Made in the U.S.A.: American Occupation, Identity Construction, and Social Action - Philippines

This program will examine the United States’ occupation of the Philippines and its implications for current as well as historical Filipino identity construction. Exploring historical texts, western and indigenous theory, art, Hip Hop culture, and local travel, we will ask how Filipino identities are negotiated and what it means to live in the islands. The utilization of English as the primary means of education in the Philippines during the colonial era and the invisibility of Filipino contributions in the U.S. are some of the many issues we will consider. Specifically, we will engage the work of Filipino and Filipino American scholars and community members who assert that the colonial mentality created by the effects of 300-year Spanish colonization and American educational policy in the Philippines from 1898 to 1945 has impacted Filipinos as they learned to become Westernized and behave like Americans, speak Americanized English, emulate American culture, and absorbed American democratic procedures.  Although we will connect the Spanish influence in the Philippines and its impact on Filipino society and identity, this program will primarily focus on the role of American colonization, occupation, and education policies on Filipino identity formation.  
While the program will be located and anchored at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City, the Program Directors, local scholars, educators, and community organizers will teach the program both in Seattle and in Manila, beginning with a required five-credit UW Summer course, Introduction to Filipino Histories (HSTCMP 205/JSIS 205A), to be taken online, and weekly pre-departure meetings during Summer Quarter A Term 2016.