CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY: DEFINITION, ISSUES, SOURCES, AND

METHODOLOGY

Learning Objectives:
 To understand the meaning of history as an academic discipline and to be familiar with
the underlying philosophy and methodology of the discipline.
 To apply the knowledge in historical methodology and philosophy in assessing and
analyzing existing historical narratives.
 To examine and assess critically the value of historical evidences and sources.
 To appreciate the importance of history in the social and national life of the Philippines.
Introduction
This chapter introduces history as a discipline and as narrative. It presents the definition of the
history, which transcends the common definition of history as the study of the past. This chapter
also discusses several issues in history that consequently opens up for the theoretical aspects of
the discipline. The distinction between the primary and secondary sources is also discussed in
relation to the historical subject matter being studied and the historical methodology employed
by the historian. Ultimately, this chapter also tackles the task of the historian as the arbiter of
facts and evidences in making his interpretation and forming historical narrative.
Discussion
Definition and Subject Matter
History has always been known as the study of the past. Students of general education often
dread the subject for its notoriety in requiring them to memorize dates, places, names, and events
from distant eras. This law appreciation of the discipline may be rooted from the shallow
understanding of history’s relevance to their lives and to their respective contexts. While the
popular definition of history as the study of the past is not wrong, it does not give justice to the
complexity of the subject and its importance to human civilization.
History was derived from the Greek word historia which means “knowledge acquired through
inquiry or investigation”. History as a discipline existed for around 2,400 years and is as old as
mathematics and philosophy. This term was then adapted to classical latin where it acquired a
new definition. Historia became known as the account of the past of a person or of a group of
people through written documents and historical evidences. That meaning stuck until the early
parts of the twentieth century.