Readings in Philippine History (GEED 002) Learning Activity No. 1 PDF

Readings in Philippine History (GEED 002) Learning Activity No. 1 Topic The meaning of history and its subject matter Sub-Topics 1. Meaning and relevance of history 2. Historiography and schools of historiography 3. Distinctio...

Readings in Philippine History (GEED 002) Learning Activity No. 1 Topic The meaning of history and its subject matter Sub-Topics 1. Meaning and relevance of history 2. Historiography and schools of historiography 3. Distinction of primary and secondary sources 4. External and internal criticism 5. Repositories of primary sources Learning At the end of the lesson, the students should be Objectives able to: 1. understand the meaning of history as an academic discipline; 2. analyze the questions and issues in history; 3. understand the underlying philosophy and methodology of the discipline; and 4. appreciate the relevance of history to their academic program and its importance in the social and national life of the Philippines. Introduction This lesson presents the meaning of history as an academic discipline and narrative. It also addresses several historical questions and issues concerning various perspectives and methodologies that guide historical research. Moreover, the lesson discusses different historical sources–primary, secondary, and tertiary–relative to the historical subject matter a historian studies. Finally, it explains how historians interpret or analyze various historical sources. This aims to avoid deception and come up with the historical truth. LECTURE: Definition and subject matter (Concepts and derived from the Greek word historia Perspectives) -- “Knowledge acquired through inquiry or investigation”  adapted to classical Latin where it acquired a new definition: -- the account of the past of a person or of a group of people through written documents and historical evidences the historian’s duty: -- to write about the lives of important individuals like monarchs, heroes, saints, and nobilities -- to write about wars, revolutions, and other important breakthroughs What counts as history? -- traditional historians: “no document, no history” history progressed and opened up to the possibility of valid historical sources -- not limited to written documents like government records, chroniclers’ accounts, personal letters restricting historical evidence exclusively written: -- a discrimination against other social classes who were not recorded on paper – peasant families or indigenous groups -- other civilizations did not keep written records -- historical documents burned or destroyed in the events of war or colonization other kinds of historical sources: oral traditions in forms of epics and songs, artifacts, architecture, and memory history collaborates with other disciplines as its auxiliary disciplines: anthropology, sociology, psychology, biology Questions and issues in history produced various perspectives on the discipline regarding different questions: -- What is history?  -- Why study history? -- History for whom? to answer these questions: -- History: the object of study is the past, the events that happened in the past, and the causes of such events -- Historiography: the object of study is history Itself; the history of history – How was a certain historical text written? – Who wrote it? – What was the context of its publication? – What particular historical method was employed? – What were the theoretical perspectives that guided the historian? – What were the sources used?  teaches students to be critical in the lessons of the history presented to them Schools of Historiography Positivism emerged between the eighteenth and nineteenth century requires empirical and observable evidence before one can claim that a particular knowledge is true: “no document, no history” positivist historians: expected to be objective and impartial not just in their arguments but also in their conduct of historical research Postcolonialism emerged in the early twentieth century formerly colonized nations: -- the idea of creating their identities and understanding their societies against the shadows of their colonial past  to tell the history of their nation highlighting their identity free from that of colonial discourse and knowledge to criticize the methods, effects, and idea of colonialism a reaction and an alternative to colonial history The Annales School of History born in France that challenged the canons of history did away with the common historical subject, the conduct of states and monarchs concerned with social history and studied longer historical periods history of peasantry, history of medicine, history of environment, history of mentalities history from below: people and classes Philippine historiography underwent several changes from the precolonial period until the present ancient Filipinos: narrated history through communal songs and epics Spanish colonizers: bipartite view Early nationalists: tripartite view Pantayong Pananaw introduced by a Filipino historian Zeus Salazar Pantayong pananaw – for us-from us perspective highlights the importance of facilitating an internal conversation and discourse among Filipinos using the language that is understood by everyone History as a narrative always intended for a certain group of audience always written from the bias of the powerful and the more dominant player Relevance of history  states use history to unite a nation a tool to legitimize regimes and forge a sense of collective identity through collective memory lessons from the past can be used to make sense of the present offers lessons for nations, societies, and civilization: learning of past mistakes can inspire people to keep their good practices to move forward History and the Historian An exact and accurate account of the past is impossible – we cannot go back to the past What historians only get to access -- representation of the past -- historical sources and pieces of evidence What historians do to historical facts -- give meaning to these facts -- organize them into a timeline -- establish cause and write history Historian – a person of his own -- influenced by his own context -- his environment, ideology, education, advocacy, gender, and influences -- his interpretation of historical facts: affected by his context and circumstances -- his subjectivity influences the process of his historical research History is always subjective. -- it’s impossible to come up with absolute historical truth Can history still be considered as an academic discipline and scientific inquiry? -- it remains scientific because of the rigor of research and methodology that historians employ  Historical methodology -- certain techniques and rules that historians follow -- to properly utilize sources and historical evidence in writing history -- conflicting accounts in different sources -- how to properly treat eyewitness accounts and oral sources as valid historical evidence -- comparing and corroborating oral accounts with written sources Historical sources Primary sources – produced at the same time as the event, period, or subject being studied -- government records, newspaper clippings, photographs of the event, census -- eyewitness accounts, memoirs, archival documents, artifacts, memorabilia, letters Secondary sources – produced by an author who used primary sources to produce the material -- Example: Teodoro Agoncillo’s Revolt of the Masses: The Story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan (Philippine Revolution happened in the last years of the 19th century while Agoncillo published his work in 1956 -- Agoncillo used primary sources with his research like documents of the Katipunan and interview with the veterans of the Revolution Tertiary sources – sources that identify and locate primary and secondary sources -- indexes, bibliographies, abstracts, encyclopedias, concordance, almanacs, travel guides, timelines, manuals -- available in multiple formats, some are online, others only in print The classification of sources depends on the historical subject being studied. Scrutinizing historical sources to avoid deception and to come up with the historical truth: External criticism – verifying the authenticity of evidence by examining its physical characteristics -- consistency with the historical characteristics of the time when it was produced -- the materials used for the evidence – the quality of the paper, the type of the ink -- the language and words used in the material Internal criticism – the examination of the truthfulness and factuality of the evidence -- content of the source and the circumstances of its production -- the author of the source, its context, the agenda behind its creation -- the knowledge which informed it and its intended purpose Example: Japanese reports and declarations during World War II - such reports can be manipulated to be used as war propaganda - the use of unverified, falsified, and untruthful historical sources can lead to equally false conclusions - without thorough criticisms of historical evidences, historical deceptions and lies will be highly probable The historian’s task to look for the available historical sources to select the most relevant and meaningful for the subject matter he is studying to organize the past that is being created so that it can offer lessons for nations and societies to seek the meaning of recovering the past to let the people see the continuing relevance of  provenance, memory, remembering, and historical understanding for both the present and the future history does not claim to render absolute and exact judgment the study of history can never be complete -- as long as questions are continuously asked -- as long as time unfolds Repositories of primary sources National Archives of the Philippines National Library of the Philippines National Historical Commission of the Philippines National Museum of the Philippines University of the Philippines, Main Library Ateneo de Manila University, American Historical Collection Ateneo de Manila University, Pardo de Tavera Library, and Archives Ateneo de Manila University, Rizal Library University of Santo Tomas, Miguel de Benavides Library De La Salle University, University Archives Ayala Museum and Filipinas Heritage Library Lopez Museum and Library Source: UCI Libraries, https://www.lib.uci.edu/tertiary-sources# Using auxiliary disciplines in the study of Philippine history Major Perspectives in Sociology and Anthropology: 1) Structural-Functionalism –society/culture is a complex system whose parts work together to promote stability and maintain harmony 2) Social/Cultural Conflict – society is characterized by inequality and conflict (rooted in different cultural values) that generate social change 3) Symbolic-interactionism – society is the product of everyday interactions of individuals; symbolic and interpretive anthropology analyzes how people give meaning to their reality and how this their cultural symbols express reality Anthropological Viewpoint 1) Cultural Relativism – evaluating a culture by its own standards 2) Ethnocentrism – judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture 3) Culture-specific – understanding the cultural context of institutions and organizations; behaviors specific to certain cultures Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills, 1959) seeing the life of an individual in society and society in the life of an individual Some excerpts: “Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both. Yet men do not usually define the troubles they endure in terms of historical change and institutional contradiction.” “… the quality of mind essential to grasp the interplay of man and society, of biography and history, of self and world.” “… the framework of modern society is sought, and within that framework the psychologies of a variety of men and women are formulated.” “By the fact of his living he contributes, however minutely, to the shaping of this society and to the course of its history, even as he is made by society and by its historical push and shove.”  the difference between "private troubles" and "public issues" or social problems -- some of the forms of private troubles also affect many other people – they have structural or large-scale sociological causes -- personal troubles that are also social issues – poverty, unemployment, war, racism, teenage pregnancy, abortion HISTORY researchgate.net History from Below - from the perspective of common people rather than leaders - an emphasis on the disenfranchised, the oppressed, the poor, and the nonconformists References:  Adams, M. (2011, July 12). Questioning the Inca paradox. https://slate.com/human-interest/2011/07/inca-paradox-maybe- the-pre-columbian-civilization-did-have-writing.html Candelaria, J. L. P., & Alphora, V. C. (2018). Readings in Philippine history (1st Ed.). Rex Book Store Inc. Cartwright, M. (2012, September 15). Inca civilization. https://www.worldhistory.org/Inca_Civilization/ Ivison, D. (2022, August 29). Postcolonialism: Historical period. https://www.britannica.com/topic/postcolonialism Jarrige, F. (2016, March 14). E. P. Thompson: A life of struggle. https://booksandideas.net/IMG/pdf/ept_eng.pdf McWebb, C., Lopez-Rocha, S., & Arevalo-Guerrero, E. (n.d.). Advancing intercultural competence for global learners. University of Waterloo. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/ interculturalcompetence/ Mills, C. W. (1959). The promise of the sociological imagination. https://columbia.learningu.org/download/c5b1b114203614 786bc32842e33dae4d/H87_Sociological-Imagination.pdf Munz, P. (1993). Philosophical Darwinism: On the origin of knowledge by means of natural selection. Routledge. Salazar, Z. A. (2000). Ang pantayong pananaw sa agham panlipunan: Historiograpiya. Nasa A. Navarro, M. J. Rodriguez, & V. Villan (Mga pat.), Pantayong pananaw: Ugat at kabuluhan, pambungad sa pag-aaral ng Bagong Kasaysayan (pp. 67-125). Palimbagan ng Lahi. Sociological perspectives on social problems. (2010). Social Problems: Continuity and Change. University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. https://open.lib.umn.edu/socialproblems /chapter/1-2-sociological-perspectives-on-social-problems/ Thompson, E. P. (1966). History from below. Times Literary Supplement, 279–80. Worthy, L., Lavigne, T., & Romero, F. (2020). Culture and psychology. Maricopa Community Colleges. https://open.maricopa.edu/ culturepsychology/front-matter/about-this-book/ Links In the Beginning: Humanizing History https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1nE7HSMu2E&t=1s Mga Pahina ng Kasaysayan  https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ligyc I-Witness: “Ang Lihim ng Lumang Tulay” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inp9JeC8DLE “Liberating Ourselves from the Past” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PhauiYLn9U General Choose ONLY ONE from (1) Task, (2) Supplementary Directions Task, and (3) Assessment. In writing a one-page paper, focus more on your reflective analysis and application of learnings in the future. You can write a one-paragraph summary for the salient points or background and context. Task Write a one-page discussion of three key things you learned in the lecture. Explain each and show its relevance to your social life. Supplementary From the links listed above, choose one and make a Task one-page discussion of its salient points and your thoughts about the content of the video material. Include in your paper its relevance to your academic program. Assessment Write a one-page discussion on why history can never be objective or why history always has a point of view. Do you subscribe to this idea? Include its relevance to your academic program. Paper  Font size: 12 Times New Roman Format  Line spacing: double-space (Do not add extra space before or after paragraphs.)  Margins: Use 1-inch. margins on every side of the page.  Paper size: 8.5X11 (Letter)  Align the text to the left margin.  Indent the first line of each paragraph of text 0.5 in. from the left margin.  Use a separate file for your answer. Note:  You may write your answer either in English or Filipino. Write your thoughts or insights in your own words. Avoid plagiarism. Rubrics for Reflection/reaction paper Assessment Background and context (20%) Reflective Analysis (35%) Effects on your thinking and actual application in the future (25%) Reflective conclusion (20%) Suggested Salazar, Z. A. (2015). Ang pantayong pananaw Bilang Readings diskursong pangkabihasnan. Daluyan: Journal ng and Wikang Filipino, no. 1. https://journals.upd.edu.ph/index.php/djwf/article/ References A Must- To understand more about the beginnings of the Watch Film history of the Filipinos, everyone must watch the NHCP (National Historical Commission of the Philippines) documentary titled "Ang Bangka sa Kuwento ng mga Pilipino" (The Boat in the Story of the Filipinos). For our next online class, it will be part of our discussion. You may click the link below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp7JiSUjekc