Philippine History and Culture

Philippine history and culture, examined through an anthropological lens, traces how a society shaped by centuries of Spanish and American colonial rule continues to negotiate questions of sovereignty, belonging, and political power. Scholars in this area study how national identity was constructed and contested—through revolution, language policy, religious practice, and popular memory—and how those constructions interact with entrenched political dynasties that have persisted long after formal independence. One active area of inquiry asks how ordinary Filipinos reconcile democratic ideals with hereditary political power concentrated in a small number of elite families, while another explores how diaspora communities and digital culture are reshaping what it means to be Filipino beyond the archipelago's borders.

Works

88,732

Total citations

339,944

Keywords

PhilippinesNationalismHistoryPolitical DynastiesColonialismIdentity