Definitions 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 low appreciation of the discipline may be noted from the
shallow understanding of history’s relevance to their lives and to their respective context.
While the popular definition of history as the study and its importance to human civilization.
OLD Meaning of History

 Study of the past

 A record of past events
 Comes from the Latin word "Historia" - it means knowledge acquired
through inquiry..
The Modern Meaning of History
 Reconstruction of the past based on written records, cultural artifacts, folk
tradition, historical evidence and relics.
Why was there a shift in the meaning?

The noticeable shift in meaning was a result of the K-12 movement that has great effect on
the General Education Curriculum. The said memorandum mandated that Readings in
Philippine History would include topics on Agrarian Land Reform, Taxation, and Philippine
Constitution to be included in the curriculum for Readings in Philippine History. The most
recent is the inclusion of Indigenous people studies and the Muslim culture in the General
Education Curriculum Readings in Philippine History. Indigenous people are those who
managed to preserve their culture despite the modern technologies, most of the time these
groups are faced with low literacy rate, often they are marginalized in society due to poverty.
What were the Problems with the old meaning of history?
It propagated the maxim ―No Record, No History‖. In reality, not all events that transpired
were recorded as it occurred way before any means of recording were ever developed. Most
recordings were made to favor someone or were paid to be made. The King of Spain tasked
the nobleman Antonio Pigafetta to record all of the activities done by Ferdinand Magellan. It
was biased to show that Spain was graceful to ―all the people who were baptized, and built
the Church of Christ and, hence, the beginning of our Catholic life.

Most of the recorded history were biased or written in favor of someone. The diary
of Antonio Pigafetta was funded by King Philip of Spain. It is for this reason that
the writings were favorable to the ―poor uneducated natives‖ narrative writing.
This style of writing justifies the discovery of islands in favor Spain by propagating
their ―Christian obligation to spread Christianity.
Is there such a thing as TRUE HISTORY?

Considering that history can be biased in favor of someone or a particular group,

it is difficult to determine what is the TRUE history? We can then determine true history only
by studying HISTORIA.

Historia is the study of history. We focus on the context or time period of the study of
history, and for whom it was written and why.

The Modern Meaning of History

1. ) The view points: We study history based on a point of view of a group.

a.) Colonialism – The cultural identify and beliefs were given by invading
nations. Spaniards to Pinoy: ―"Wala caio cultura, bibigyan

naming caio!" ―Wala caio tiwala sa DIYOS na si Hesu Cristo, i-baptize

namin kayo bilang Katoliko.

b.) Post-Colonialism – is an instance when the ―discovered islands‖ try

 to preserve and show their distinct identity, in this scenario we

revert back to our old ways like making babayin more popular in the
modern world.

2. ) Positivism - requires that knowledge must be empirical and evidence that

is observable evidences. It is from this school of thought came

the dictum ―No evidence, No history.

3. ) Other evidences. Example: Cultural artifacts, relics, tradition, folklore,

mythology.

Why is history a difficult subject?

1. ) We can’t go back to the past and relieve history.

2. ) Facts can’t speak nor give us the true events.

3. ) Subjective nature of history. This means history varies from person to

person, subjective means feelings and opinion can affect history, a

Marcos supporter would highlight the economic gains made under Pres.
Ferdinand while an Aquino supporter would show the various

unexplained arrest, deaths and human right violation done during the
martial law era; whereas in education subjective may refer to an

answer that changes while objective is one where the answer remains
constant like the answer of 2+2+4.
The requirements in the study of History

 Rigor. It is defined as strict precision; in history, this refers to absolute

certainty.

 Research tradition. Certain formats, styles, and rules have to be followed

when writing historical research.

 Scientific methodologies. Identifying the problem, making a hypothesis,

experiment, and make a conclusions
Classification of historical sources
 Primary sources: sources produced during the same period of what as under study.
We can consider first hand information coming from

witnesses provided these sources were made at the same time frame. In example, if
one wanted to study the life Jose Rizal, we could use

the letters of Rizal. The problem with primary sources? They are not accessible and
readily available in local bookstores and library since

they are preserved at the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

 Secondary sources: made by an author using primary source material. In

short, historical sources that record a particular person or era.

Examples of these: The History of the Filipino Nation by Gregorio Zaide

and Sonia Zaide; Rizal without the Overcoat by Ambeth Ocampo.

These sources are readily available in libraries and book stores.


  Tertiary sources. These are information coming from third hand
information with no verifiable sources like YouTube videos claiming that

Marcos was the greatest president we ever had or that Ninoy Aquino’s
death was ―ordered‖ by the Cojuangcos.

 External criticism: is the practice of verifying the authenticity of the

evidence by examining its physical characteristics; consistency with

the historical characteristic of the time when it was produced; and the
materials used for the evidence.

 Internal criticism: is the examination of the truthfulness of the evidence. It

looks content of the source and examines the circumstances of

its production.


 The task of the historian is to look at the available historical sources and select the most relevant and
meaningful for history and for the subject matter that he is studying history.
 The task of the historian is to organize the past that is being created so that it can offer lessons for
nations, societies, and civilization.
 It is the historian’s job to seek for the meaning of recovering the past to let the people see the continuing
relevance of provenance, memory, remembering, and historical understanding for both and the future