Historical Method
and
Sources
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HISTORIOGRAPHY
• A method how historians draw conclusions from evidence.
• An instrument on how theories in historical research are illustrated.
• A process used on how history is communicated.
• The centrality of the narratives.
• The possibility of other modes of writing.
HISTORICAL INTERPRETATIONS
SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
 Accidentalist
Historicist
Structuralist
Annales School
Intentionalist
Marxist
CONCEPTION OF TIME
SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
ACCIDENTALIST
Subscribes to the idea that behind every historical event are accidents
which served as driving force. The focus is more on why the event
happened
HISTORICIST
Based on the objective study of primary sources. Believed that the
study of such sources would allow a reconstruction of history “wie es
eigentlich gewesen ist” – as it actually was.
SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
STRUCTURALIST
 Believes in the role of political and military structures in shaping
history. This school of historiography emphasize that historical events
happened due to the existing political and military structures.
ANNALES SCHOOL
Promoted a new form of history by studying the lives of ordinary
people and inquiries into climate, demography, agriculture, commerce,
technology, transportation, and communication, as well as social
groups and mentalities.
SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
INTENTIONALIST
This school recognizes the roles played by key individuals in
history as they were influenced by their intentions and personalities
thus, they acted on a particular circumstance which led to the unfolding
of history.
MARXIST
Economic forces are the main driving force in historical change. Karl
Marx relied heavily upon statistical data to show that exploitation and
class conflict drove history.
SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
HEGELIAN
Intellectual movements and the progress of ideas are the driving
force in historical change. Hegel viewed history as a relentless
advancement towards freedom. Studies of ideas such as the
Renaissance are often Hegelian in character.
POST MODERNIST
The Post Modernist subscribe to the belief that all interpretations of
history are valid. Foucault disputed that all sources are biased,
incomplete and language itself has no fixed meaning, therefore the past
cannot be known.
CONCEPTION OF TIME
Time is one of the central mechanisms which history has for
organizing information, and establishing how components of the past
are related to each other.
Helps to visualize historical period in comparison to different eras.
The progression of events from the past to the present into the future.
HISTORICAL METHOD
 Historians have to verify sources, to date them, locate their place of
origin and identify their intended functions.
 The process of critically examining and analyzing the records and
survivals of the past.
Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History
HISTORICAL CRITICISM
The evaluation of documents is known as HISTORICAL CRITICISM.
Aims:
1. Find out whether a document or idea is acceptable as authentic or
not.
2. Eliminate errors and to know the truth. In order for a source to be
used as evidence in history, basic matters about its form and content
must be settled.
 In order for a source to be used as evidence in history, basic matters
about its form and content must be settled
HISTORICAL CRITICISM
EXTERNAL CRITICISM
 The practice of verifying the authenticity of evidence by examining
its physical characteristics of the time when it was produced.
INTERNAL CRITICISM
 Examination of the truthfulness of the evidence.
It looks at the content of the source and examines the circumstance
of its production.
HISTORICAL CRITICISM
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
TEST OF AUTHENTICITY (EXTERNAL CRITICISM)
Determine the date of the document to see whether they are anachronistic
e.g. pencils did not exist before the 16th Century
Determine the author
e.g. handwriting, signature, seal
Anachronistic style
e.g. idiom, orthography, punctuation
Anachronistic reference to events
e.g. too early, too late, too remote
Provenance or custody
e.g. determines its genuineness
Semantics – determining the meaning of a text or word
Hermeneutics – determining ambiguities
HISTORICAL CRITICISM
TEST OF CREDIBILITY (INTERNAL CRITICISM)
1.
Identification of the author
e.g. to determine his reliability; mental processes, personal attitudes
2.
Determination of the approximate date
e.g. handwriting, signature, seal
3.
Ability to tell the truth
e.g. nearness to the event, competence of witness, degree of attention
4.
Willingness to tell the truth
e.g. to determine if the author consciously or unconsciously tells falsehoods
• 5. Corroboration
e.g. historical facts – particulars which rest upon the independent testimony of two or more
reliable witnesses
CHECKLIST OF EXTERNAL
CRITICISM
1. Who wrote the document?
2. For what purpose was the
document written?
3. When was the document
written?
4. Where was the document
written?
5. Under what conditions was the
document written?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
CHECKLIST OF INTERNAL
CRITICISM
Is the real meaning of the
statement different from its literal
meaning?
How did the author report?
What was the intention of the
author in reporting?
Are there inner contradiction in the
document?
Does the document contain bias
of any sort?
TOOLS OF HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP
SOURCES OF HISTORY
• Sources are objects from the past or testimony concerning the
past on which historians depend in order to create their own
depiction of that past.
- Howell and Prevenier, From Reliable Sources an Introduction to Historical Method
• Tangible remains of the past (Written Sources & Non Written Sources)
- Anthony Brundage, Going to Sources
SOURCES OF HISTORY
PRIMARY SOURCES
SECONDARY SOURCES
Describe, discuss, interpret, comment
Are contemporary accounts of an upon, analyze, evaluate, summarize,
event, written by someone who and process primary sources.
experienced or witnessed the event May have pictures, quotes or graphics
in question
of primary sources in them.
Examples
Four Main Categories of Primary
Sources
1. Written sources 3. Artifacts
2. Images
1. Biographical works 5. Commentaries
2. Magazine and News articles
3. Literature reviews
4. Oral Testimony 4. Textbooks
SOURCES OF HISTORY
WRITTEN SOURCES
1. Published materials
Books, magazines, journals,
Travelogue
Transcription of speech
2. Manuscript [any handwritten or
typed record that has not been
printed]
Archival materials
Memoirs, diary
NON WRITTEN SOURCES
Oral history
Artifacts *Ceramics, tools, metal
objects (coins, personal adornment)
Ruins
Fossils
Artworks
Media recordings *Audio and video
REPOSITORIES OF PRIMARY SOURCES
ARCHIVES
The documentary by-product of
human activity retained for their
long-term value. (What are
archives? 2020)
Records can come in a wide range
of formats including written,
photographic,
moving
image,
sound, digital and analogue
REPOSITORIES OF PRIMARY SOURCES
LIBRARY
A collection or group of collections of
books and/or other print or nonprint
materials organized and maintained
for use. (Definition of a Library:
General Definition, 2013)
REPOSITORIES OF PRIMARY SOURCES
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
An organization that seeks to
preserve and promote interest in
the history of a region, a period, or
a subject. (Historical society, 2021)
REPOSITORIES OF PRIMARY SOURCES
MUSEUM
A non-profit, permanent institution in
the service of society and its
development, open to the public,
which
acquires,
conserves,
researches,
communicates
and
exhibits the tangible and intangible
heritage of humanity and its
environment for the purposes of
education, study and enjoyment.
(Museum Definition - ICOM, 2021)
REPOSITORIES OF PRIMARY SOURCES
SPECIAL COLLECTION
Library and archival materials in any format
(e.g., rare books, manuscripts, photographs,
institutional archives) that are generally
characterized by their artifactual or monetary
value, physical format, uniqueness or rarity,
and/or an institutional commitment to longterm preservation and access. (King, 2018)
Items in the Special Collections are fragile,
rare, and valuable.
What are your learning
takeaways for today’s
discussion?
REFERENCES
1.
Briones, J.H. (2022) Readings in Philippine History. General Education Department. Bicol University.
2.
Analysis of Sources. (n.d.).
http://gcwk.ac.in/econtent_portal/ec/admin/contents/96_P18HSC310_2020111012315516.pdf
3.
Ayo Ruby. (2020). Historiography. General Education Department. Bicol University
4.
Candelaria, J. L. P., Alphora, V. C. and Kunting, A. (2021). A Course Module for Readings in Philippine History.
Quezon City, REX Printing Company, Inc.
5.
Identifying Primary and Secondary Resources. (2019). Sccollege.edu.
https://sccollege.edu/Library/Pages/primarysources.aspx
6.
King, V. (2018). Special Collections: What Are They and How Do We Build Them? International Journal of Legal
Information, 46(2), 89–92. https://doi.org/10.1017/jli.2018.12
7.
Definition of a Library: General Definition. (2013). https://libguides.ala.org/library-definition
8.
Historical society. (2021). https://dictionary.archivists.org/entry/historical-society.html
9.
Orillos-Juan, Ma. F. (n.d.). Historical Method, Historical Sources, Historical Criticism. Department of History. De la
Salle University.
10. Research Committee, Academy of Accounting Historians (1980) Report on basic historical method. Accounting
Historians Notebook: 3 (2) , Article 1. Available at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aah_notebook/vol3/iss2/1
11. What are archives? (2020). https://www.ica.org/en/what-archive