Module in Readings in Philippine History (GEC 105)
History Department, MSU-GSC
CHAPTER 1 – WEEK 1
MEANINGS AND CONCEPTS OF HISTORY
Lessons 1.1. to 1.3
Timeframe: 3 hours
🖋Objectives: At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Define History as a discipline.
Identify the different Concepts of History
Discuss the relevance of studying History.
Explain what Pantayong Pananaw (From Us - To Us Perspective) is.
⌛ Overview
History is the study of life in society in the past, in all its aspects, and contemporary developments
and future hopes. It is the story of the man in time, an inquiry into the past based on evidence. History
investigates what happened in the past, how it happened, and analyzes the inevitable changes in human
actions and how these changes affect or influence society's present life patterns.
History also aims to help students understand the currently existing political, economic, and sociocultural conditions. Without knowledge and concern of the past, you cannot trace the relevance of doing
and observing cultures, traditions, customs, and others. Thus, History helps us to understand the presentday problems objectively.
This unit introduces the students to how history developed as a discipline, its meaning, nature, and
relevance in the 21st century. Further, the students will be guided with the essential Concepts of History
when analyzing historical evidence. Lastly, the students will be exposed to Pantayong Pananaw (From Us
- To Us Perspective). This is a Filipino perspective developed by Dr. Zeus Salazar when studying and
writing one’s historical narrative.
⌛Activity: Anticipation Guide
Read each statement below. These statements were selected quotes about History, as uttered by
famous Filipino historians, world leaders, and other figures.
In the table shown, respond whether you agree (A) or disagree (D) with each statement in the left
column.
Before Reading
Agree or Disagree
Statement
1. History is written by the victors (Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of UK, 19411945).
2. We are not makers of History. We are made by History (Martin Luther King, Jr.,
an African American minister, and activist, 1955-1968).
3. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it (George
Santayana, Spanish essayist, poet, and novelist).
4. History is a living, lively account of what we were and are; its recent and past
events. If all of that makes us understand humanity, so does History makes us
understand ourselves and our country definitely better, in the context of our
culture and our society (Ambeth Ocampo, Filipino historian).
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Module in Readings in Philippine History (GEC 105)
History Department, MSU-GSC
5. Tsismis noon, kasaysayan ngayon (Lourd de Veyra, Filipino musician, journalist,
TV host, broadcast personality).
Analysis
Based on the exercise above, reflect on the following questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
In your understanding, how would you define History?
What is the nature of History?
What are the essential “concepts” when studying History?
Is History a relevant academic discipline? Why?
How should we write our nation’s history?

To further understand the discipline of History, the following will be the assigned readings that the
student must be able to analyze, namely:
a.
Carr, Edward. 1962. “Chapter 1. The Historian and His Facts” in What is History? 6-30. New York:
Knopf.
b.
“The Historian’s Toolkit.” nd. Oxford Big Ideas. Accessed on August 3, 2018.
https://www/oup.com.au
c.
Constantino, Renato. 1975. “Towards a People’s History” in A Past Revisited, 3-11. Quezon City:
Tala Publishing Services.
d.
Salazar, Zeus. 2012. “Pantayong Pananaw: Bilang Diskursong Kabihasnan”. Accessed on August
4, 2018. www.bagongkasaysayan.org
⌛ Points to Remember: In analyzing the assigned reading materials, analyze the author’s background/biography
and his main arguments, identify biases, and examine the evidence or materials used to present his work.
Abstraction
Lesson 1.1. What is History?
A sense of the past is a light that illuminates the present and directs attention toward future
possibilities. Without adequate knowledge of History, today’s events are disconnected occurrences.
The origin of the word History is associated with the Greek word ‘Historia,’ which means “inquiry,
knowledge acquired by investigation.” In Ancient Greek Civilization, some early historians recorded
important events of their time. Famous among them were Herodotus and Thucydides.
Herodotus (c. 484-425/413 BCE) was a Greek writer and geographer credited with being the first
historian. His first grand narrative, Histories, is considered the founding work of history in Western literature,
which marked him as the “Father of History.” It records ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes
of various cultures known in Western Asia, Northern Africa, and Greece. It stands as one of the first
accounts of the Persian Empire's rise, events, and causes from the Greco-Persian Wars. In contrast with
Herodotus' “Histories” that jump around chronologically, Thucydides’ “History of the Peloponnesian War”
set a standard scope, concision, and accuracy that defines the text of the historical genre. His work is about
a historical account of the Peloponnesian War, a conflict between the Peloponnesian League (led by
Sparta) and the Delian League (led by Athens).
During the Enlightenment Period in the 18th century, History was being studied as a unique form of
thought. History is considered a scientific research or inquiry, trying to discover what man does not know.
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Module in Readings in Philippine History (GEC 105)
History Department, MSU-GSC
The historians showcased this inquiry through the correct interpretation of evidence. In investigating the
evidence, which serves as the backbone of historical fact, historians use it to answer its questions.
The term history is not only complex but quite encompassing to elicit an agreed definition. In its
broadest definition, History is the study of past events. It generally presents the known past. Others look
at History as a dynamic discipline, making it difficult for historians to agree upon one definition. To some,
History is “man-his-story”; hence, it is the story of man’s efforts to satisfy his/her craving for an orderly social
life and hope for beauty and knowledge.
History is a means to understand the past and the present. The different interpretations of the past
allow us the see the present differently and, therefore, imagine – and work towards – different futures.
History is often said to be the “Queen” or “Mother” of all social sciences since it is the basis of all subjects
of study, which fall under the Humanities and Social Sciences category. It is also the basis of the study of
philosophy, economics, politics, and even art and religion (Talekau, Nayakm Harichandan n.d., 2)
Edward Carr’s “Historian and His Facts” in What is History (1962)
(Refer to Compilation of Readings for his biography and full text of the article.)
Through analyzing a chapter of the seminal book What is History (1962) by Edward Carr, “The
Historian and His Facts,” we will understand more about History. Edward Hallett Carr (1892-1982) was both
an international historian and a philosopher of history. What is History discussed a variety of issues ranging
from the importance of facts, relation of History to morality, clarification on the quite antithesis between
individual and society to moral or value judgments in History.
In this article, he emphasized the role of historians to give meaning to facts and events. The theme
of the article focuses on the symbiotic relationship between the historian and his facts. Thence, one
ceases to be meaningful without the other.
He also established the viewpoint that historians belong to a particular period, and society will
undoubtedly influence the problems in the past they choose to comment upon and on the selection they
seek. As he related:
“When we attempt to answer the question ‘What is history?’, our answer, consciously or
unconsciously, reflects our own position in time and forms part of our answer to the broader
question what view we take of the society in which we live” (Carr 1962, 8).
Also, he tried to attack the traditional historical methods and practices by presenting
historiographical principles rejecting these methods and practices (paradigm shift). The 19th historians
(traditional) gave much focus to facts. As he mentioned: “…the task of the historian was simply to show
how it really was (wie es eigentlich gewesen) this not very profound aphorism had an astonishing success
(Carr 1962, 9). In the 1830s, there were even legitimate protests against moralizing history and limited the
historian's tasks to show how it was. The Positivists claimed History to be a science and again stressed the
importance of facts. They had a view first of ascertaining facts and then concluding them. Since there is
also this difficulty, not all past facts are not being ‘historical facts,’ and the historians are not treating them
as such.
So, what is a historical fact? As what Carr (1962) defined, it refers to:
1. The backbone of History, which refers to as a commonsense view, and sometimes rely on
the interpretation from the auxiliary sciences of History; and
2. A historian's priori decision, i.e., the historian, necessarily becomes selective of his
gathered facts (10-11).
He depicted that the facts are not at all like fish on the fishmonger’s slab. They are all like fish
swimming about in a vast and sometimes inaccessible ocean; and what the historian catches will depend,
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Module in Readings in Philippine History (GEC 105)
History Department, MSU-GSC
partly on chance, but mainly on what part of the ocean he chooses to fish in and what tackle he chooses to
use—these two factors being, of course, determined by the kind of fish he wants to catch. By and large, the
historian will get the kind of facts he wants.
He advised that there should be a need to observe how to critique if the facts are historical facts.
He pointed out three points to ponder:
1. … study the historian before you begin to study the facts
2. … have an imaginative mind, to understand the minds of the people with whom he is
dealing
3. … possible to study History through the limelight of the present (22-25).
Put merely, Carr recommended that a particular historian, as a researcher, must seek to bring into
the picture all known or knowable facts relevant, in one sense or another, to the theme in which he is
engaged and to the interpretation proposed.
Lastly, at the end section of the chapter, Carr proposed a new definition of History: “History is a
continuous process between the historian and his facts, an unending dialogue between the present
and the past (30).”
Nature of History
(Source: Talekau, Nayakm Harichandan n.d., 3-4)
1. A study of the present in light of the past. The present has evolved out of the past. Modern History
enables us to understand how society has come to its present form to intelligently interpret the sequence
of events. The causal relationships between the selected happenings have been unearthed, which help
reveal the nature of happenings and the framing of general laws.
2. History is the study of man. History deals with man’s struggle through the ages. History is not
static. We understand the sweep of events by selecting “innumerable biographies” and presenting their
lives in the appropriate social context and the human context's ideas. It traces the fascinating story of how
man has developed through the ages, studied to use and control his environment, and how the present
institutions have grown out of the past.
3. History is concerned with man in time. It deals with a series of events, and each event occurs at a
given point in time. Human history is the process of human development in time. It is time that affords a
perspective to events and lends a charm that brightens up the past.
4. History is concerned with man in space. The interaction of man in the environment and vice versa
is a dynamic one. History describes nations and human activities in the context of their physical and
geographical environment. Out of this arises the different political, social, economic, and cultural spheres
of man’s activities and achievements.
5. Objective record of happenings. Every precaution is taken to base the data on sources and make
them free from subjective interpretation. It helps in a clear understanding of the past and enables us to
make well-informed decisions.
6. Multisided. All aspects of a social group's life are closely interrelated, and historical happenings
cover all these aspects of life, not limited only to the political aspect that had so long dominated History.
7. History is a dialogue between the events of the past and progressively emerging future ends. The
historian’s interpretation of the past, his selection of the significant and the relevant events, evolves with
the progressive emergence of new goals. The general laws regulating historical happenings may not be
considered enough; attempts must be made to predict future events based on the laws.
8. Not only narration but also analysis. The selected happenings are not merely narrated; the causal
relationships between them are properly unearthed. The tracing of these relationships leads to the
development of general laws that are also compared and contrasted with similar happenings in other social
groups to improve these laws' reliability and validity.
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Module in Readings in Philippine History (GEC 105)
History Department, MSU-GSC
9. Continuity and coherence are the necessary requisites of History. History carries the burden of
human progress as it is passed down from generation to generation, from society to society, justifying the
essence of continuity.
10. Relevant. In the study of History, only those events are included, which are relevant to
understanding the present life.
11. Comprehensiveness. According to the modern concept, History is not confined to one period or
country, or nation. It also deals with all aspects of human life-political, social, economic, religious, literary,
aesthetic, and physical, giving a clear sense of world unity
Lesson 1.2. Concepts of History
Historian
A historian is an expert who studies and writes about the past. With the help of allied disciplines
like archaeology, the historian can describe the pre-historical events in the past, i.e., before the invention
of the system of writing.
Moreover, a historian follows continuous, methodical narrative research to understand the past.
This methodical analysis of the sources (historical criticism) and synthesis of the materials being interpreted
is known in the field as a historical method. The historian asks questions, forms, opinions, and theories,
locates and analyzes sources, and uses evidence to develop an informed explanation of the past.
Historical criticism is a diagnostic device or cross-examination to test the reliability and credibility
of a piece of evidence. It has two levels: external and internal. External (lower) criticism checks the
reliability or veracity (correctness) of the source or evidence by evaluating its author's background, the title
of the evidence, the date and place of publication, and so on. On the higher level, Internal criticism judges
credibility or validity (trustworthiness) by attributing a moral value to the piece of evidence or source.
After this step, the historian proceeds to the shifting, grouping, arrangement, generalization, and
organization of the facts gathered to form a connected and related knowledge. As a standard form, these
facts are presented in a logical, narrative form. This step is called the Synthesis (Reporting).
Moreover, historians are interested in all aspects of the past and seek to piece together accurate
pictures of what life was like. They also look for patterns – what has remained the same, what has changed
and why.
Concepts of Historical Understanding (Refer to Compilation of Readings for full text.)
As historians investigate past events, it is a must to learn and apply historical concepts and skills.
These concepts are a historian’s ‘tool of the trade.’ As you learn to use each concept, you will begin to think
like a historian.
In the diagram below, it summarizes the essential points within concepts of History:
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Module in Readings in Philippine History (GEC 105)
History Department, MSU-GSC
6
Module in Readings in Philippine History (GEC 105)
History Department, MSU-GSC
Figure 1. Concepts of History.
Lesson 1.3. History from Filipino People Point of View
Constantino, Renato. 1975. “Towards a People’s History” in A Past Revisited, 3-11. Quezon City: Tala
a. Publishing Services.
Salazar, Zeus. 2012. “Pantayong Pananaw: Bilang Diskursong Kabihasnan”. Accessed on August 4, 2018.
www.bagongkasaysayan.org
(Refer to Compilation of Readings for their biography and full text of the articles.)
History is one of the most effective weapons of a once-colonized nation in the struggle to achieve
real independence. Conversely, History can also be used to carry on methods of subservience and
dependence on former colonizers. In the Philippines, Filipinos began to use History as an essential
representation of an independent country. However, this has not been easy to begin writing the nation’s
history. The History of the Philippines as a nation is the story of its rise, development, and outcome. It
explains the present and guides the way to the future. History is not meant to be mechanically memorized
and later be forgotten. Nevertheless, it should be used to derive valuable insights and perspectives on what
we are and what we want to be.
In the Philippines, we can divide that there were three stages of how its history has been written:
I. Our image of ourselves and our past was shaped mainly by the colonizers' writings, disregarding
the sufferings of their colonies.
II.
Filipino historians consciously set themselves the task of writing from the Filipino point
of view. Their work emphasized the role Filipinos played in their History, described the abuses perpetrated
by the Spaniards, and presented Filipino responses to all colonizers with respect and admiration. However,
there were scant analyses of the American colonization. Overall, in many instances, this is the point of view
of the Filipino elite.
(Ladino⌛ Secular Priests⌛ Ilustrado⌛ Pensionado⌛ Fulbright/Mombusho Scholar⌛ Intellectuals)
(Salazar 2012, 4-15).
III. The writing of the nation’s history from the point of view of the Filipino people. It means it should
be judged in terms of whether they advanced the Filipino masses' interests (democratic participation and a
better life for all). A people’s History will help significantly eradicate our colonial mentality, the tendency
to accept western ideas and products as inherently superior, and failure to pinpoint national interest apart
from those of former colonizers. With the writing of History following Filipinos point of view, it will make the
citizens more nationalistic, more wary of their former colonizers, more zealous in safeguarding the country’s
resources for the people, and more determined to attain the sovereignty of their political and economic life.
A more significant aspect of History is that it is not just a story. It carries a valuable meaning. Perhaps
the best way to illustrate this is by discussing the Filipino word for History, which is kasaysayan.
Kasaysayan has a deeper meaning; its root word saysay means “sense” or “meaning.” It also means
importance or purpose. The things that have no importance or meaning are valueless or walang saysay.
With the addition of the suffix yan, saysayan now means the act of conveying words of importance or sense.
This is told through a narrative or story (kasaysayan). With the addition of the prefix ka, saysayan now jas
a new meaning. “Ka” has a significant connotation. It implies a connection of interaction or relationship,
being a part of something, or doing something together. Hence, in kasaysayan, people share important
narratives, sharing similar or opposite views (De Viana 2011, xi).
To wit, Zeus Salazar, UP Professor, introduced Pantayong Pananaw to appreciate further the value
of writing our nation’s history following the Filipino perspective. He defined that:
“Pantayong Pananaw ay nasa panloob na pagkakaugnay-ugnay ng mga katangian,
halagahin, kaalaman, karunungan, hangarin, kaugalian, pag-aasal, at karanasan ng isang
kabuuang pangkalinangan – kabuuang nababalot sa, at ipinapahayag sa pamamagaitan
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Module in Readings in Philippine History (GEC 105)
History Department, MSU-GSC
ng isang wika, ibig sabihinm sa loob ng isang nagsasariling talastasan/diskursong
pangkalinangan o pangkabihasnan (2012, 2).
The most essential characteristic of Pantayong Pananaw is that the historical narrative (story)
should be written in Filipino or local language: “ang pinakamahalagang katangian nito ang pagkasulat sa
wikang Filipino na madaling maunawaan ng taumbayan. Ang paksa ay umiikot sa relasyon ng mga bumuo
ng bayan – and mga Muslim, Indio at iba pang mga nasa kabundukan.
Table 1 below summarizes the important key points on how to distinguish the different perspectives
in writing the history of the Filipinos:
Pangkaming Pananaw
(From Us – For You)
Pansilang Pananaw
Pangkayong Pananaw
▪
Written by the Filipinos in
English
▪ Written by foreigners in
English
▪ Written by foreigners in
English
▪ Written by Filipinos
Filipino/katutubong salita
▪
▪ POV of the foreigners
▪ POV of foreigners
POV of Filipino writers
▪ Meant to be read by
foreigners to understand our
History (part/in relation) to
their History
▪ What is produced when
texts by foreigners about our
History
POV of Filipino writers
▪
It meant to be read by
foreigners to understand our
History in our POV
▪
Used to correct or argue
against false accusations
written by foreigners
▪ Meant
Filipinos
to
be
read
Pantayong Pananaw
(From Us – For Us)
by
▪ Meant
Filipinos
to
be
read
in
by
▪ Revolves around the use of
Filipino concepts in order to
explain other Filipino concepts
▪
Example writers:
ilustrados (the elite Filipino
youth)
Table 1. Tripartite Perspectives
Similarly, Renato Constantino believed that there was indeed a need to write the Philippines'
History as an independent nation. According to him: “Philippine History is a people’s history. It is a recorded
struggle of people for ever-increasing freedom and newer and realization of the human person (1975)”.
In the article “Towards a People’s History,” Constantino views History as a means of liberation for
the Filipino people. He proposes to reexamine the historical record and seek the unifying thread, which
gives meaning to the Filipino people's national evolution. This thread refers to the “Filipino resistance to the
colonial oppression” (1975, 9) and the struggles of the Filipino people of the masses. In his seminal works,
he emphasized the Filipino masses’ role in making History, i.e., it should be written from their perspective,
not the colonizer’s nor the vacillating (indecisive) elites.
Important Keywords:
History refers to the discipline of dealing with past events.
Historical method is the technique and process by which historians use to study historical
evidence. It consists of historical criticisms (lower and higher level) and synthesis of the narrative.
Concepts of History plays a fundamental role in analyzing facts from historical evidence. In the
discipline of history, there are seven concepts, namely: change and continuity, cause and effect,
sources, significance, perspectives, empathy, and contestability.
Pantayong Pananaw (The “From Us-To Us” Perspective) refers to the concept developed by
Dr. Zeus Salazar. He encouraged to employ this framework when to write a historical narrative of
the nation or a community, representing the ‘indigenized’ and localized perspective of the local
people, using the Filipino language or native language.
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Module in Readings in Philippine History (GEC 105)
History Department, MSU-GSC
⌛ Application/Assessment:
1.
Likert Scale. Review your answers in the earlier activity. Write whether you still agree or not
anymore in the third column (After Reading) and justify your response.
Before Reading
Agree or Disagree
Statement
After Reading
Agree or
Disagree
Justification
1. History is written by the victors (Winston
Churchill, Prime Minister of UK, 1941-1945).
2. We are not makers of History. We are made
by History (Martin Luther King, Jr., African
American minister, and activist, 1955-1968)
3. Those who cannot remember the past are
condemned to repeat it (George Santayana,
Spanish essayist, poet, and novelist)
4. History is a living and lively account of what
we were and are; its recent and past events. If
all of that makes us understand humanity, so
does History make us understand ourselves,
and our country definitely better, in the context
of our culture and our society (Ambeth Ocampo,
Filipino historian)
5. Tsismis noon, kasaysayan ngayon (Lourd de
Veyra, Filipino musician, journalist, TV host,
broadcast personality)
2.
Answer Activity 1 in the Compilation of Readings.
Assignment
Read in advance the article “Kalantiaw: The Code That Never Was” by Scott, William. Refer to
your Compilation of Readings.
References
“The Historian’s Toolkit.” nd. Oxford Big Ideas. Accessed on August 3, 2018. https://www/oup.com.au
Carr, Edward. 1962. “Chapter 1. The Historian and His Facts” in What is History? 6-30. New York: Knopf.
Constantino, Renato. 1975. “Towards a People’s History” in A Past Revisited, 3-11. Quezon City: Tala
Publishing Services.
Salazar, Zeus. 2012. “Pantayong Pananaw: Bilang Diskursong Kabihasnan”. Accessed on August 4, 2018.
www.bagongkasaysayan.org
Talekau, P. Nayak, J., and Harichandan, S. n.d. “Nature of History.” History. Accessed on August 8, 2020.
https://ddceutkal.ac.in
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