CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION

LESSON 1
Meaning and Relevance of History

Lesson 1 introduces history as a discipline and as a narrative. It

also discusses historical method and historiography.

Draw the first thing that comes into your mind when you hear the word
“history”.

• Social Science of History deals with the study of past events.

• History is referred usually for accounts of phenomena, especially
human affairs in chronological order.
• However, looking into the etymology of the word, History is derived
from the Greek word “historia” which means learning by inquiry.
• The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, looked upon history as the
systematic accounting of a set of natural phenomena, that is, taking
into consideration the chronological arrangement of the account.
 “Unless a written document can prove a certain historical event, then it
cannot be considered as a historical fact.”

• But as any other academic disciplines, history progressed and opened

to the possibility of valid historical sources, which were not
limited to written documents, like government records, chroniclers’
accounts, or personal letters.

“Does the absence of written documents about them mean that they were
people of no history or past? Did they even exist?”

• This loophole was recognized by historians who started using other

kinds of historical sources which may not be in written form but were
just as valid.
Examples: Oral traditions in forms of epics and song, artifacts,
architecture, and memory.

“What is history?”, “Why study history?”, “And history for whom?”

Heroes, past events, and historic places are some ideas that you might
have. History is an interesting subject for some, but you may find it boring
or irrelevant in relation to your chosen college degree, or even to your
lives! Perhaps, one of the reasons is, not knowing what history really means
and not realizing its relevance to one’s life and to a nation’s destiny as
well. These questions can be answered by historiography.

• The practice of historical writing is called historiography.

• Historiography refers to how, what, and why history is written.
• It is about the methods and practices used in producing history, the
development of history as a discipline, or the philosophy or
significance of historical writing.
• Encyclopedia Britannica (2017) shortly defines it as the writing of
history based on the critical examination of sources, the selection of
details from the authentic materials used in those sources, and the
synthesis of the details into a narrative that stands the test of
critical examination.
• The term historiography also refers to the theory and history of
historical writing.
 The process of critically examining and analyzing the records and
survivals of the past is called historical method. The imaginative
reconstruction of the past from the data derived historiography.

Historical analysis is also an important element of historical method.

In historical analysis, historians:
1. select the subject to investigate;
2. collect the probable sources of information on the subject;
3. examine the sources of genuineness, in part of in whole; and
4. extract credible “particulars” from the sources (or parts of
sources).

The synthesis of the “particulars” thus derived is historiography.

Synthesis and analysis cannot be entirely separated since they have a common
ground, which is the ability to understand the past through some meaningful,
evocative and convincing historical or cross-disciplinary connections
between a given historical issue and other historical contexts, periods, or
themes.

Write TRUE if the statement is correct/true. Otherwise, write FALSE in the

answer sheet provided.

1. The practice of historical writing is called historiography.

2. The word history means learning by inquiry.
3. The process of critically examining and analyzing the records and
survivals of the past is historical method.
4. Historical sources that were not written should not be used in
writing history.
5. The subject of historiography is history itself.

Answer the following questions. Write your answer on the answer sheet provided.

1. How do you give meaning to the so called “history”? How is it

different from historiography?
2. Explain the difference between factual and speculative history.
Output No. 2 Course/Subject: Readings in Philippine History
Chapter No. 1 Lesson No: 1
Name of Student: Block: Date:

Draw the first thing that comes into your mind when you hear the word
“history”.

Output No. 3 Course/Subject: Readings in Philippine History

Chapter No. 1 Lesson No: 1
Name of Student: Block: Date:

1. ______________
2. ______________
3. ______________
4. ______________
5. ______________

1. How do you give meaning to the so called “history”? How is it

different from historiography?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

2. Explain the difference between factual and speculative history.

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
 LESSON 2
Historical Sources

Lesson 2 presents the sources of historical data, and the

differentiation of primary and secondary sources of information or data.
Examples of primary and secondary sources are also presented in this lesson.

History is being written based on the actual evidence, manuscripts,

and written documents which provide sources of historical information.
Historical sources may refer to everything, written or not, that may tell
something about the past. There are two categories of historical data /
sources:
1. Primary Sources
2. Secondary Sources

• Primary sources are original, first-hand account

of an event or period that are usually written or
made during or close to the event or period.
• These sources are original and factual, not
interpretive. Their key function is to provide
facts.

• Examples:
• Diaries, Journals • Posters
• Letters • recorded or transcribed speeches
• newspaper • interviews with participants or
• magazine articles (factual witnesses
accounts) • interviews with people who lived
• Government records (census, during a certain time
marriage, military) • Songs, Plays, Novels, Stories
• Photographs • paintings, drawings, and
• Maps sculptures
• Postcard

Diaries and journals

a. Anne Frank was a teenager during World War II. She kept
a diary or journal the years before she died in a
concentration camp. Her diary was later published as the
“Diary of Anne Frank”. This is a primary source.
b. Sarah Morgan was young woman during the Civil War. She
wrote in her diary or journal what happened to her and her
family during the war. This is a primary document because
it was firsthand. She wrote it at the time it happened.

Historical Documents
a. The Declaration of Independence or the Constitution are
primary documents. They were drafted and signed.

Published first-hand accounts, or stories

a. 2008 Presidential candidate Senator John McCain talked
about his “own” experiences as a Vietnam prisoner of war.
It is a primary source because he was there, experienced
the events and shared it first hand.
b. The television stations found footage of Senator McCain
at the time that he was released. Those videos are also
considered primary sources because it was filmed when it
occurred.

Sound Recordings and interviews

a. During the Great Depression and World War II, television
had not been invented yet. The people would often sit
around the radio to listen to President Roosevelt’s war
messages. Those radio addresses are considered “primary
sources.”
b. During the 2008 election Barack Obama, had many interviews
that were televised. Those interviews are considered
primary sources.

Letters are considered primary documents.

a. Soldiers during wars wrote to their families about war events they
experienced. Those letters are considered primary sources.

Commonwealth Constitution of 1935

a. Primary Sources:
a. Minutes of the convention
b. Newspaper clippings
c. Philippine Commission reports of the US
Commissioners
d. Records of the convention
e. Draft of the Constitution
f. Photographs of the event
g. Eyewitness accounts of convention delegates and their memoirs

Other examples of Primary Sources

a. The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 (1903-1909) edited
by Emma Blair and James Robertson. This is about the
Philippines before the advent of the American colonial
regime.
b. Translations of portions of 16th century chronicles
such as Antonio Pigafetta’s Primo Viaggio intorno al
mundo (1524), Miguel Loarca’s Relacion de las Yslas
Filipinas (1582), and Juan de Plasencia’s Relacion de
las Islas Pilipinas (1592).
• A secondary source is something written about a primary
source.
• Secondary sources are written "after the fact" - that
is, at a later date.
• Usually, the author of a secondary source will have
studied the primary sources of an historical period or
event and will then interpret the "evidence" found in
these sources.
• You can think of secondary sources as second-hand
information.
• Think about it like this…
“If I tell you something, I am the primary source. If you tell
someone else what I told you, you are the secondary source.”
• Secondary source materials can be articles in newspapers, magazines,
books or articles found that evaluate or criticize someone else's
original research
• Examples:
o biographies,
o histories,
o literacy criticism,
o books written by a third party about a historical event,
o art and theater reviews,
o newspaper or journal articles that interpret.

Philippine Revolution of 1896

a. Teodoro Agoncillo’s Revolt of the Masses: The Story of
Bonifacio and the Katipunan published originally in
1956. The Philippine Revolution happened in the last
years of the 19th century while Agoncillo published
his work in 1956, which makes the the Revolt of the
Masses a secondary source. More than this, in writing
the book, Agoncillo used primary sources with his
research like documents of the Katipunan, interview
with the veterans of the Revolution, and
correspondence between and among Katipuneros.

Are newspapers and Magazine articles a primary or secondary sources?

• Primary Sources:
o Record of the 1986 Constitutional
Commission
o Proclamations
o Speeches of the 48 representatives
who collectively drafted the current
Constitution
o Text of the Constitution itself
• Secondary Sources
o textbooks,
o annotations, and
o published opinions about the
Constitution.
 Identify whether the statement is a PRIMARY or SECONDARY source. Write
your answer on the answer sheet provided.

1. You were watching news and the reporter said that she had heard bad
reviews about a new action film. When she talks about the movie, what
is she?
2. You found a letter to one of your classmates in the room after school
yesterday. What is the letter?
3. You and your brother found an old wedding dress in your archives.
Your mother told you that it belonged to your grandmother. What is
the dress?
4. At school you use textbooks to learn about the history of the
Philippines. When you use textbooks, what are you using?
5. You like to read magazines. You love the articles written by other
about airplanes and aviation. When you read these stories, what are
you?
6. You father has audio files of your grandfather narrating his memorable
experience as a pilot. What are you listening to?
7. Your friend told you that she will be reading a book that she
really liked. When she talks about the book, what is she?
8. When you are working on your assignment about the Philippine
government, you have read about the commentaries of the Justices in
the Supreme Court on landmark cases. What are you reading?
9. When you were at summer camp last year, you found an interesting
porcelain jar; You researched and found out that it has been made
by the precolonial Chinese traders. What is the jar?
10. You are writing a paper on President Rodrigo Roa Duterte for
your History class. You used articles from an online encyclopedia
and Wikipedia. What are you using?

Primary and secondary sources are both important in studying history.

However, it is preferred that students use primary sources in their
analysis and synthesis of the past events.

The use of primary sources is important because of the following reasons:

1. Direct contact with the original records and artifacts invites

students to explore the content with active and deeper analysis, and
to respond thoughtfully;
2. Critical thinking is developed as students probe the context,
purpose, meaning, bias, and perspectives in their analysis of the
past;
3. In the interaction with the various sources from the past, a learn-
led inquiry is being fostered;
4. There is a realization that history is a reflection of various
perspectives of those who interpret the past events; and
5. It brings back to story to history allowing students to share the
author’s perspectives
The use of secondary sources is also important because of the following
reasons:

1. Secondary sources can provide analysis, synthesis, interpretation, or

evaluation of the original information.
2. Secondary sources are best for uncovering background or historical
information about a topic and broadening your understanding of a topic
by exposing you to others’ perspectives, interpretations, and
conclusions.
3. Allows the reader to get expert views of events and often bring together
multiple primary sources relevant to the subject matter

Answer the following questions. Write your answer on the answer sheet
provided. Provide concise explanation/discussion on each item.

1. What are the benefits of using primary sources and secondary

sources?
2. What do you think are the disadvantages of accessing secondary
sources?

Output No. 4 Course/Subject: Readings in Philippine History

Module No. 1 Lesson No: 2
Name of Student: Block: Date:

1. ______________________
2. ______________________
3. ______________________
4. ______________________
5. ______________________
6. ______________________
7. ______________________
8. ______________________
9. ______________________
10. ______________________

1. What are the benefits of using primary sources and secondary

sources?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2. What do you think are the disadvantages of accessing secondary
sources?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________