History can be associated into 5 words: historians’ attention” – Lovis Gottchalk

“understanding history”
 Records- written records of the past.
 Narration- telling and retelling of What is historical method?
stories/paste vents.
 Historians have to verify sources to
 Dialogue- never ending/bridge that
date them, locate their place of
links between the past and present.
origin and identify their intended
 Meaning of events- importance of events
functions.
happened before.
 Chronological- the events that happened Historical method is the process of
before/from permutate to devolution of critically examining and analyzing the
the man. records and survivals of the past.
History is the study of the surviving Historical sources
records of the past to understand the
present. Sources- an object from the past or
testimony concerning the past on which
historians depend in order to create their
own depiction of that past. ~ Hawell
Why do we need to study history? and Prevenier “reliable sources and
 It is to know the origin of our introduction to historical method.
existence. Written sources
6 reasons (According to Perry) 1. Published materials
1. To learn about the past  Books, magazines, journals,
 To know the different achievements and travelogue, transcript of speech.
challenges of the man throughout the 2. Manuscript
world in their time.  Any handwritten or typed records that
2. To understand the present has not been printed.
 The more knowledge we had from the  Memoirs, diary.
past, the more insights that we have Non-written sources
about the present.
3. To predict the future  Oral history
 To have vision about the future  Ruins
4. To broaden our perspective  Artworks
 To know the different cultures of the  Audio recordings
world.  Artifact
 To have deeper sense of knowledge  Fossils
about the different cultures and  Video recordings
traditions of the world.
5. To acquire background for critical What are primary sources?
thinking
 As we go along, you know the different  Testimony of an eye witness
culture of the world, you will be able  Produced by the contemporary of the
to understand their culture, event it narrates.
traditions, and perspective without  A document or physical object which
judgements. was written or created during the
6. To appreciate our heritage time under study.
 Material and non-material culture,  Present during an experience or time
things that have been handed down by period and offer an inside view of a
our ancestors from generations to particular event.
generation.  Characterized by their content,
regardless of whether they are
available in original format in
Introduction: History of Deconstruction microfilm/microfiche in digital
 The historian is many times removed format or in published format.
from the events under investigation. 4 main categories of primary sources
 Historians rely on surviving records.
1. written sources
“Only a part of what was observed in the 2. images
past was remembered was recorded. Only a 3. artifacts
part of what was recorded has survived. Only 4. oral testimony
a part of what has survived has come to the
 Verisimilar- as close as what really
happened from a critical examination of best
available sources.
What are secondary sources?

 It interprets and analyzes the

primary sources.
 These sources are one or more steps Test of credibility
removed from the event.
1. Identification of the author- determine
 May have pictures, quotes, or
his reliability, mental processes,
graphics of primary sources in them.
personal attributes.
 E.g., history textbooks and printed 2. Determination of the approximate date-
materials (serials, periodicals which handwriting, signature, seal
interprets previous research) 3. Ability to tell the truth- nearness to
Example the vent, competence of witness, degree
of attention.
Topic: tejeros assembly 4. Willingness to tell the truth-
determine whether the author
Primary sources: account of Santiago Alvarez consciously or unconsciously tells
Secondary sources: Teodoro agoncillo’s falsehood.
revolt of the masses 5. Collaboration-historical facts-
particular which rest upon the
What is historical criticism? independent testimony of two or more
reliable witnesses.
 In order for a source to be used as
evidence in history, basic matters Repositories of primary sources
about its form and content must be
 National archives of the Philippines
settled.
 National library of the Philippines
Types  National historical commission of the
Philippines
A. External criticism  National museum of the Philippines
 The problem of authenticity or to  Up main library
examine the authenticity.  Admu rizal library
 To spot fabricated, forged and fake  Dlsu library
documents.  Ust library
 To distinguish a hoax or  Library of congress
misinterpretation.  National archives and records
administration
Test of authenticity  Archive general de indios
1. Determine the date of the document to  Archive general de la nacio
see whether they are anachronistic.  American historical collection
e.g., pencils did not exist before  Lopez memorial museum
the 16th century.  Ayala museum
2. Determine the author Kinds of primary sources
e.g., handwriting, signature, seal
3. Anachronistic style - Human fossils
e.g., idiom, orthography, - Artifacts
punctuation - Royal decrees and laws
4. Anachronistic reference to events - Official reports
e.g., too early, too late, too - Chronicles
remote - Friar accounts
5. Provenance or custody - Maps
e.g., determines its genuineness - Memoirs
6. Semantics- determining the meaning of - Personal account
the text or word. - Newspaper
7. Hermeneutics- determining ambiguities - Magazines
- Legislative journals
B. Internal criticism - Court records
 The problem of credibility. - Speeches
 Relevant particulars in the document- - Personal letters
is it credible? - Online databases
- Blogs
- Documentary films