The Making of Filipino Kasaysayan: THINKING HISTORICALLY

The Making of Filipino Kasaysayan

THINKING HISTORICALLY
Basic Concepts, Methods, and Perspectives
📌 RD Enriquez – GEC2 Lecture

What is History?

• Everything that happened in the past

• An account of the past

Concepts Associated with History

• Change

• Continuity

• Multiple Causation

• Significance

• Sources

• Evidence

• Framework

• Context

Historiography: The Writing of History

• Methods

• Perspectives

Filipino Historiography: History vs. Kasaysayan

History in Different Languages

• Latin: Historia

• Spanish: Historia

• French: Histoire

Traditional (Western-Centric) Historiography

🔹 “No document, no history” → Positivist Approach
🔹 Focuses on written records as the only valid historical source
🔹 Western-centric (Pansilang Pananaw)
🔹 Official narratives → View from above

Key Characteristics

✔ Emphasizes chronology, documentation, and objectivity
✔ Limits history to written and official records

Kasaysayan: A Filipino-Centered Approach

🔹 Rooted in the Filipino language
🔹 Related Terms:

• Salaysay – narrative, account

• Kwento – story

• Paglalahad – explanation

• Pagsisiwalat – disclosure

• Naratibo – narrative

🔹 Saysay (Meaning/Significance):

• Kuwenta – relevance

• Kabuluhan – significance

• Halaga – value

• Katuturan – importance

🔹 Interpretative Approach → New History

• Accepts various historical sources beyond documents

• Recognizes oral traditions, material artifacts, and cultural symbols as valid historical sources

🔹 Pro-Filipino Perspective:

• Pantayong Pananaw – history from the perspective of Filipinos for Filipinos

• Vernacular memory – focuses on the narratives of ordinary people

• View from below – history told from the perspective of marginalized groups

Shared Characteristics of Both Perspectives

📌 Both traditional history and kasaysayan share fundamental elements:

• Past (Nakaraan) – What happened

• Story (Salaysay) – How events are told

• People (Tao – Aktor/Karakter) – The role of individuals in history

• Context (Konteksto – Lunan at Panahon) – Time and place of events

• Society & Culture (Lipunan at Kultura) – The broader social and cultural influences

Key Concepts in Historiography

📌 Batis (Sources): Historical evidence used to reconstruct the past
📌 Pananaw/Perspektiba (Perspective): The lens through which history is interpreted

Filipino Historiography: History vs. Kasaysayan

A Nationalist Filipino Historiography

• Perspective: Pantayong Pananaw

• Method: Bagong Kasaysayan

• Direction: Kasaysayang Bayan

• Outline: Tripartite View of Philippine History

Historical Sources

Primary Sources

📌 Materials from the actual period, produced by actors, participants, or direct witnesses

Examples:

• Photographs – social conditions, realities, everyday life

• Old sketches and drawings

• Old maps – space usage, geography, routes, structure development

• Cartoons – political expression, propaganda

• Material evidence – cave drawings, ancient writings

• Statistical tables, graphs, charts

• Oral history – recorded accounts

• Published & unpublished primary documents – eyewitness accounts, written records

Secondary Sources

📌 Works that interpret, analyze, or summarize primary sources

Examples:

• Thesis / Dissertation

• Journal Articles

• Conference Papers

• Technical Reports

• Analytical Reviews

• Narrative Reports

Historical Method: Source Criticism

• External Criticism – Tests the authenticity of sources

• Internal Criticism – Tests the historical reliability of sources

Source Analysis

📌 Evaluating sources using context and content analysis

Context Analysis

• Time (Temporal)

• Place (Spatial)

• Situation (Mainstream/Norms)

• Historical Context:

  • Background of the source

  • Role in the event

  • Intent for writing

  • Authority on the subject

• Author’s Relevance & Meaning

Content Analysis

• Identifying main points, arguments, or thesis statements

• Evaluating the author’s claims based on evidence

• Corroborating with other sources

• Comparing perspectives and identifying biases

Historical Thinking: Set of Skills

• Chronological Thinking

• Historical Comprehension

• Historical Analysis & Interpretation

• Historical Research Capabilities

• Understanding Historical Issues

Essential Takeaways

✔ There is no single understanding of truth in history.
✔ History consists of competing and sometimes conflicting arguments and viewpoints, constantly evolving.
✔ Primary sources offer firsthand perspectives of historical events.
✔ Kasaysayan differs from traditional history by focusing on sense-making from a pro-Filipino perspective.