewed witnesses of the event.
_____ c. (P) An affidavit of a witness is an example of this type of source.
_____ d. (EC)It involves examining the physical characteristics of a source .
_____ e. (IC) The truthfulness of the source is the concern of this examination..
.

Teacher Intervention
Should you need to clarify some concerns in this module, please feel free to
contact me through the group chat created for your class..

Practice Task/Assessment

TASK: Go back to learning activity #1. Make a tabular presentation comparing the two
sides of the issue.

Feedback to Assessment

6. Primary
7. Secondary
8. primary
9. External Criticism
10. Internal Criticism

Assignment
Enrichment
 From the tabular presentation of the two side of the issue in your Practice Task,
explain your perspective of the issue in not more than 5 sentences.

Reflection
If you are going to judge the person of former President Marcos as a prominent
part of Philippine history, what two primary and two secondary sources will you use.
What will be your Internal criticism and your external criticism of him? Explain.

References/Reading Material

R. Sebastian, Raul Roland. "Philippine Historiography: Issues and Trends" (PDF). Polytechnic

University of the Philippines. Retrieved 1 October 2019.

Tosh, J. (2002). The Pursuit of History: Aims, Methods and New Directions in the Study of Modern
History. (Revised 3rd ed). London, United zkingdom:Pearson Education, Ltd.