21st Century Literature

Family

We are family! I got all my sisters, brothers, titos, titas, lolos, lolas, ninongs, ninangs, pinsans, ninongs, ninangs, ates, kuyas, manongs, manangs, atbp. with me!

Listen to this podcast for an introduction to the topic of family.

Our culture puts great value on the family—not just the nuclear group (mom, dad, siblings) but also the extended family members. Traditionally, family is everything for us Filipinos. But recent phenomena—the proliferation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the growth of Filipino migrant communities all over the world, the shift in gender roles, the legalization of same sex marriages in other parts of the globe—all these and more have influenced and changed the traditional family composition.

For the topic of family, we will explore such changes and also take a look at those aspects that have remained the same. We will also go beyond our shores to look at families from different cultures in order for us to discover similarities and differences.

Beyond Borders

Let's start with a short article (a 6-minute read) on OFWs and the hardships they endure while working abroad. I also like this article for the pictures taken by acclaimed photographer Hannah Reyes Morales, a Filipina photographer who is a also a National Geographic grantee (check out her work here). This is another means of storytelling, with words emerging from the lens of a camera.

Then move on to two readings that center on the idea of family transcending time and space, crossing borders and seasons. The first is a feature article by Morales herself and was written as part of a series by CNN Style that focused on the theme of family. The second reading is a poem by Clint Smith entitled "FaceTime" and it highlights how technology has kept families connected in spite of the distance that separates them.

Once you're done digesting all the readings from our main page on family, move on to our first subtopic: Family Migration

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