LESSON 1 MEANING OF HISTORY -During Ancient Greek Historians HERODOTUS.

He
is recognized as the FATHER OF HISTORY because
Positivism – The Philosophy that a particular he was the one who established History as a
knowledge can only be true if it can be observed in science. His purpose in writing his work Histories
a sensorial manner. was to describe the deeds of men in the past for
Historiography – The study of history as a posterity or future use. First approached recording
historical discipline. the past with a “humanistic”.
Historicism – The belief that history should be -His successor was THUCYDIDES, another Greek
studied only for its own sake. historian whose magnum opus was the History of
HISTORY “Peloponnesian War.” He was known as the
-Was derived from the Greek word “historia” , FATHER OF SCIENTIFIC HISTORY.First highlighted
which means knowledge acquired through inquiry the importance of the “systematic and impartial
or investigation. collection of evidence as an essential prerequisite
-Existed for around 2,400 years and is as old as in writing history”. The reliable sources of history
mathematics and philosophy. were testimonies of eyewitnesses. In his HISTORY
-This term was then adopted to classical Latin, OF PELOPONNESIAN WAR, his method was what
where it acquired a new definition. modern historians would call oral history.
- Historia became known as the account of the past
of a person or a group of people through written Sectors whose past will figure history are those
documents and historical evidence. who were in the higher level of the social ladder
 that include:
HISTORY can refer two things: -Monarchs -Scholars
1. First, history relates to everything that had -Military -Clergymen
happened in the past; -Heroes -Nobilities
2. Second refers to a kind or inquiry.History is a -Saints
discipline or a field of study and investigation that
is primarily concerned with human activities done Historical Importance
in the past. -Revolutions -Conquest
-Wars -Crusades
This meaning can be broken down into three
dimensions: -With accumulation of historical records and the
1. Focus on human activities. This focus makes it gradual expansion of the Western civilization
different from theology, myths or legends. caused by the rise of powerful empires like
2. Field of inquiry, generally falls in the sciences, ROMAN EMPIRE, World History would emerge. It
particularly to the social sciences, because history would serve as the record of many different
seeks to answer questions. The quest for these civilizations, nations and societies. Such would be
answers should be done through a systematic and written to serve various purposes and would be
methodical collection of data and evidence. defined in different ways.
Interpreted by the historian to arrive at rational -By the 19th Century a particular school of thought
findings and conclusions. would emerge and dominate various scientific
3. Concerned in the past. Historians seek to explain disciplines for many generations:
past events and processes against a particular
historical background or context. POSITIVISM- it asserts that real knowledge lies in
Examples: the actual observation of facts. In history,
Why was Jose Rizal executed? positivism created the mantra of “no document, no
Why did Japan invade the Philippine during World history”.
War II? Historiography- is essential for anyone who studies
Why was Ferdinand Marcos overthrown in 1986? history because it teaches students to be critical
-In short history is storytelling, but more with history lessons presented to them.
importantly, it seeks to explain and answer -Herodotus and other historians- the ancient
questions about the past. world wrote history so people can have something
to look back on as reference should be faced with -Japanese Occupation (1941-1946)
similar challenges in the present and the future. -Philippine Self Rule (1946-present)
-Herodotus and Thucydides- envisioned that the
future generation, equipped with the lessons of Lesson Summary
past human actions, would be more able and -History is the study of human activities in the past.
empowered to control their destiny. This definition makes history a unique discipline.
In the Medieval Period- when Christianity and the -The meaning and characteristics of history
Church became the most powerful institution, changed from the ancient period to the present.
history ceased to be record of man’s deeds. It These changes were dependent on the purposes
started to be a record of how man became that history served.
instrumental in the fulfillment of the divine plan. -History is a scientific discipline that relies on
Historicism- is the intellectual movement, their different
view, assigning a pragmatic reason for the study of sources.
the past. Like political training and historical -Several issues revolve around the meaning and
analysis of social problems. function of history as a discipline. These issues
Leopold Von Ranke- the leading positivist historian relate to different aspects of the discipline, such as
of the 19th century. He argued that the task of the meaning, method and use.
historian is neither to guard certain values nor to
judge certain pasts. He popularly declared that the LESSON 2 HISTORY AND THE HISTORIAN
aim of history is “merely to show how things • Historian - Primary responsible for the
actually were” . production of historical knowledge through
Ancient Greek- notion that history can provide continuous research and rethinking of history.
humanity with lessons from the past to have better • Historical Interpretation - Making sense of given
control of their destiny is also true. History can primary sources and historical documents through
help us control not just our future, but also our content and contextual analyses.
present situation. • Bias/Subjectivity - A disposition brought
R.G. Coolingwood- a British historian says the together by one's context that influences a
“Knowing yourself means knowing what you can historian's historical interest and selection of
do; and since nobody knows what he can do until sources and methodology.
he tries, the only clue to what man can do is what
man has done. The value of history, then is that it HISTORY AND THE HISTORIAN
teaches us what man has done and thus what man Who qualifies as a Historian?
is. -For most people, history is something that is
taught and studied in schools; thus, teachers are
”Why is Philippine History important today? commonly regarded as "experts" of history. As
Because history serves as a guide of every Filipino mentioned in the previous lesson, history started
for present and future plans. Strengthens our growing as an established academic discipline since
sense of nationalism. Therefore, as part of this the 19th century. This growth was accompanied by
country, we must know our root, and be proud of the professionalization of the discipline and with
our nationality. more people taking up the study of history as a
What is the essence of studying Reading in full-time career.
Philippine History? HISTORIANS- is someone who continuously
Through history, we can learn how past societies, pursues historical knowledge. History, as the study
systems, ideologies, governments, cultures, and of the past based on existing pieces of historical
technologies were built, how they operated, and evidence, is a dynamic and continually evolving
how they have changed trough times. The rich discipline.
history of the world helps us to paint a detailed
picture of where we stand today. TASKS OF HISTORIANS
• This tasks is not easy. Because historians are
Four Major Events of Philippine History needed to examine and interpret them through the
-Spanish Rule (1521-1898) skills they acquired in training for historical
-America Rule (1898-1946) research and methodology. It is the historian's task
to convert historical sources to historical representation of the past through historical
knowledge. sources and evidence.
• After all, the past is a vast subject to study. • Besides seeking historical facts and evidence, it is
History accumulates every day. More than the also the historian's job to interpret these facts.
difficulty of interpreting historical sources, it is also "Facts cannot speak for themselves." It is
the historian's task to determine what is historical. historian's job to give meaning to these facts and
• The historical fact is different from a fact from organize them into a timeline, establish causes,
the past. A fact from the past is anything that and write history.
happened in the past. • Meanwhile, the historian is not a blank paper
Example, it is a fact of the past that you had a who mechanically interprets and analyzes present
newborn niece the other day, or that you spent historical facts.
your last week reading a book. Historical research requires rigor. Even though
• But not everything that happened in the past, historians cannot ascertain absolute objectivity,
whether or not it is true, counts as a historical fact. the study of history remains scientific because of
• Edward Hallett Carr - a British historian states the rigor of research and methodology that
that a historical fact is something that is historians employ.
determined by the historian. • Historical methodology consists of certain
Example: techniques and rules that historians follow to
A diary of a schoolgirl who lived during the properly collect and select sources and historical
American period in the Philippines is just evidence.
something kept in an old drawer cabinet until
historians gets their hands on it a hundred years LESSON SUMMARY
later and decides to use it to write a history of • Historians produce historical knowledge through
student life in the Philippines under U.S. colonial rigorous historical research that involves finding
education system. and interpreting historical sources and evidence.
• Historians are inevitably influenced by context
• To sum up with historians and the historical and circumstances. Their context may inform the
knowledge that they produce have significantly way that they conduct historical research.
influenced their respective contexts. The • Despite the inherent subjectivity of the historian,
Historian's interest and life's work are inevitably historical knowledge can still be scientific by
influenced by various factors such as nationality, adhering to rigorous historical methodology and
political ideology, religion, educational through collaboration with peers in the discipline.
background, and overall experiences. These
reasons make us understand why most historians LESSON 3
specializing in women's history are women, and Key Concepts
local histories are written by historians who were Kasaysayan. Narrative of the past that has a
born and raised in those particular localities. significance to the community where it belongs.
Nationalist historiography. History that is focused
THE OBJECTIVITY OF THE HISTORIAN on the masses and not on the colonizers.
• If historians are the ones who determine which Pantayong Pananaw. The philosophical anchor of
parts of the past are to include in historical bagong kasaysayan. It emphasizes the need to
knowledge, and their respective contexts influence foster an internal discourse among the masses in
historians ways of selecting facts and interpreting writing their history.
evidence, is it then possible to come up with
absolute historical truth? Is history an objective Lesson Introduction
discipline? If it is not, is it still worthwhile to study As mentioned in Lesson 1, historiography can be
history? These questions have haunted historians simply defined as the "history of history." As a
for many generations. In deed, an exact and subject, historiography is not introduced until
accurate account of the past is impossible for the college education. Students of history in grade
straightforward reason that we cannot go back to school and high school do not usually get this far in
the past. We cannot access the past directly as our their history lessons because basic historical
subject matter. Historians only get to access a education merely teaches us about the past.
Meanwhile, historiography demands that we think Kasaysayan in Ancient Philippine Society. In
about how we learn and how we are taught about the ancient Philippine society, our concept of
the past. We are no longer just concerned about history was fundamentally different. This
learning what happened in the past; we are indigenous concept is called kasaysayan, and
already delving into learning about how history is contrary to the widely held notion, kasaysayan is
written and why it is written that way. not just the Filipino term for history. Its meaning,
Historiography is both philosophical and characteristics, and functions are different.
scientific. It is philosophical because we think Kasaysayan was derived from the root word
about thinking, and this exercise of "thinking about saysay, which could mean sense or significance.
thinking" can be broadly defined as philosophizing. Hence, in ancient times, kasaysayan refers to
In historiography, we specifically engage in thinking stories that were deemed significant to the
about historical thinking, i.e., how historians think community. These stories were transmitted orally
and how and why they write what they write. in the forms of epics, songs, and rituals. Unlike the
Historiography is also scientific because scholars Western concept of history, the ancient concept of
who engage in this topic proceed with writing the kasaysayan does not only refer to records of past
history of history through systemic inventory and experiences, but also to broader stories significant
empirical analyses of historical works. to the communities such as their experiences,
Initially, historiographers delved into this legends, and epics that reflect certain communal
specific subfield of inquiry, because they wanted to values, spiritualities, beliefs, and worldview.
point out earlier historians' mistakes in the hope The oral character of kasaysayan also
that the present and future historians would rendered it with a sense of dynamism. Indeed, to
improve their methods and perspectives. But later, keep abreast of the communal life and retain
historiography turned into a more serious collective significance, kasaysayan should be easily
subdiscipline of history because historians started adaptable to the experiences of the community. Its
recognizing that there are several pasts to explore. oral character enabled it with fluidity and flexibility
In learning about historiography, students then will in content and narrative. Since the stories
learn to understand history beyond the details that contained in kasaysayan consisted of epics,
it recounts. They would have a more profound legends, and myths considered fantastical and not
sense of the historical knowledge that has been fed factual, kasaysayan may be viewed by some as
to them in schools and would start seeing past unhistorical. However, such a view wrongly
events and historical facts not as things to assumes that the function of kasaysayan was to
memorize, but as thoughts that were produced by record the past of the community, and clearly, that
certain conditions. Philippine history can be an was not the case. Epics and songs included in their
illustrative case. The way our history has been rituals and ceremonies served different purposes:
defined, viewed, and written transformed from communicating with their deities, bringing their
one period to another. community together, or teaching the younger
generation about their legends, heroes, gods and
History of Philippine History goddesses, and myths.
Philippine history has always been included Spanish Historiography in the Philippines.
in our basic and college education subjects. It is The notion of kasaysayan was disrupted at the
safe to say that every Filipino who has gone to dawn of Spanish colonization. The colonizers'
school would have a tentative understanding of endeavor to break down the indigenous communal
our past. For example, we know that Magellan died and social organization included the destruction of
in the Battle of Mactan, that our country was these communities' oral traditions that were
named after the Spanish monarch Philip II, that the central to their indigenous practices and beliefs.
Japanese invaded us during the Second World War, Kasaysayan was also suppressed and replaced by
and that the people ousted the dictator Ferdinand new colonial systems and knowledge. The
Marcos through a peaceful uprising in EDSA. country's history became the business of the
However, few understand that our concept of colonizers. Missionary friars, European observers,
history or kasaysayan changed from the ancient scholars, and chroniclers extensively wrote about
period until contemporary times. the native population. They wrote about the
indigenous customs, traditions, social organization,
belief systems, etc. All of these were distributed provoked them to express criticisms against the
and systematically kept and recorded. Spanish colonizers through the propaganda and
The Spanish historia replaced the narrative reform movements.
of our civilization. Consequently, the central role The ilustrados subscribed to the Western
was shifted from the community to the colonizers. notion of knowledge and history. They spoke and
Historia was a narrative of the foreign colonizers wrote in the foreign language, but they were
regarding their observation, life, and experiences critical of what the colonizers passed off as
in the islands. It served as articulation and historical truths. If the colonizers generally
justification of their policies, decisions, and overall regarded the history of the archipelago with a
attitude toward the natives. The language in which bipartite view, the ilustrados viewed our history as
these narratives were written was Spanish, and the tripartite or divided into three parts: a period of
audience that the texts were intended for were prosperity, a period of darkness, and a period of
their fellow Spaniards and Europeans. As history enlightenment.
was developed into an academic field in Europe, The period before the arrival of the
Spanish chroniclers, scholars, and historians writing Spaniards was perceived as a period of prosperity
about the Philippines also became guided with because the native population enjoyed freedom in
positivist writing and studying history. They trading, equality among people, and dignity in their
depended their writings on empirical and day-to-day lives. They related the greatness of the
documentary evidence. Some of these works ancient civilization in the islands as something
written by Spanish missionaries and scholars would comparable to Europe's civilization during the
be discussed and analyzed in the following unit. same period. The period of darkness commenced
The perspective that prevailed among when the colonization began because the people
colonizers regarding our history as an archipelago who used to enjoy freedom and prosperity were
is what we call the bipartite view. This view divided subjected to unjust taxation, slave labor,
the archipelago's history into two general periods: repression, and discrimination in their land. The
darkness and light. The period before the arrival of third period was the future envisioned by the
the Spaniards was a period of "darkness" because ilustrados once Spain gave the Filipino people
the natives were uncivilized, barbaric, and equality and freedom. Renowned ilustrados such
backward; they were heathens who believed in as Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, and Graciano
false gods and deities. The "light" came when the Lopez Jaena wrote about their country from this
Spaniards arrived, carving a civilization out of this perspective.
wilderness and introducing the people to the one For example, in Jose Rizal's known essay,
true Christian God. This view would be challenged "Indolence of the Filipinos," he refuted the
by the following generation of natives and Spaniards' accusations that Filipinos were lazy or
mestizos, who would reclaim the archipelago's indolent. What the Spaniards perceived as
history. indolence were mere reactions of the people to
The History of the Ilustrados and the the oppressive conditions that they were put into
Katipunan. By the mid-nineteenth century, a sector by the colonial government and the Spanish
of the native and mestizo population was given a Catholic Church. For example, how could the indios
chance to acquire a certain level of education that cultivate the soil if the Spaniards forced them to
accorded them the status of ilustrado, or the leave their farms and render forced labor for
enlightened. This enlightenment came from the government infrastructure or have them sent to
liberal education they acquired in European or fight wars that Spain was fighting? Rizal argued
Philippine universities and schools such as the that before the Spaniards' arrival, the native
Universidad de Santo Tomas and Ateneo Municipal population had very active trade relations with
de Manila. Their affluence and intelligence their Malayan neighbors and productive industries
eventually led them to aspire for reforms in the for products that they sell to foreign traders. Rizal
colony. Their travels in Europe and the ideas of implied that under enabling conditions, the indios
freedom and equality that they learned in foreign are a very diligent and hardworking people.
lands opened their eyes to the colonial oppressions Toward the end of the nineteenth century,
and injustices in their motherland. This experience the secret brotherhood, the Kataastaasan,
made them advocate for reforms in the colony and Kagalang-galang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng
Bayan (KKK) or simply Katipunan was formed. and politics is beneficial. They wanted the Filipinos
Unlike the Reform and Propaganda Movement, the to think like the Americans.
Katipunan envisioned a complete revolution that The implication to historiography was most
would overthrow the colonial government apparent in the shift of language from Spanish to
altogether. The Katipunan was created not just by English. While the Spanish colonizer had been
the moneyed and educated class of indios and adamant not to teach the Spanish language to the
mestizos, but also by workers, artisans, local general native population, the Americans made
intellectuals, clerks, and small entrepreneurs. They teaching English an essential part of their public
were the first Filipinos who decided to use arms education policy. The historia of the preceding
and violence to evict the Spaniards from the period was, thus, translated to English and was
Philippines and establish an independent Filipino included in the curriculum of public education. It
nation. somehow ceased to be an affair of the privileged
The Katipuneros, like the ilustrados, also few, as was the case during the Spanish period,
regarded the history of the Philippines with the because most Filipinos were given access to it in
tripartite view. The third period, for them, was only schools.
achievable through an armed revolution. Despite The twentieth century became the period
this significant similarity, an essential difference when history turned into a professional academic
between them remains. On the one hand, the discipline in the Philippines. Unsurprisingly, the
ilustrados had written exclusively in Spanish. Their institutionalized history in public universities and
intended audience was the sympathetic Spaniards, educational institutions carried an American
who they believed wouldhelp them with their perspective since the Americans strictly controlled
cause by lobbying it to the Spanish government. the education system. When the Americans started
On the other hand, the Katipunan wrote almost Filipinizing the bureaucracy in 1916, the Bureau of
exclusively in Filipino because they were rallying Public Instruction was among the last to be let go.
for the support of their countrymen for the The first chairperson of the Department of History
revolution. Less than a year after the Spaniards in the U.S.-established University of the Philippines
were ousted and the independence was declared, (U.P.) was American historian Austin Craig. How
the Philippines was taken over by new colonial was the American perspective demonstrated in the
masters: the Americans. historical writings of that time?
American Historiography in the Philippines. A good example of this American
The American colonial period was an introduction perspective would be early scholarship on the
to a new tradition of scholarship and historical Filipino-American War. Historians of the period
writing primarily caused by the concept of would refer to it as the "Philippine Insurrection"
benevolent assimilation. This principle is the instead of the "Filipino-American War." What does
guiding framework of the American occupation of this connote? Insurrection is synonymous with
the Philippines. This concept prompted novel ways rebellion or revolt. Rebellion is done by a group of
of colonizing the Philippines by turning the people against a legitimate state or authority.
Filipinos into "little brown Americans." In the Thus, by referring to the said event as an
Spanish period, education was limited to the insurrection, they were doing two things. First,
privileged few. Spaniards equated education with they were asserting the United States' legitimacy
power; hence, it was only logical to maintain the to govern the Philippine Islands, and those who
subjugation of the indio by keeping them largely waged war against them were ordinary rebels.
uneducated. In contrast, the American colonial Second, by ascribing the war as a mere
period made public instruction available to nearly insurrection, they refused to recognize the
every Filipino. They believed that public education independent Philippine republic declared by the
would speed up the process of assimilation. Public Philippine revolutionaries in 1898. A war entails
education became a medium to instill an American that two sovereign nations fight it. An insurrection
consciousness among the colonial subjects, create is a mere uprising of a subject over its sovereign
a harmonious relationship between the colonized state.
and the Americans, lessen the resistance to Similar to the Spanish historia, American
enforced laws and policies, and convince Filipinos history in the Philippines was also written for
that the Americanization of the society, culture, foreigners. Like their Spanish predecessors,
American historians and scholars needed to justify historians all agree that Spanish colonization was a
the U.S. occupation of the islands. They did this by period of repression and regression for the
depicting the native population, particularly the Filipinos. This claim is contrary to their
non-Christian peoples in Northern Luzon and predecessors, who were bent on highlighting the
Mindanao, as savages who needed civilizing. This Spanish friars' roles in Christianizing and
kind of history will remain for many years after the modernizing the colony.
full independence of the Philippines from the The same period also coincided with the
Americans in 1946. By the 1960s and 1970s, rise of activism and the anti- authoritarian
historians of the University of the Philippines movement in Manila, especially in U.P., because of
would pioneer a shift in perspective. the Marcos dictatorship. The period of lively
Philippine Nationalist Historiography. As discussion on nationalism, imperialism, and
history continuously developed as an academic capitalism prompted progressive and Marxist
discipline in the Philippines throughout the historiography. Renato Constantino, another
twentieth century, more and more people joined historian from U.P., was the front-runner of
the foray and specialized in history. This increase in progressive and Marxist history. For example,
interest also prompted a diverse and energetic Constantino opted to focus on the Filipinos' long
understanding and interpretation of history. tradition of revolt and revolution. He argues that
Homegrown Filipino historians, including Teodoro the 1896 Revolution was not a unique event in our
Agoncillo, Renato Constantino, and Reynaldo lleto, history. The masses have always risen against their
pioneered an intellectual movement in history that oppressors, as recorded by the Spanish colonizers
articulated views that are pro-Filipino, nationalist, themselves. Marxism also inspired Amado
progressive, and hence, pro-people, pro- masses, Guerrero (widely believed to be the nom de guerre
and pro-poor. These views challenged long-held of Jose Maria Sison), who narrated and plotted the
assumptions by looking at the same documentary Philippine history using a perspective that focuses
and foreign-originated primary sources and on the linear development of the Philippine society
periodization of Philippine history with a different based on the mode of production and class
lens. This lens purported to reflect the struggle of struggle. Adopting the Marxist idea of historical
the Filipinos under colonization. materialism, Guerrero's Philippine Society and
For example, foremost nationalist historian Revolution traced Philippine history by highlighting
Teodoro Agoncillo wrote about the Philippine the relationship between classes and how such
Revolution of 1896-1898. Earlier historians wrote relationship leads to changes that propel the
about the Philippine independence in this manner: Philippine society from one stage to another.
The elitist ilustrado class waged a reformist From the sixteenth century, pre-colonial
movement that sponsored the rise of the people's leaders attempted to conspire with one another to
national consciousness. This movement inspired evict the Spaniards. In the same period, native
them to take up arms and wage a revolution for spiritual leaders rebelled against the reduccion and
independence. For Agoncillo, such was not the fought to return to their old ways. Centuries before
case. The 1896 Revolution was not an offshoot of the Katipunan, the masses have always resisted
the earlier reform movement. Instead, it was a oppression and colonization. These historians
movement that germinated in the ranks of the attempted to place the people at the center of
masses who organized themselves in the their history. Agoncillo's widely used Philippine
Katipunan, led by Andres Bonifacio. They started to history textbook, The History of the Filipino People,
rise against the Spanish colonizers because of their is a testament to this. They used the same
experiences as the oppressed and discriminated documentary sources but interpreted them in
indios under Spain and not because the ilustrados nationalist light.
inspired them. Agoncillo argued that far from However, Reynaldo lleto, despite generally
encouraging the masses to revolt and igniting the subscribing to the pro-Filipino, anti- colonial, and
revolution, the nonrevolutionary, reformist nationalist perspective in history, used a different
ilustrados, who never demanded total separation approach. For him, the desire to truly reflect and
from Spain, even stalled the revolution for years. place the masses at the center of the country's
Agoncillo, thus, believed that Bonifacio's historical history will be fulfilled by looking at sources that
contribution far exceeds Rizal's. Nationalist genuinely reflect their consciousness and
aspiration. The use of sources produced and pananaw or from-them-for-them perspective, and
distributed among the colonizers and the elite pangkaming pananaw or from-us-for-them
limited our understanding of the masses. Ileto, in perspective, respectively. The fundamental
his now-classic Pasyon and Revolution: Popular difference lies in the intended audience. In the
Movements in the Philippines, 1840-1910, argued colonizers' pansilang pananaw, they were telling
that the revolutionary consciousness of the people our history and describing our culture and society
was influenced by oral traditions that had always to their fellow Spaniards or Americans. When the
been present and deeply embedded in their lives. ilustrados, the Katipuneros, and the nationalists
The Pasyon was his prime example. According to started writing history, they refuted the colonial
Ileto, the masses who learned the Pasyon by heart interpretation of our history and provided an
saw in the story of Christ their own suffering and alternative analysis. They started telling our history
redemption. The Pasyon, intended to be a religious and describing our culture and society to the same
text, became a source of revolutionary inspiration. audience. Hence, the pangkaming pananaw, i.e.,
Ileto somehow foretold the next intellectual "we are like this" ("ganito kami").
movement in Philippine historiography. Pantayong Pananaw wanted to replace the
Pantayong Pananaw and Bagong dominant historia philosophy, which remained
Kasaysayan. By the mid-1970s, Zeus Salazar, a even after the rise of nationalist history, and to
member of the U.P. Department of History, reclaim the ancient kasaysayan in scientific terms.
introduced a new philosophy that would guide a Hence, Pantayong Pananaw served as the
new historical and social scientific scholarship philosophical foundation of Bagong Kasaysayan-a
tradition. Salazar contends that despite the surge reconceptualization of the ancient kasaysayan,
of nationalist perspective in historical writing, our which focuses on the importance of saysay or
historical narrative remains targeted to the English- significance to the community where the history
speaking sectors of the society that consequently belongs. It is the scientific iteration of the
excludes the larger masses. While nationalist kasaysayan of our ancient forebears. Bagong
histories wanted to use pro-Filipino and nationalist Kasaysayan should make sense and be
perspectives, they failed to induce real nationalist understandable to the masses and the
awakening because these histories still focused on communities because they should always be
our colonial past and experience. It was as if our included in the conversation. The key to the
history was shaped only by being colonized and creation of internal discourse is the change of
that the Philippines and the Filipinos would not language. Bagong Kasaysayan, therefore, should be
exist without these foreign encounters. Moreover, written and taught in Filipino. P.P. scholars argue
the works of the most nationalist of these that it is essential to foster internal conversation;
historians were still written in English-the language thus, the language that should be used is the
that is only spoken by the elite and educated few language that is spoken and understood by almost
and not understood by the masses. The people and everyone. Filipino, as the undisputed lingua franca,
the Filipino remained at the margins of these became the language of choice.
narratives, and their stories were told not with Furthermore, because almost all of the
them as the intended audience but for the primary sources used by the earlier historians were
outsiders and elite few. Indeed, historia, as first created either by the colonizers of the country's
brought by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century, elites, it had been hard to place the people in the
remained the standard of historical scholarship in historical narrative that has been so far produced.
the country. Bagong Kasaysayan responds to this challenge by
For Salazar, to truly reclaim our history, a exploring the use of sources that emanated from
fundamental change in perspective is necessary. and originated by the people or the masses. These
History should be processed, written, and taught in sources may include artifacts, oral tradition, and
the Filipino language for the Filipino people. Such existing indigenous cultural practices.
perspective is what Salazar would call Pantayong Pantayong Pananaw and Bagong
Pananaw or the from-us-for-us (inclusive) Kasaysayan embody the most radical and
perspective. Pantayong Pananaw or P.P. is a ambitious attempt at genuine Filipinization of our
departure from the views employed by the colonial history. While substantial criticism has been issued
and nationalist historians, which are pansilang upon it by several historians in the past decades,
no one can doubt that, at present, it represents the
acme of the development of Philippine
historiography.

Lesson Summary
-Philippine historiography transformed
from one historical period to another. These
changes reflect the dominant discourse of the
time.
-The Spanish colonizers viewed Philippine
history as divided into two parts: the period of
darkness and the period of light. They considered
the period before their arrival as dark because of
the lack of civilization, while marking their
appearance as the dawn of light because they
brought in the Christian faith and culture. The
Americans also used history to justify what they
called their "benevolent assimilation."
-The propagandistas and the Katipuneros
held a tripartite view of history. The first period
was a period of prosperity, the second period
brought about by colonization was a period of
darkness, and the period after colonization will be
a period of freedom and redemption.
-Nationalist historiography emerged as a
reaction to the colonial interpretation of history.
Nationalist historians aimed at placing the masses
at the center of history.