Studying Culture Together

Brief instructions for a study group

N.B.: This post was the introduction to a separate study group, which was dedicated to discussing themed resources. All study group posts are now integrated into the larger blog. This post is kept as it is, to preserve the conversations in the comment section below. Maybe the instructions laid out herein can also guide our future reflections. For deeper study, consider attending my lectures. —CLC

Welcome to the study group! Here we will be exploring and discussing resources on folk psychology and indigenized spirituality, with a focus on Philippine culture. You can participate at your own pace. May you find this space enriching, giving you solace and wisdom as you go on your journey.¹²

Who am I?

I’m Carl, a psychologist, researcher, and lecturer. If you’d like to read my published work, you can find them here. For this study group, I will share what I find, and I hope to also enriched by your insights, which will then deepen my own understanding of the material.

How does this work?

We will be recommend publicly available resources. I will discuss my own insights, and then I will be providing discussion questions for everyone to reflect on. If you are called to do so, you may comment your answers below and/or interact with our other readers. You may engage at any time. You may return to previous posts or skip others. How you study is up to you. I will try as much as possible to also engage with you in the comment section, especially if you have questions.

The Study Group will also include book reviews, new publications, and other opportunities for deeper learning.

Some Principles for the Study Group

Please read Substack’s Content Guidelines as a general guide to how we should behave on this website. Much of it should already be intuitive to you, since they echo commonsense morals: we should avoid hate speech, illegal activities, spreading malicious links, and impersonation.

We may not always agree on things. Remember that a person will only believe in something if they find some truth in it. Even if someone claims something that is bizarre and factually inaccurate, we must always ask ourselves what their lived reality is that made them believe in it. Be open to new worldviews: embrace what resonates and critically reflect on points of disagreement. To be clear: we are not encouraging misinformation. However, in order to actually change another person’s mind about something, we can’t just tell them what to believe.³ We have to speak their language. Challenge mistakes with facts and warmth, gently guiding others towards a clearer perspective of the matter. Please don’t shout at others or embarrass them—that won’t get us anywhere. But also, please report those who intentionally spread wrong or malicious information.

Be careful also about sharing private information, even if it’s about you. I hope for this space to be a safe environment, but it’s still open for everyone, and so strangers (ibang tao) can read what you share. Let’s just be mindful that this is a public place.

Let’s Begin!

For this session, I won’t be recommending anything yet—I’d love to hear from you first. You may use the comment section below to answer the following:

1. What made you interested to study more about Philippine culture?

2. What is your favorite resource (book, film, article, etc.) about Philippine culture? What about this resource resonates with you, that you feel might be an important truth about the Filipino identity?

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With your permission, I might ask you whether I could share your insights on social media, so that it can inspire more people.

1. Updated 26 October 2023: Previously, this read: “Here we will be reading and discussing resources on Philippine studies, particularly on indigenous traditions and folk psychology.” I have changed it to “Here we will be exploring and discussing resources on folk psychology and indigenized spirituality.” (Changes are reflected in italics.) This is why: most of my work is done in an urban setting, and although anything I do is “indigenous” to the Philippines (being that I come from the Philippines), it’s not the same as being part of an Indigenous community (with a capital “I”). I’ve always used the word “indigenous” to refer to my own general experience as a Filipino, but as I learn more, I’m being careful not to subtly erase protected cultures. I say “indigenized” in the sense that something has become part of our native experience. So, when I refer to “indigenized spirituality,” this includes Christianized animism.

2. Updated 27 February 2024: I have broadened the scope of the Study Group to include book reviews and article summaries.

3. We’ve seen this happen during the 2022 elections, when some people just got more and more stubborn and defensive whenever others would try and “educate” them. There was that perceived sense of elitism and arrogance from one group that just made other people hold on more strongly to their convictions.