THE HISTORY AND THE HISTORIAN

WHAT IS HISTORY?
HISTORY is the study of past - specifically the people, societies, events and problems
of the past as well as our attempts to understand them. It is pursuit common to all
human societies.
 It is the job of the historian to give meaning to these and organize them into a
timeline, establish causes, and write history.
THE HISTORIAN
 Historian get access representation of the past through historical sources and
evidences. The historian is not a blank paper who mechanically interprets and
analyzes present history facts.
HISTORIAN
• Person of his own who is influenced by his own context, environment, ideology,
education, and influences, among others.
• In that sense, his interpretation of the historical fact is affected by his context and
circumstances.
• His subjectivity will inevitably influence the process of his historical research: the
methodology that he will use, the facts that he shall select and deem relevant, his
interpretation, and even the form of his writings
• Thus, in one way or another, history is always subjective.
If that is so, can history still be considered as an academic and scientific inquiry?
• Historical research requires rigor.
• Despite the fact that the historians cannot ascertain absolute objectivity, the
study of history remains scientific because of the rigor research and methodology
that historians employ
• Historical methodology comprises certain techniques and rules that historians
follow in order to properly utilize sources and historical evidences in writing
history
The Annales School of History
• A school of history born in France that challenged the canons of history
• This school of thought did away with the common historical subjects that were
almost always related to the conduct of states and monarch
• Annales scholars like Lucein Febvre, Marc Bloch, Fernand Braudel,a and
Jacques Le Goff studied other subjects in a historical manner
• They were concerned with social history and studied longer historical periods
• E.g. Annales scholars studied history of peasantry, the history of medicine, or
even history of environment
• The history from below was pioneered by the same scholars