Issues in Anthropology
Integration of the Concepts:
>>>>> “Western Mathematics…” (by Alan Bishop) proved that even Mathematics, the subject which often considered as universal and least culturally loaded is subject to imperialism by the Western superpowers. The author greatly encouraged us to be critical in thinking, not just easily persuaded by the thoughts of Western scholars. As the saying goes, “Don’t judge the book by its cover”, we should not look and get mesmerized to the seemingly perfect cover presented to us by the West. Let’s flip all the pages until the end, keenly observe them, and really read between the lines. This is also true in the article Ang Pagkagapos…, its only focus is on the field of Social Sciences. Another reading, Education and Neocolonialism and Academic Dependency…, a new view of ‘colonialism’ was introduced, what we call the “colonization of the mind and culture”. This is worse than physical colonization because majority of the people are not aware it is happening to them. In addition, a new definition of ‘power’ occurs that power is pleasure. People now enjoy the power imposed to them, meaning desire for change may not happen. In Is There a Crisis... is again used by the West to their campaign towards imperialism using the concept of “Liberal Education”. Lastly, the article The Building Blocks of Social Reality answers the question, ‘What is reality or more specifically social reality’? It says that social reality is created by us humans for purposes and seems as readily intelligible to us as those purposes themselves.
Issues in Philippine Anthropology
>>>>> First, is the issue of Ethnicity, what really constitute it? Ethnic identity is defined by self-ascription and, more tenuously, ascription by others.[1] In the material culture, wherein the way people dress, and the mode of thinking that to wear ethnic dresses is synonymous to putting a “costume”, which means that it is no longer possible to distinguish ethnicity by the way of dressing because this, too has changed. Moreover, even the architecture of the house, diet, and language were greatly influenced. These widespread socio-cultural alterations underline the need for the redefinition of what comprises ethnicity itself since classic anthropological parameters no longer work. Another problem is the increasing poverty, narrowing livelihood opportunities, and a declining of natural and cultural resources among the indigenous people. Like in the provinces of the Autonomous region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and parts of central and western Mindanao posted the “highest poverty rates and the lowest literacy rates and are way behind in human development indicators.
>>>>> Another issue is the effect of Globalization in the cultural area. Globalization causes the great danger of cultural disruption. The mere introduction of Christianity and Islam has wrought disorder on indigenous cultures and continues to do so. The replacement of the indigenous forms of leadership by the national civil political system has redefined alliances and relationships even in small communities. Globalization will result in an exponential increase in the contact with other forms of cultural influence that will certainly affect local cultures, unless controls to soften impact are set in place. Third issue is on the technologies used in conducting research. For example in archaeology (branch of anthropology), plotting maps and analyzing findings or data were manually done here in the Philippines wherein they are supposed to be technologies used in conducting this activity. Radiocarbon dating, which is an important component of an archaeological endeavor, still needs to be done abroad and most of our archaeological sites are dated by relative dating, which is not exact and has wide ranging period.
>>>>> Lastly, the theories, concepts or ideas found in both elementary and secondary books regarding our prehistoric culture and racial origins. Popular example of this is the “inland push theory which is already debunked by scholars by still is used in teaching in various schools especially on rural areas.
>>>>>Recommendations
>>>>> First, on the issue of Ethnicity, we should really help in the process of information dissemination for other people to be aware of the true conditions of the indigenous people. The government should also make greater efforts on how to improve the lives of the minority; the IPRA must really change in favor of these indigenous groups. Equal opportunity in education must be on the priority list as well as equal opportunity in work. NGO’s has also vital part in addressing the needs of indigenous groups, continuous research on them and putting it into paper will also be a great help because people that will read it can be enlighten to help. Even the Constitution mandates the development of culture. When the tradition is preserved, culture change is repressed. When cultural development is attended to, tradition cannot endure.
>>>>> In the issue of Globalization, urgent programs for protection, conservation and documentation must be put in place to save whatever there is still that can be acted upon. This phenomenon is not that easy to solve because it seems now that it is still inevitable. However, we can we can show our appreciation to the culture of the minorities by helping these minorities understand the true value of their own culture in their lives and promoting it to other people. We also need to stop criticizing our cultural traditions.
>>>>> Moreover, on the issue of lack of technologies needed for research, the government has the main role in addressing this. The budget allocated for research must be really increased for this need to be acted upon. The private sector, especially those who are financially blessed should also help answering this need. In doing so, much research will be done easier and a lot faster, and eventually we will appreciate more our country, our history because we can now have true understanding of our heritage. Having better knowledge of our prehistoric past will give us more wisdom about our ancestors, what were their established patterns of thoughts, feelings, actions, and aspirations. It represents their accumulated achievements before their overexposure to external cultures. Knowing these achievements will give us a new sense of identity with and pride in our heritage. It will also restore our dignity as people.
>>>>> Last but not the least, on the issue of wrong theories/concepts found in books that are still used as a medium for teaching in the elementary and secondary, government must really allocate substantial amount for the eradication of all these books and print an accurate book to help students understand true prehistoric pas at their early age. Today, NGO’s continuous to collect funds to change the books and were conducting seminars addressing this issue. I hope that our government will take its part to help to attain its goal soon.
>>>>> Let us put our biases aside and critically examine the events that have damaged our appreciation of our past culture. This will prepare us to better understand the reason/s why we need to free ourselves from the idea that, as some earlier writers have said, “We have no cultural roots to stand on”, actually, we have.
REFERENCE:
[1] Dr. Jesus Peralta, Tenacy of Identity or Where are the People?, http://www.livinginthephilippines.com/philculture/culture&arts/tenacity_of_identity.html, accessed on July 21, 2007.
>>>>> First, on the issue of Ethnicity, we should really help in the process of information dissemination for other people to be aware of the true conditions of the indigenous people. The government should also make greater efforts on how to improve the lives of the minority; the IPRA must really change in favor of these indigenous groups. Equal opportunity in education must be on the priority list as well as equal opportunity in work. NGO’s has also vital part in addressing the needs of indigenous groups, continuous research on them and putting it into paper will also be a great help because people that will read it can be enlighten to help. Even the Constitution mandates the development of culture. When the tradition is preserved, culture change is repressed. When cultural development is attended to, tradition cannot endure.
>>>>> In the issue of Globalization, urgent programs for protection, conservation and documentation must be put in place to save whatever there is still that can be acted upon. This phenomenon is not that easy to solve because it seems now that it is still inevitable. However, we can we can show our appreciation to the culture of the minorities by helping these minorities understand the true value of their own culture in their lives and promoting it to other people. We also need to stop criticizing our cultural traditions.
>>>>> Moreover, on the issue of lack of technologies needed for research, the government has the main role in addressing this. The budget allocated for research must be really increased for this need to be acted upon. The private sector, especially those who are financially blessed should also help answering this need. In doing so, much research will be done easier and a lot faster, and eventually we will appreciate more our country, our history because we can now have true understanding of our heritage. Having better knowledge of our prehistoric past will give us more wisdom about our ancestors, what were their established patterns of thoughts, feelings, actions, and aspirations. It represents their accumulated achievements before their overexposure to external cultures. Knowing these achievements will give us a new sense of identity with and pride in our heritage. It will also restore our dignity as people.
>>>>> Last but not the least, on the issue of wrong theories/concepts found in books that are still used as a medium for teaching in the elementary and secondary, government must really allocate substantial amount for the eradication of all these books and print an accurate book to help students understand true prehistoric pas at their early age. Today, NGO’s continuous to collect funds to change the books and were conducting seminars addressing this issue. I hope that our government will take its part to help to attain its goal soon.
>>>>> Let us put our biases aside and critically examine the events that have damaged our appreciation of our past culture. This will prepare us to better understand the reason/s why we need to free ourselves from the idea that, as some earlier writers have said, “We have no cultural roots to stand on”, actually, we have.
REFERENCE:
[1] Dr. Jesus Peralta, Tenacy of Identity or Where are the People?, http://www.livinginthephilippines.com/philculture/culture&arts/tenacity_of_identity.html, accessed on July 21, 2007.
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