Identity, Society & Culture – Quick Review

Identity

• Defined as the distinctive characteristics that define an individual or a group
• Two major sources:
  • Internal / Personal: gender, beliefs, values, abilities, emotions, experiences, drives
  • External / Cultural: family, friends, religion, media, education, work, consumer culture
• Filipino identity hallmarks: family orientation, hospitality, bayanihan, pakikisama, resilience, diversity (culture, religion, language), art, music, food
• Guiding questions for reflection: cultural/ethnic roots, impact of globalization, socially determined parts of the self

Society & Culture

• Society = group of people sharing a defined territory and culture; a “web of social relationships” (MacIver & Page)
• Culture = socially-transmitted ways of thinking, feeling, acting passed across generations; shapes reality & life views
• Principle: societies possess culture, and culture exists only where there is society

Social, Cultural & Political Change

• Social change: alterations in norms, institutions, structures (e.g. democracy, Civil Rights, women’s suffrage, tech shifts)
• Cultural change: evolution of shared beliefs/values due to new info, tech, intercultural contact (internet, global cuisine)
• Political change: shifts in leadership, institutions, policies (revolutions, elections, reforms)

Women’s Suffrage (PH case)

• First bill filed by Filemon Sotto $1907$
• Commonwealth Act No. $34$ (Sept $30$, $1936$) → plebiscite $1937$ granting women the vote

Generations (key cohorts)

• Greatest / GI: $1901\text{–}1927$ – Great Depression, WWII
• Silent: $1925\text{–}1945$
• Baby Boom: $1946\text{–}1964$ – post-war boom, social protest
• Gen X: $1965\text{–}1980$ – AIDS era, MTV, early LGBTQ+ rights
• Millennials / Gen Y: $1981\text{–}1996$ – 9/11, rise of internet
• Gen Z / iGen: $1997\text{–}2010$ – born fully digital, politically aware
• Gen Alpha: $2010\text{–}2024$ – lifelong social-media natives

Social Science Overview

• Social science = systematic study of society, behavior, institutions; seeks patterns beyond personal experience
• Core disciplines for identity/culture/politics study:
  • Anthropology: biological, cultural, social aspects of humans
    • Five fields: social, cultural, linguistic, biological, archaeology
  • Sociology (Auguste Comte): study of human social life, groups, society; examines economic, political, social interplay
  • Political Science: study of politics—how rules are made, preserved, amended (Heywood)

Political Identity

• How individuals align with groups & issues; may involve party, ideology, nationalism, or identity politics
• Built from multiple affiliations (ethnicity, gender, religion, etc.)

Key Exam Pointers

• Characteristics of identity & why identities matter to self/society
• Interrelation of social, cultural, political change with identity formation
• Application: use anthropological, sociological, political-science lenses to analyze phenomena