Understanding History

Part 1
 Origin of the word History

derived from the Greek noun ἱστορία (read as istoia)

ἱστορία (historia) = “Knowledge or learning
acquired through inquiry or investigation”
“the past of mankind”
Sources are oral traditions in forms of epics, songs,
artifacts, architecture, memoirs etc…

- Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History

History –a chronological record of significant events
(such as those affecting a nation or institution) often
including an explanation of their causes.

A branch of knowledge that does systematically the

recording, analyzing and coordinating of the past
events.

-Webster’s Vest Pocket Dictionary(Springfield:

Merriam Webster, Inc., Publishers), p. 149
History as a “Social Science”
KASAYSAYAN IN THE LANGUAGE
AND PERSPECTIVE OF FILIPINO

KASAYSAYAN
• saysay (narrative or salaysay)
• saysay (relevance, importance)
• If relevant, for whom?
• Zeus Salazar definition: “SALAYSAY na
may SAYSAY para sa SINASALAYSAYANG
grupo ng tao o SALINGLAHI”(Relevant
stories/narrative of the people).
“Pantayong Pananaw” (Salazar, 1974)
Other Definition of History

History is the re-enactment in the

historian's mind of the thought whose
history he is studying. -Collingwood
History is the historian's experience.
-Oakeshott
History is “a selective system” not only of
cognitive, but of causal, orientations to
reality. -Parsons
Importance of History
1. History helps us understand our world
2. To unite a nation, we cannot understand our nation
without history
3. We cannot understand people if we do not
understand their past or to make sense of the
present.
4. We cannot understand our community if we do not
know how it came to be.
5. To inspire people to keep their good practices to
move forward
6. Not to repeat the mistakes of the past.
History as Reconstruction
the historian is many times removed from
the events under investigation

historians rely on surviving records

“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; only a part of what was
recorded has survived; only a part
of what has survived has come to
the historian’s attention; only a part
of what has come to their attention
is credible; only a part of what is
credible has been grasped, and
only a part of what has been
grasped can be expounded or
narrated by the historian.”
- Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History
Historian
Fallible and capable of error
Biases – personal, political, religious,
personal idiosyncracies
Each has his own frame of reference –
a set of interlocking values, loyalties,
assumptions, interests and principles of
action.
History is not a fiction
Historical accounts must be
based on all available relevant
evidence.

A version of the past that can’t

be supported by evidence is
worthless
Historians have to verify sources, to
date them, locate their place of
origin and identify their intended
functions

Historical Method
In simple words, the Historical
Method is……

The process of critically

examining and analyzing the
records and survivals of the
past
Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History
“Each generation of historians
develops its own perspectives, and
that our understanding of the past is
constantly reshaped by the historian
and the world he or she inhabits”
-Howell & Prevenier
 Historical Sources

Sources - are objects from the past or

testimonies concerning the past on which
historians depend in order to create their
own depiction of that past.
- Howell and Prevenier, From Reliable Sources
an Introduction to Historical Method

Tangible remains of the past -

Anthony Brundage, Going to Sources
Historical Sources
materials used for the writing of
history.
They are classified into two:
1. Primary Sources
2. Secondary Sources
Another type of classification are:
1. written and non-written,
2. published or unpublished,
3. textual, oral or visual sources
What are Primary Sources?

Testimony of an eyewitness

A primary source must have been

produced by a contemporary of the
event it narrates
-Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History
What are Primary Sources?

A primary source is a document or

physical object which was written or
created during the time under study.

These sources were present during an

experience or time period and offer an
inside view of a particular event.
-Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History
What are Primary Sources?

Primary sources provide first-hand

testimony or direct evidence
concerning a topic under investigation.
They are created by witnesses or
recorders who experienced the events or
conditions being documented.

http://www.yale.edu// collections_collaborative/primarysources/primarysources.html
What are Primary Sources?

These sources are created at the time

when the events or conditions are
occurring, it can also include
autobiographies, memoirs, and oral
histories recorded later.
http://www.yale.edu// collections_collaborative/primarysources/primarysources.html
What are Primary Sources?

Primary sources are characterized by

their content, regardless of whether they
are available in original format, in
microfilm/microfiche, in digital format,
or in published format.
http://www.yale.edu// collections_collaborative/primarysources/primarysources.html
 Four Main Categories of Primary
Sources

1. Written sources
2. Images
3. Artifacts
4. Oral testimony
Written Sources
1. Published materials
Books, magazines, journals,
Travelogue
transcription of speech

2. Manuscript [any handwritten or

typed record that has not been printed]
Archival materials
Memoirs, diary
Primary Sources: Written Sources
Primary Sources: Images
Spanish soldiers
and Filipinos in the
Spanish army with
two Filipino
Prisoners of War at
Malabon, with San
Bartolome Church
at the Background.
c1898. - simoun
(image: Arnaldo
Dumindin for
Pinterest)
Primary Sources: Images

Escolta, the
principal business
street of Manila,
Philippines, early
20th century
Photo by J. Tewell on
flickr
Primary Sources: Images
RIO PASIG or THE
PASIG RIVER ( Ilog
Pasig ) Location:
Metro Manila,
Philippines Wayback
187O’s

Pasig River, late 2000.

Primary Sources: Documented
Oral Testimony

Testimony Maria Rosa Henson

(Philippines)
She was the first Philippine woman
who spoke out about her own
distress. In 1996 she was one of the
three women who became first
recipients of the AWF project. Maria
Rosa Henson passed away on 18
August 1997.
Primary Source: Manuscript
Non- written Sources
Oral history
Artifact
Ruins
Fossils
Art works
Videorecordings
Audiorecordings
Primary Sources: Artifacts

Kindly click the black portion while the

document is in slide show to watch the
video .
What are Secondary Sources?
A secondary source interprets and analyzes
primary sources. These sources are one or
more steps removed from the event.
Example: produced by authors who used and
interpreted primary sources

Secondary sources may have pictures, quotes or

graphics of primary sources in them.

- http://www.princeton.edu/~refdesk/primary2.html
Examples of secondary sources:

History textbook

Printed materials (serials,

periodicals which interprets
previous research)
Example of Secondary Source
Topic : The Trial and Death of
Bonifacio.
Primary Source: Artemio
Ricarte and Pio del Pilar
Secondary Source: The Revolt
of the Masses: The Story of
Bonifacio and the Katipunan
“ The historian without his
fact is rootless and futile;
the facts without their
historian are dead and
meaningless”

- E. H. Carr
Group Work
▪ Form a group. Minimum of 3 members
and maximum of 5 members only.
▪ Watch this video of Prof. Ambeth
Ocampo about “History Comes Alive”
about FAKE NEWS. Below is the link
▪ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzN
wl4ugNNI&t=78s
▪ Create a video presentation: maximum
of 15 minutes only or less. As if you are in a
forum discussing about the fake news
mentioned by Prof. Ocampo about our
History.
THANK YOU !!!!
(Part-1)