Chapter 1 - Appreciating The Field of History: Ge 002 - Readings in Philippine History
Chapter 1 - Appreciating The Field of History: Ge 002 - Readings in Philippine History
In addition, both the traditional and modern concepts of history will be explored and
various key terms will be explained.
Objectives :
At the end of the chapter, the students should be able to:
1. Locate in time the birth of the discipline.
2. Appreciate the role of the historian/s.
3. Differentiate the various relevant terms such as social science, history,
historiography, and historical methodology.
4. Contrast and evaluate the traditional and modern concepts of history.
Where do these fields of discipline belong? Categorize each field either as NATURAL
SCIENCE or SOCIAL SCIENCE. (15 pts.)
2. Which field is not classifiable under any of the two categories? Expound using not more
than three (3) sentences.
Discussion:
History belongs to the field of Social Sciences. Likewise, Economics, Political Science,
Anthropology, Psychology and Sociology, among others, are also classified under the Social
Sciences.
Common to these fields of discipline is the fact that they focus on people, human
relationships, and the social dynamics at play. Henceforth, social science can be simply
defined as the scientific study of human society and social relationships.
History, as a field of discipline, is as old as mathematics and philosophy and has existed
for about 2,400 years.
History is often defined as “the study of the past”. There is some truth to it but essentially
it is an incomplete definition. Etymologically, history comes from the Greek word “historia”
which refers to “the knowledge acquired through inquiry or investigation”. Later, the term
“historia” was adapted to classical Latin and acquired a new definition. At this point, History
came to be known as “the account of the past of a person or a group of people through
written documents and historical evidences”.
Historians fulfill the essential task of interpreting what happened in the past. However,
they only get to access representations of the past through historical sources and evidences.
This brings to the fore the reality that the exact account of the past can never be fully recorded
but the historian, as much as possible, produces a record of events according to his
interpretation based from the available credible sources.
To put in proper perspective the accounts of the past, historiography offers the much
needed help to the historians. Historiography, simply put, is the “history of history”.
Historians, because they interpret the past, are confronted with issues of subjectivity.
Despite this, however, history itself is a scientific discipline because it employs the rigors of
research and methodology. What then is historical methodology?
Work with your group. Select and copy a headline story from any of the existing
Philippine daily broadsheets dated anywhere from 2012 to 2018. Discuss among yourselves
the headline and do a mini-historiography.
A. Work with your groupmates. Choose one secretary to list down the group’s answers. In
List down ten (10) Philippine historical events that you can recall. Do not edit your
thoughts, list down those that immediately came to your mind. (10 pts)
HISTORICAL EVENTS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
What theme is common among these events? In other words, what do these events
commonly highlight? Why do you think this js so?
Discussion
Whenever people are asked to cite a historical event, they usually mention wars,
pandemics, murders, heroes, kings, and all sorts of events worthy of a newspaper headline.
This is not surprising because until the early part of the twentieth century, historians were using
framework of the traditional concept of history.
As stated above, the traditional concept views history as “the account of the past of
a person or a group of people through written documents and historical evidences”.
A mantra is a phrase or slogan repeated frequently serving as the principle that guides
the behavior of those repeating it. Inevitably, traditional historians’ reliance on written
documents and historical evidences lead them to the mantra “no document, no history”. This
means that unless a written document can confirm a certain historical event, then it cannot
be considered as a historical fact.
First, it essentially nullifies the history of civilizations that leave no traces of written
records. In fact, some civilizations chose to rely heavily on oral traditions. Documents being
burned or destroyed poses another challenge.
Work with your group members and come up with the following output:
1. Mantra of a person who does not appreciate the Philippine History subject.
In other words, what do you think will be the slogan of a person who dislikes
Philippine History? Make a catchy one-slide powerpoint presentation for this. (10
pts.)
2. Except those already mentioned in the Preliminary Activity in Lesson 1, name one
(1) allied discipline of History and discuss how it helps History. Make a two-slide
powerpoint presentation for this. (20 pts).
3. As a group, come up with your own definition of the modern concept of history.
Make sure to use your own words. (20 pts)
References:
https://www.google.com/search
https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/
GE 002 – READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY
Historical sources help confirm and ascertain historical narratives. This chapter
explores the two (2) types of historical sources, namely the primary and secondary sources.
It also tackles other classifications such as relics or remains and testimonies along with the
concepts of artifacts, sociofacts, and mentifacts.
Objectives:
3. Examine and understand related concepts such as relics or remains, testimonies, artifacts,
sociofacts, and mentifacts.
Discussion
People commonly refer to “artifacts” as those tangible objects which prove the
existence of a certain story or narrative. Thus, the manunggul jar, the balanghay or a piece
of stone tool are popularly mentioned when we are asked to name artifacts.
Relics or remains present one variety of sources which offer clues about the past.
Further, they refer to anything that is made or modified by human hands. Testimonies are
another variety. They may be oral or written reports that describe an event. They provide
details on what took place, the location, the reason and how the event took place.
The first type of written testimonies refers to the narrative or “literary” sources.
They are which are written to narrate or impart information. The message given by these
sources may be real or fictional.
Narrative or “Literary” sources may take the form of scientific tracts, journals,
newspaper articles, and letters.
Ego documents such as memoirs and diaries are also examples of narrative or
literary
sources.
The second type of written testimonies refer to the diplomatic or judicial sources
such as court records, the Constitution, and contracts. These documents are especially
helpful as proofs of legal transactions and in settling judicial disputes.
The third type of written testimonies refer to social documents. These documents
have evolved due to rapid improvement in technology since the 19th century. They include
photographs, films, and recordings.
Remember that artifacts include relics or remains and testimonies. In this lesson, we
will
focus on artifacts as relics or remains. These relics/remains are anything made or modified
by
human hands. Examples include stone tools and crafts, jade fragments, bangka,
alibata/baybayin.
Artifacts, sociofacts and mentifacts influence each other. Sociofacts refer to the
structures and organizations of a culture which influence social behavior. As such, they
explain how people come together, for what purpose have they come together, and the
practices governing people’s behavior. Examples are manners, customs, rituals, ceremonies,
myths, and legends. They also include social structures such as families, tribes, schools,
church group, social classes, corporations, gang, neighborhood, sport teams, and the like.
Mentifacts, on the other hand, are those which influence our thinking such as needs,
values, and attitudes. In short, they represent what people think or believe.
Let mortar and pestle (also referred to as “almires”) be our chosen artifact. What
sociofacts are associated with this artifact? We can mention the following sociofacts:
(1) Always present during events and occasions
(2) Allowing others to borrow this kitchen tool strengthens ties among neighbors
Next, we ask “What mentifacts are associated with mortar and pestle (almires)?”
Our answers may include:
For example, if a historian wishes to study the covid 19 pandemic, he would utilize
the following primary sources: WHO meeting minutes, hospital and government records,
medical journals, interviews of recovered patients, and even photographs. Other common
examples are memorabilia, letters, archival documents, artifacts, census, and government
records.