The document discusses the significance of history in shaping personal and collective identities, fostering economic growth in communities, and providing insights for a better future. It highlights the struggles faced by Filipino society, including political instability, poverty, and social unrest, while emphasizing the role of historians as the conscience of the nation. Historians are tasked with understanding societal patterns and documenting authentic histories to guide communities towards improvement.
The document discusses the significance of history in shaping personal and collective identities, fostering economic growth in communities, and providing insights for a better future. It highlights the struggles faced by Filipino society, including political instability, poverty, and social unrest, while emphasizing the role of historians as the conscience of the nation. Historians are tasked with understanding societal patterns and documenting authentic histories to guide communities towards improvement.
The document discusses the significance of history in shaping personal and collective identities, fostering economic growth in communities, and providing insights for a better future. It highlights the struggles faced by Filipino society, including political instability, poverty, and social unrest, while emphasizing the role of historians as the conscience of the nation. Historians are tasked with understanding societal patterns and documenting authentic histories to guide communities towards improvement.
The document discusses the significance of history in shaping personal and collective identities, fostering economic growth in communities, and providing insights for a better future. It highlights the struggles faced by Filipino society, including political instability, poverty, and social unrest, while emphasizing the role of historians as the conscience of the nation. Historians are tasked with understanding societal patterns and documenting authentic histories to guide communities towards improvement.
Meaning and Relevance in History 1. Relevance of History to Ourselves • History nurtures personal and collective identity in a diverse world. • People discover their place in time through stories of their families, communities, and nation. • These stories of freedom and equality, injustice and struggle, loss and achievement, and courage and triumph shape people’s personal values that guide them through life. • History teaches vital skills. 2. Relevance of History to our Communities • History is a catalyst for economic growth. • Communities with cultural heritage institutions and a strong sense of historical character attract • talent, • increase tourism revenues, • enhance business development, and • fortify local economies. 3. Relevance of History to our Future • History helps people envision a better future (e.g. Democracy). • Weaving history into discussions about contemporary issues clarifies differing perspectives and misperceptions, reveals complexities, grounds competing views in evidence, and introduces new ideas; all can lead to greater understanding and viable community solutions. • History inspires people (e.g. leaders) • History, saved and preserved, is the foundation for future generations. The Historian as the Conscience of the Nation Learning Objectives • By the end of the lesson, the students should be able to: • critically assess Philippine society from the lens of historical writings; • demonstrate balanced perspective in assessing political, economic and social issues in Philippine society; and • use insights to forward informed decisions and evaluations. Filipino Struggles across time… • As an independent Asian nation, one of the basic goals of the Filipino people is the attainment of and preservation of national unity. • The reality in Christianized societies is there is political instability marked by protests and unrest. Filipino Struggles across time… • Political dilemma is such because the incumbent power structure is governed by family dynasties and warlordism continues to manifest its ugly head in territories that cannot be easily accessed. • Justice is compartmentalized because its administration is tilted to favor the politically powerful. Philippine Society • In the economic sphere, rural and urban poverty continues to hound the population even with government support for the marginalized. • The deprived suffer from economic crisis and the government could not adequately support or cushion its adverse impact (power, water, gasoline, basic commodities). Philippine Society • Unemployment continues on an up-trend,. Those that are employed make do with low salaries and poor working conditions. • Landlessness and recently the dearth in houses and the insufficiency of housing programs to address the needs for shelter worsen the plight of the urban and rural poor. Philippine Society • For a long time, our people longed for leaders who had the political will to ascertain rights and privileges that accrue to the benefit of the populace. • But even in the social arena, class divisions continue to prevail and stratification is expressed in terms like baknang, mayaman, macualta, maysarang, dato vis. agrigrigat, mahirap, daculang tao, sadit na tao, pobre and is nationwide. Philippine Society
• Poverty means lack of
opportunities to basic and quality education, thereby some are not liberated from illiteracy. There no adequate nutritional support to keep them able and strong to be engaged in labor, and while they now have access to medical care, they are faced with desperate choices while being in the margins of everyday existence. • Such scenarios lead themselves to Philippine Societyexpressions of social unrest which manifests itself in thievery, robbery, assassinations, drug pushing, and drug trade. • Non-Christian minority is considered outsiders by those claiming ethnic and cultural dominance. Segmentation is seen in the disparaging words used to describe them (baluga, ita, head hunters, kong king). Muslims are typecast as fearsome, warlike, treacherous, filthy, and inferior. Conversely, they become resentful towards Christians. • There is no congruency of interests, obligations, identity because prejudices from majority are so deep-seated it is difficult to arrive at common consensus. • The absence of social and economic equality, bring about secessionist ideas (MNLF, MILF, ASG). Muslims are divided even among themselves. • Questions of peace, security, serenity come to the surface as children, women, innocent people are victims of the crossfire between military and secessionist groups. • Cultural preservation is undermined by westernization as well as the wanton disregard for one’s identity. What is the role of the Historian amidst all these? Historian’s role • The historian is the conscience of the nation and should: • look into the patterns of a people’s reaction to the environment and to social, political, economic, and even cultural developments; • reckon with these to bring people towards a direction that would give them a better life; • write an authentic history from the locus where the events and other phenomena occurred and by the people who lived and are living them; Advance Reading
