MODULE 1

CHAPTER I Introduction to History: Definition, Issues, Sources, and Method

Lesson 1 Definition and Subject Matter

Learning Objectives:

1. Define history;
2. Understand the meaning of history as an academic discipline and to be familiar with the
underlying philosophy and methodology of the discipline; and
3. Apply the knowledge in historical methodology and philosophy in assessing and analyzing
existing historical narratives.

Introduction

This lesson introduces history as a discipline and as a narrative. It presents the definition of the
history, which transcends the common definition of history as the study of the past. This lesson also
discusses several issues in history that consequently opens up for the theoretical aspects of the
discipline.

Abstraction

History was derived from the Greek word historia which means “knowledge acquired through
inquiry or investigation.” History as a discipline existed for around 2,400 years and is as old as
mathematics and philosophy. This term was then adapted to classical Latin where it acquired a new
definition. Historia became known as the account of the past of a person or of a group of people
through written documents and historical evidences. That meaning stuck until the early parts of the
twentieth century. History became an important academic discipline. It became the historian’s duty
to write about the lives of important individuals like monarchs, heroes, saints and nobilities. History
was also focused on writing about wars, revolution and other important breakthroughs. It is thus
important to ask: What counts as history? Traditional historians lived with the mantra of “ no
document, no history.” It means that unless a written document can prove a certain historical event,
then it cannot be considered as a historical fact.
But as any other academic disciplines, history progressed and opened up to the possibility of
valid historical sources, which were not limited to written documents, like government records,
chroniclers’ accounts, or personal letters. Giving premium to written documents essentially
invalidates the history of other civilizations that do not keep written records. Some were keener on
passing their history by word of mouth. Others got their documents burned or destroyed in the
events of war or colonization. Restricting historical evidence as exclusively written is also
discrimination against other social classes who were not recorded in paper. Nobilities, monarchs,
 the elite, and even the middle class would have their birth, education, marriage, and death as
matters of government and historical record. But what of peasant families or indigenous groups who
were not given much thought about being registered to government records? Does the absence of
written documents about them mean that they were people of no history or past? Did they even
exist?

This loophole was recognized by historians who started using other kinds of historical sources, which
may not be in written form but were just as valid. A few of these examples are oral traditions in forms of
epics and songs, artifacts, architecture, and memory.

 Questions and Issues in History

History as a discipline has already turned into a complex and dynamic inquiry. This dynamism
inevitably produced various perspectives on the discipline regarding different questions like: What
is history? Why study history? And history for whom? These questions can be answered by
historiography. In simple terms, historiography is the history of history. History and historiography
should not be confused with each other. The former’s object of study is the past, the events that
happened in the past, and the causes of such events. The latter’s object of study, on the other
hand, is history itself. 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 sources
used? Thus historiography lets the students have a better understanding of history, they do not only
get to learn historical facts, but they are also provided with the understanding of the facts’ and the
historian’s contexts. Historiography is important for someone who studies history because it
teaches the student to be critical in the lessons of history presented to him.
History has played various roles in the past. Lessons from the past can be used to make sense
of the present. Learning of past mistakes can help people to not repeat them. Being reminded of a
great past can inspire people to keep their good practices to move forward.
Positivism is the school of thought that emerged between the eighteenth and nineteenth century.
This thought requires empirical and observable evidence before one can claim that a particular
knowledge is true. In the discipline of history, the mantra “ no document, no history” stems from
this very same truth, where historians were required to show written primary documents in order to
write a particular historical narrative.
Post colonialism is a school of thought that emerged in the early twentieth century when formerly
colonized nations grappled with the idea of creating their identities and understanding their societies
against the shadows of their colonial past. Postcolonial history looks at two things in writing history:
first is to tell the history of their nation that will highlight their identity free from that of colonial
discourse and knowledge, and second is to criticize the methods, effects, and idea of colonialism.
Postcolonial history is therefore a reaction and an alternative to the colonial history that colonial
powers created and taught to their subjects.