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 its sense of collective identity in the present. Scholars working in this space investigate how entrenched political dynasties, ethnic diversity, and the legacies of colonialism interact to produce contested narratives of nationhood and belonging. A central preoccupation is understanding why democratic institutions in the Philippines remain fragile even decades after independence, and how ordinary Filipinos construct cultural and political identity amid those pressures. Open questions include how globalization and the large Filipino diaspora are reshaping national identity from the outside, and whether postcolonial frameworks adequately capture the distinctly local forms of resistance and accommodation that have emerged across the archipelago.

Works

87,717

Total citations

338,418

Keywords

PhilippinesNationalismHistoryPolitical DynastiesColonialismIdentity