ABSTRACT
In this cultural analysis of ideas and identity formation in the Philippines, the middle class is defined by a relatively advanced level of education. Especially since the 1970s, education has dramatically increased and has contributed to what is termed the contemporary new urban middle class. The emphasis in this chapter will be laid on the differences between generations before and since the 1970s and their relationship to the public sphere. The observations presented stem from a wider investigation about the cultural construction of the public sphere and identity formation in Southeast Asia. It addresses the question of how various strata develop ideas about social life beyond their private — familial and communal — embeddedness. How do these segments perceive wider society? This inquiry complements earlier, more conventional anthropological work on the cultural construction of everyday life in Java, Thailand and the Philippines (Mulder 1992a; 1994a; 1996) and draws on many years of participant observation and research among members of the urban middle class, combined with a systematic analysis of the construction of knowledge in the major newspapers and social studies school texts.
