Lesson 1: Introduction and Historical Sources

• This document provides an introduction to a module on Philippine history for freshmen students
• The course rationale is to analyze historical sources and develop a critical understanding of Philippine history
• Main topics covered

  • Introduction to history as an academic discipline
  • Difference between primary and secondary sources
  • Role and perspective of historians
• Historians


  Seek to interpret facts and evidence from the past in an objective manner
• Primary sources


  Sources created at the time of the historical event
• Secondary sources


  Sources created after the historical event
• Tertiary sources


  Sources that compile and summarize primary and secondary sources
• Historiography


  The study of how history was written, by whom, and why it was recorded as such
• Students are expected to do content and context analysis such as author's background and main arguments
• The end goal is to develop the historical and critical consciousness of the students
• History refers to the study and interpretation by a historian on the data and other sources of past human activity
• Subject matter of history

  The life of people and humanity
• The word history came from the Greek word Historia which means inquiry
• A historian is an expert or student of history
• Historians gather, discard, and interpret the sources that they encounter
• Historians are responsible for reconstructing the past
• Historians can be subjective in reconstructing the past
• Historians' interpretations of historical facts are affected by their context and circumstances
• Historians have different approaches and views about what happened in the past
• Historians must verify sources, date them, locate their place of origin, and identify their intended functions
• History


  The study and interpretation by a historian on the data and other sources of past human activity, people, societies, and civilizations leading to the present day
• Important concepts in the definition of history

  • Based on past events
  • Interpreted by a historian
  • Relies on data and documents (historical sources)
• History is based on past events
• History is interpreted by someone, usually a historian
• Historians gather, discard, and interpret the sources they encounter
• Historical sources

  Data and documents relied upon by historians
• Subject matter of history

  The life of people and humanity
• History has always been known as the study of the past
• The word history comes from the Greek word Historia which means inquiry
• Historia


  Denotes asking questions or investigation of the past
• Historical accounts must be based on all available relevant evidence
• A version of the past that cannot be supported by evidence is worthless
• The story of the thetaong-aha is an example of a past event
• Historian


  An expert or student of history, especially of a particular period, geographical region, or social phenomenon
• Responsibilities of a historian

  • Seek historical evidence and facts
  • Interpret these facts
  • Give meaning to these facts
  • Organize them chronologically
• Historians must recognize evidence, decide its usefulness, and come to conclusions based on findings
• The historian is responsible for reconstructing the past
• Gottschalk: 'Historian is many times removed from the events under investigation'
• Only a part of what was observed in the past was remembered by those who observed it
• Only a part of what was remembered was recorded