Why historiography is important?
Historiography helps us understand that societal, political, economic, and other issues may alter the
recording of history over time. So long as we don't come to it with biases of our own, it allows us to get
as close to historical fact as possible.
Meaning: Historiography as an intellectual and academic discipline has been hard to define. Shrouded
by abstract theoretical, philosophical and methodological jargon, professional historians themselves
have not been able to achieve common consensus on the specific definition of the term, describing it to
mean the writing of history, the study of historical methodology, the analysis of the different schools of
interpretation on a particular historical topic, or the history of historical writing.
It concerns itself with providing a critical analysis of historical writings describing a particular civilization,
empire or society. Dominant power structures, political ideologies, personal biases, cultural trends and
social norms steer narratives, consequently making historical accounts lie at the mercy of those who
wrote them.
Oxford dictionary defines historiography as the study of history itself, ‘a history of history’. On a
more literal plane, however, historiography mainly focuses on ‘The representation of history in
verbal images and written discourse.’
Importance of Historiography:
The importance of historiography is essential in understanding it. Historiography allows us to
understand the wide range of historical interpretations and how differing perspectives have
shaped the representations of historical fact. It helps us adopt a more critical lens in
understanding history as relative, as a subject that has been manipulated by those telling it and
reclaimed by those who have participated in it. It encourages to seek out the biases in historical
accounts and understand the subjective nature of historical writing.
Historiography gives us the tools to examine history in the context of the multitude of factors that
determine how history is recorded and reproduced. For example, it raises the question of
whether historians altered an empires history to suit those in power or if they moulded a
narrative of a ‘successful’ colonial state by excluding imperative information about indigenous
resistance. Historiography probes into the literature, examining gaps and understanding the
causes for it. For instance, a historian may study about how there was a significant omission of
socio-economic information in the historical accounts of a particular empire.
Historical writing, the major focus of historiography, is as much a product of its time as any other
historical development (Abonyi 2016), and can therefore serve as a lens into major trends and
developments in the history of civilization.
Historiography is also integral to the academic inquiry as it complements the study of history as
well as all other disciplines which study the history of said discipline. It provides a broader
framework to specialists in a variety of fields like economics, psychology, and sociology.
A sociologist could benefit greatly from historiographic accounts that focus on a particular social
group in a colonial state. For example, looking into American historiography as background
research for a study focusing on Native American tribes today, will be of great use.
Difference between Historiography and History:
Although there is considerable resemblance between the two concepts, historiography cannot exist in
isolation whereas history can. Historiography relies on the accounts provided by history in order to carry
out its inquiry while history is essentially the study of historical fact. Historiography challenges the very
notion of historical ‘fact’ and builds upon academic approaches to recorded history.
What are the roles of historians?
Historians often study and preserve archival materials. Historians research, analyze,
interpret, and write about the past by studying historical documents and sources.
If we were to enumerate the five duties of a historian, they would include these roles: narrator,
recorder, researcher, analyst and interpreter.
Historians collect and evaluate information from many primary sources to answer
questions about historical events, a process known as the historical method. They may
analyze written records, physical artifacts, and other types of evidence during the course of their
investigations.
to inform others, and to accomplish that task, the historian must be the narrator of the story they
want to tell.
Historians study facts and records that previous generations have left, to find out what kind of
lives they led and how they solved their problems.
1 HISTORIAN AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION IN THE PHILIPPINE HISTORY
Teodoro A. Agoncillo is considered one of the most important historians of our time.
His new brand of historiography did away with conventional ways of writing the history
of Philippines—through the eyes of foreigners—and introduced a more Filipino-centric
style, seeing the events of the Philippines unfold through the eyes of Filipinos. Today,
his works are considered essential to the study of Philippine history, and have also
transcended to the realm of classic literature.
In 1985 Agoncillo was included in the roster of the Order of National Scientists by
President Ferdinand E. Marcos for his contributions to Philippine History. His notable
works include The History of the Filipino People; Malolos: The Crisis of the
Republic; The Writings and Trials of Bonifacio; and Revolt of the Masses.
To celebrate his birth centennial, we are publishing two essays from the book History
and Culture, Language and Literature: Selected Essays of Teodoro A. Agoncillo edited
by Dr. Bernardita Reyes Churchill.
History as Humanities
Literature as History
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