University of the Cordilleras

College of Teacher Education

Graduate School Department
1st Trimester, SY 2020-2021

Political Dimensions, Ethical Concerns, and Community Participation in Cultural Mapping

Intended Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the module, the students are expected to;
1. Define what is Cultural Mapping
2. Appreciate the importance of practicing ethical procedures in conducting Cultural Mapping,
3. Relate the concepts of Cultural Mapping during the present times.

Active Prior Knowledge:

Using one single word, provide a definition of what Cultural Mapping is.

Acquire New Knowledge:

A. What Is Cultural Mapping?
Cultural mapping is widely used as a planning and development tool by different levels of government
and non-governmental organizations. It has become increasingly popular with municipal and cultural
administrators in this country; it is now regarded as the first step in formulating a cultural plan. Cultural
mapping is not a new concept, nor is its current application as an instrument of cultural planning a new
one. Historically, it evolved as a means to capture and present the history of indigenous peoples or to
describe their traditional activities within a given territory. Since then, the mapping technique has been
taken up by agencies such as the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to address other concerns, such as
land rights stemming from traditional usage (tenure mapping) and the preservation of languages. A tidy
and concise definition of cultural mapping, one that is not tangled up in its immediate context, is hard to
find. The definitions tend to rely on examples more than on clear-cut terms. This is because cultural
mapping is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. Everyone agrees it is a tool that can be applied in
many ways. It has been used to describe situations as varied as the potential for cultural tourism and the
participation of diverse populations in community art activities. One thing we can conclude from the
various definitions is that cultural mapping is basically a process of recording, analyzing and
synthesizing, and a method of describing or depicting resources, networks and patterns of usage. In this
context, the word resources refers to the various elements that contribute to culture, whether human,
natural, social, economic or built. Cultural mapping allows us to see where we’ve been and where we are
in order to find our way forward, just as any mapping process might. The difference is the objects of
cultural mapping are not topographical features, but tangibles like assets and resources and intangibles
like identity, relationships and possibilities.

B. Political Dimension in Cultural Mapping

As you can see, what we now call a cultural map was first used as a political tool. It has since been used,
in less politically charged situations, as a tool of social and economic development. It is currently
associated with a movement to democratize culture and expand its definition to be more general and
inclusive. Some cultural mapping studies have as their primary objective broadly based social
development goals. Cultural mapping has also come to connote inclusion of members of the entire
community and its many constituent sectors as active participants. This principle of inclusiveness stems in
part from the expansion of the definition of culture to include many more aspects of municipal life than
high art, community art and heritage. It also includes social, economic and environmental aspects. It
should be kept in mind that cultural mapping is a tool and a methodology, no matter what its application.
It can be applied as easily to questions related to the health of arts institutions and heritage societies as to
the inclusive promotion of creativity in all aspects of municipal life.

C. Ethical Concerns in Cultural Mapping

Cultural mapping has been used by various agencies and groups to chart cultural activities through space
and also through time. Notably in Australia, where there has been an emphasis on diversity, its intention
has been to retrieve or identify artefacts and histories of indigenous and diverse groups, bringing them
into the mainstream by “putting them on the map.” In those situations, information and data about many
aspects of culture, including oral histories and personal memories, have been sought from key informants
or respondents within the communities under study. As a result the exercise has in some cases involved
consideration of ethics and the protection of intellectual property. This would be a consideration in the
Canadian context if Aboriginal peoples were included and if they were providing narratives or other
information protected by traditional practices.

Analysis:
Watch the following video about the significance of considering ethical procedures in cultural mapping.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX4c3V23DZI

Application:
Cite one specific example in your locality where community engagement and participation is seen.
Answer in not more than 8 sentences.

Assessment:
A group of researchers went to a certain barangay to conduct cultural mapping, Upon arrival, the
barangay officials told the researchers that they did not receive a notice that a research will be conducted
in their place, the researchers bargained, and the officials eventually allowed them to continue. They
immediately went from house to house to ask for questions for their study. Luckily, the constituents were
very welcoming and participative. The researchers finished their data gathering and went home
immediately without even bidding farewell to the barangay officials.
1. How can the approach of the researchers be improved in their next data gathering sessions? Answer in
not more than 5 sentences.
2. If you were the barangay officials, would you allow the researchers to proceed with their data
gathering? Why?

References

Duxbury, N. (2019, September 20). Cultural mapping, a new tool for community engagement and

sustainability. OAS :: Department of Conferences and Meetings

Management. https://scm.oas.org/pdfs/2019/CIDUL00106E01.pdf

Panofsky, R., & Kellett, K. (2015). Cultural mapping and the digital sphere : Place and space:

EBSCOhost. EBSCO Publishing Service Selection

Page. https://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/viewarticle/render?

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ivOLCwski4prE4v8OkjPDX7Ivf2fKB7eTnfLujr0%2bvrLFLsaa3UaTp53y72LFRsKqvea6js0q0
 16tMtdixReCn33urr%2bJK4Kq1TN

%2busU3gtvF84aP0RfHb8Yvr3fBIr5zqeezdu33snOJ6u9uuSK7u9Y%2bk6t9%2fu7fMPt

%2fku0murrRPr6qkfu3o63nys%2bSN6uLyffbq&vid=1&sid=b39241a0-526a-47b3-b1ac-

9d2b474a835b@sdc-v-sessmgr01

Rentoria, H. (n.d.). Cultural mapping for the preservation of local heritage and heritage education.

National Library of the Philippines. https://web.nlp.gov.ph/childrensconference/sites/default/

files/attachment/Topic%209_rentoria.pdf