COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE

LEARNING MODULES

COURSE CODE: PPC

COURSE TITLE: PHILIPPINE POPULAR CULTURE

PRE – REQUISITES: None

NO. OF UNITS: 3 units

CONTACT HOURS: 3 hours a week

PLACEMENT: First year First Semester

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course will give the students the new form in art, music, and literature arising from
opportunities and demands of mass audiences, markets, and mass media and their social,
economic and political contexts

MODULE 1:

OVERVIEW OF THE MODULE:

In Module 1, the student will be able to discuss what is culture and identify the different characteristics of
culture.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of this module, the student should be:

1. Describe what culture is

2. Identify the different characteristics of culture
3. Give concrete examples for each characteristic of culture

PERIOD: Prelim

WEEK: 1st week

TIME ALLOTMENT: 3 hours a week

CONTENT:

A. What is culture?

The term “culture” has its etymological origin from Latin cultura_which means to cultivate.
The term was first used in Europe in the 18 th century to connote cultivation or tilling – as in
agriculture and horticulture. The term was adopted in the 19 th century to refer to the
cultivation of human character, for betterment and refinement. It is only in the 20 th century
that culture emerged as a central subject of analysis in anthropology, encompassing all
aspects of human experiences, intellect, creation, and attributes which cannot be explained
by genetics alone. (Abesamis & Franco, 2014).

B. CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE
1. Culture is learned – We learn the culture from the family where we start. We know what father
means, what mother means, who are the siblings, what are the roles of the different members of
the family, we learn the first language used at home and in the community.

2. Culture is collective and shared. –You grow up in a family and a community You speak the
same language in the family and the community where you grow up. You share the same
practices, if you are a Catholic or a Christian, Sunday is a day of obligation . You participate in
the town fiesta where you belong.

3. Culture is transmitted both orally and in writing – You hear the young people use po/opo in
talking with the elders in the Tagalog region. You can hear and read the folk tales and songs in
the community.

4. Culture is symbolic – The people in a particular community understand the sounds and meaning
they use in their communication. Facial and body movements are understood by everybody. A
smile expresses something happy, a frown expresses something else. A ring band in a man
/woman hand means the person is married.

5. Culture is holistic and integrated. – Culture is a product of a group of people or community,

example in the Philippines and the whole of Asia, taking care of the elderly by the family is a
cultural practice, while in the US and European countries it is not the duty of the children to
take care of the old parents, rather, they are brought to the nursing home or home for the aged.

6. Culture is adaptive – In the Philippines, the clothes you wear in January can be the same clothes
you wear until the December because the Philippines is in the tropical region and our climate is
almost the same the whole year. While in temperate zone, the people have to wear clothes that
are suited for each season. In summer, people wear light clothes while in winter they have to
wear thick warm clothes.

7. Culture satisfies need – This is called cultural universals, like the need for food, clothing, shelter,
relationship and companionship. These needs are found in every culture.

8. Culture is compulsory – One has to follow the rules and proper behaviour in the family and the
society. One is free to speak but one should respect and be polite in talking to others.-

9. Culture is dynamic. – Culture is continuously changing. In the old days, girls were not expected
to be educated because it is believed that girls would get married and take care of the family.
Now, girls are as competitive as men, in almost all professions there are women. In the early
 days, people cook using firewood, now ere are different sources of energy to use, like electricity,
liquefied petroleum gas, etc.
10. Culture is cumulative - - Japan, China, Korea are the countries in Asia who are proud of their
heritage. They have documented everything from ancient past to the present in their way of life,
education, and environment.

11. Culture interacts and undergoes transformation – The Philippines was colonized by Spain, so
Filipinos became Catholics, when Spain introduced Christianity We are iu Asia but America
colonized us the introduce the English language, so the medium of instruction in education is in
English.

C. For this module, be able to relate the characteristics of culture to yourself, your family, and the
community where you live. For each characteristic give a definite example or situation that would
show each characteristics. There are eleven characteristics that you will prove in your own life.

REFERENCE: Abesamis, Jun T. & Marcela Franco, 2014. SOCIETY & CULTURE. Malabon City: Mutya
Publishing House, Inc.