LITERARY READING

THROUGH
SOCIOCULTURAL
CONTEXT
LITERARY READING THROUGH
SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT

WHY WOULD A
PARTICULAR EVENT OR AN
OUTSIDE SITUATION AFFECT
A LITERARY PIECE?
LITERARY READING THROUGH
SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT
 LITERARY READING THROUGH
SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT
1882 – Rizal leaves for Spain to pursue his studies.
1898 – Americans introduced formal education in
the Philippines.
1972 – Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial law in the
Philippines.
1986 – People Power Revolution took place among the
Filipino people.
2016–Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte was elected the 16​th
President of the Philippine Republic
 ANALYZING A TEXT THROUGH
SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT
What is the ​relationship between the
characters or the speakers in the text and
their society​?
Does the text explicitly address issues of
gender, race, ​or class? How does the text
resolve these issues?
 ANALYZING A TEXT THROUGH
SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT
Who has the ​power? Who does not?
What is the reason for this setup?
How does this story reflect the nation?
What does this say about the country
and its inhabitants?
 ANALYZING A TEXT THROUGH
SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT
Who has the economic or social
power? Is there oppression or class
struggle? How do the characters
overcome this? Does money or
finances play a large role in the
narrative?
 ANALYZING A TEXT THROUGH
SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT
What is the ​prevailing social order?
Does the story or poem accept or
challenge it?
 PERSPECTIVES IN READING A TEXT
THROUGH SOCIO-CULTURAL
CONTEXT
Marxism Historicism
Feminism Postcolonialism
Queer Theory New Historicism
 MARXISM
KARL MARX, German philosopher of the
19 Century and a Communist League
th

Argued that literature and art affects the

society
Believed that the working class is
manipulated to accept the ideology of the
dominant one.
 MARXISM
According to the Marxist perspective,
literature shows class struggle and
materialism.
Thus, it looks into the social classes
portrayed.
 MARXISM
It also looks into how the text
serves as a propaganda material.
It also examines oppression, social
conflicts, and solution to
these struggles as shown in the
literary work
 MARXISM
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Bourgeoisie – the name given by Marx to
owners of production in the society
Proletariat – the name given by Marx to the
workers in the society.
IDEOLOGY – a belief system
CAPITALISM – economic system based on private
ownership of the means of production
 FEMINISM
The feminist perspective examines
the role of the women in the
literature.
It looks into how the female
character may be empowered or
discriminated against.
 FEMINISM
Reproductive Rights
Maternity Leave
Equal Pay and Compensation
Domestic Violence
Sexual Harassment and Sexual
Violence
 QUEER THEORY
The queer perspective is concerned
with the queer or the third gender. The
perspective itself was named in 1991.
In this perspective, the third gender;
the gay, lesbians, and other characters
or persona in literature that may fall
under queer are being examined.
 QUEER THEORY
An approach to literary and cultural
study that rejects traditional categories
of gender and sexuality
Abstract idea of third gender
Post-structuralist study
 POSTCOLONIALISM
A literary perspective and theoretical
structure that analyzes, explains, and
responds to the cultural legacy of
colonialism and imperialism
Speaks of human consequences of
economic exploitation and external
control of native people and their lands
 POSTCOLONIALISM
Also examines the effects of colonial
rule on the cultural aspects of the
colony and its treatment of women,
language, literature and humanity
 HISTORICISM
Historicism or traditional
historical criticism is a perspective
dealing with the history that
influenced the writing of literature
 NEW HISTORICISM
New Historicism focuses not only on
the history when the text was
written, but also how the history
happened.
 HISTORICISM vs NEW HISTORICISM
HISTORICISM
 History serves as background to
literature
 Historical background is
important because the text
mirrors the history of its time
 By applying historical contexts to
the text, critics believe that
writer can formulate a more
accurate interpretation of texts
than not knowing historical
contexts
NEW HISTORICISM
 Emphasizes on the interaction
between historic context of work
and modern reader’s
understanding and interpretation
 Considers both the cultural and
social forces that influenced the
creation of a text and are revealed
through a text
 Views a text as “culture in action”
 Society / culture influences the
creation of a work
 POINTS TO REMEMBER…
When reading a text or writing a critique
through sociocultural context, set aside
your personal political ideologies.
Say for example, if you greatly believe that
boys should only like girls and vice versa, it
should not hinder you from analyzing a text
using the queer theory in an objective way.
 POINTS TO REMEMBER…
Your personal ideologies may lead you to
overread the text according to what you
believe in even if the text is not related to
your political inclinations.
Do your best to be unbiased in reading.
 ACTIVITY
1. What are some popular movies we
can watch and analyze through the
Marxist, Feminist and Queer
Perspectives?
 ACTIVITY
2. What are some historical or
biographical narratives that we can
analyze through Historicism,
Postcolonialism and New Historicism
perspectives?