The Center conducts regular "brown-bag" lectures and public seminars on topics
related to the Philippines and Filipinos. It has presented more than 500 speakers
to date. The lecture series is intended to promote intellectual interest and
interaction within the University community, particularly among Philippine specialists.
It also serves as a forum for distinguished Philippine specialists, intellectuals,
officials, and other visitors who are invited to speak. Among them have been former
Senators Leticia Ramos Shahani and Arturo Tolentino, former Senate President Jovito
Salonga, former University of the Philippines (UP) President Jose Abueva, Dr. Doreen
Fernandez, Dr. Carolina Hernandez, Dr. Mahar K. Mangahas, the late writers Salvador P.
Lopez and Bienvenido Santos, famous author N. V. M. Gonzalez, noted novelist and 1980
Ramon Magsaysay awardee for Literature, Journalism, and Communications F. Sionil Jose.
The Center sponsored the first Asian-scholar-in-residence at UHM, Dr. Bienvenido
Lumbera, UP professor of literature and Filipino, who likewise won the Magsaysay
Award. It also sponsored two Distinguished Florence Macaulay Lectures, bringing to
the campus Prof. Solita Monsod of the UP School of Economics and Ms. Monalisa
Yuchengco of the Yuchengco Group of Companies.
Spring 2012 Lectures
(Please see poster by clicking Here.)
Reads from Drive-by Vigils and Leche,
by R. Zamora Linmark, Wednesday, January 25, 2012, at 7:30 pm, HIG Auditorium.
Event has been made possible by grants from SEED, American Studies, Philippine Studies, and English Department.
For more info, call (808) 956-3049. More....
Florentino Das’ Solo Voyage from Hawaii
to the Philippines, by Cecilia Noble, Ph.D. candidate, Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 4:00 p.m.
Philippine Consulate General Lanai, 2433 Pali Highway, Honolulu.
In Celebration of the 27th Anniversary of the Congress of Visayan Organizations
Panel Discussants:
- Sylvia Day
- Dr. Jun Colmenares
- Dr. Patricia Halagao
On May 14, 1955, Florentino Das left Kewalo Basin aboard his homemade
wooden boat Lady Timarau, powered only by two 25-hp outboard
motors and a canvas sail and with no modern communication or navigational
instruments except a simple compass and the stars. His goal—to
cross the Pacific Ocean and reach his native Philippines. He encountered
several storms along the way and had to stay in Ponape, Micronesia
for several months to repair his boat. Told by his sponsors to abort
his journey, he refused because he felt that Filipino national pride was
on the line. He finally reached Siargao, Mindanao, Philippines on April
25, 1956. For his formidable feat and patriotic zeal, he was received
and honored by no less than then Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay
who bestowed on him the Legion of Honor and the honorary title of
Commodore of the Philippine Navy. After the initial adulation, however,,
he slipped into obscurity. Unable to return to Hawaii, he got sick
and died in Manila, impoverished, on October 7, 1964, at age 46.
For RSVP and inquiries, please call Jun Colmenares at 510-734-4491.More...
Isabelo's Archive: The Formation of Philippine Studies, by Resil Mojares,
Ph.D., Andrews Chair Visiting Professor, SPAS, February 10, 2012, 2:30-3:30 pm, CKS Auditorium (Reception to follow).
The lecture traces the formation of "Philippine Studies" by Filipinos to a public appeal issued in 1885 by the journalist and scholar Isabelo de los Reyes (1864-1938), calling on his countrymen to join a movement that would build an "archive of popular knowledge" in the Philippines. In discussing the significance of Isabelo's appeal and his own response to it, the publication of the two-volume Folk-Lore Filipino (1889), the lecture explores the possibilities, limits, and dangers of national archive-building in the Philippines. More...
Baguio City as the Second Washington DC: Triumphant Urban Center or Fast Declining Slum. by Gerard Finin, Ph.D., Program Senior Fellow and Co-Director, East-West Center Pacific Islands Development, Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 12:30-2:00 pm, Moore Hall 319. More...
A Mountain of Difference: Re-locating the Lumad in Philippine Historical Imagination, by Oona Paredes, Ph.D., Asst Professor, Dept of Southeast Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, 12:30-2:00 pm, Moore Hall 319 (Tokioka Room).
Engendering Counterinsurgency: Winning the Hearts and Minds of Women in the
Huk Rebellion in the Philippines, by Vina Lanzona, Ph.D., CPS Director & Professor, History Department. Co-sponsored
with the History Department, Friday, March 2, 2012, Time: 2:30-4:00 pm, Sakamaki Hall A201.
Searching for the Baglan in the Philippines, by Charissa Fabia; and
Spatial Bataan: Redistributing Memorial Capas, by Miguel Llora, Ph.D. Candidate, American Studies Department, Wednesday, March 14, 2012, 12:30-2:30 pm, Moore Hall 319.
When will Datuk Leonard Wood Return and Save us from the Filipinos? Southern Philippine Muslims and their Peculiar Pro-American Sympathies, by Patricio Abinales, Ph.D., Asian Studies Program. Co-sponsored with ICSCP. Wednesday, April 11, 2012, 12:00-1:15 pm, Burns Hall 2118.
Soy Filipino y Hablo Espanyol: Spanish Language Motivation and Post-Colonial Identity among Filipino Learners, by Matthew Nelson, Yuchengco Scholarship Recipient, March 21, 2012, 12:30-2:30 pm, Moore Hall 319.
Mini-Conference on Philippine South, April 20, 2012, 8:30 am-5:00 pm, CKS Auditorium. Reception to follow.
EthniSyncracies: Dance Concert Featuring the House of Dance (Philippines), Saturday, April 21, 2012, 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm, Mamiya Theater, St. Louis Center of the Arts, Chaminade University,
3140 Waialae Avenue. Matinee and Gala Performances. More...
For direction, please click the campus map of CUH.
Fall 2011 Lectures
(See poster by clicking Here.)
Let them Eat Rats! Pestilence and Politics in Postwar Philippines,
September 14, 2011, Wednesday, 2:00-3:30 p.m., Moore Hall 319 (Tokioka Room).
Patricio N. Abinales, Ph.D.
University of Hawaii at Manoa
The most commonly cited most serious threat to the Philippines after World War II was the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP), which purportedly planned to launch a series of "military offensives" to topplle the newly-established Republic. But
equally significant was the "widespread irruption of rat populations [following] a rapid expansion in the amount of land cultivated to rice." Read more...
Weaponizing Language: US Counterinsurgency and the Politics of Translation,
Co-sponsored with the History Workshop, Department of History, October 7 (Friday), 2:30-4:00 p.m., Sakamaki Hall A201.
Vicente Rafael, Ph.D.
University of Washington
Much has been written recently about the rise of counterinsurgency stressing the "protection of the population" as the preferred strategy of the U.S. in its permanent "global war on terror." This talk will focus on two of the most prevalent tropes in the discourse of counterinsurgency: the "weaponization" and "targetting" of foreign languages. How is the counterinsurgent notion of languages as "weapons" and "targets" linked to the strategic imperative of deploying translation as a means of colonizing the lifeworld of occupied populations? Read more...
Peace Warriors: The Slow Transformation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Muslim Mindanao,
October 12 (Wednesday), 12:00-1:30 p.m., Moore Hall 319 (Tokioka Room).
Criselda Yabes
Independent Writer
The talk explores how the Philippine military has undergone a major orientation shift when it comes to fighting the separatist insurgency in the Muslim zones of the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. Criselda Yabes was allowed to embed herself with different units of the Philippine armed forces for long duration and the result of her exposure is the recent publication of her latest book Peace Warriors: On the Trail with Filipino Soldiers (Anvil, 2010). The book is the only one of its kind that looks at the Philippine military from within. Yabes will discuss what accounted for this shift in orientation and its implications on the future of the war in Mindanao. Read more...
The San Remegio, Cebu Excavations: Notes from the University of Guam 2011 Archaeological Field School, Co-sponsored with UH Department of Anthropology,
November 2 (Wednesday), 2:00-3:30 p.m., Moore Hall 319 (Tokioka Room).
Stephen B. Acabado, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of Guam
The archaeology of the island of Cebu in the Philippines has recently received increased attention from local and international scholars. The support provided by the local government and the presence of a robust heritage and historical programs in Cebu-based universities has made research in the island-province conducive to collaboration among local and international archaeologists. An example of this collaboration is the recently concluded University of Guam Archaeological Field School in San Remigio, Cebu, a collaborative training and research project between the University of Guam, the National Museum of the Philippines, the University of San Carlos (Cebu City), and the University of the Philippines- Archaeological Studies Program (Quezon City).
The field project excavated an ‘Iron Age’ burial site in San Remigio, Cebu, located on the northwestern tip of the island. Excavations provided ecological, landscape, and cultural data on the ‘Iron Age’ of the island-province. More importantly, the project provided the first secure Cebu Iron Age radiocarbon dates. I will present the preliminary findings from the 2011 field season of the San Remigio, Cebu archaeological project. Read more...
Also, please see a video of Dr. Acabado's presentation, below:
Geopolitics in APEC: the Philippines, China, and the US Pacific Command,
Co-sponsored with Women's Studies Department, November 10 (Thursday), 5:00-6:30 pm., Architecture Auditorium. Reception follows at 6:30-7:30 pm, Saunders Courtyard.
Walden Bello, Ph.D.
Representative, Philippine Congress
The increasing assertiveness of China and the crisis of US power have inaugurated a period of flux in geopolitical relations in the Asia Pacific, where the Philippines increasingly finds itself in the center of developments. What are the implications of recent developments, especially in the South China Sea for Philippine and Asia/Pacific national security? How is the Philippine Government dealing with these events? And how should other Asia and Pacific nations understand these developments? The representative, who initiated renaming South China Sea to the West Philippine Sea, led an unofficial Philippine congressional delegation to the Spratlys in the teeth of threats from Beijing, will share his take on recent events. He will also discuss the larger implications of these geo-strategic maneuverings on the future of APEC and its goal of fostering country and regional development in the Asia-Pacific lake.
Walden Bello, PhD, represents the political party Akbayan (Citizens' Action Party) in the House of Representatives of the Philippines. He is also senior analyst at the Bangkok-based institute Focus on the Global South, which he founded. A former professor of sociology at the University of the Philippines, he is the author or co-author of 15 books, the latest of which are Food Wars (London:Verso, 2009) and Dilemmas of Domination: the Unmaking of the American Empire (New York: Henry Holt 2005). More...
A video of Dr. Bello's talk is available in this link below:
Untitled from College of Social Sciences on Vimeo.
Roundtable Discussion on Dr. Jose Rizal's 150th Birth Anniversary,
Dec. 2 (Friday), 12:00-2:00 pm., Moore 319.
Panelists: Prof. Jose David Lapuz, Dr. Lilia Santiago, and Dr. Belinda A. Aquino
This year marks the 150th birth anniversary of the Philippines’ national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal. To commemorate this event, three distinguished scholars, Dr. Belinda A. Aquino, Dr. Lilia Quindoza Santiago and Prof. Jose David Lapuz, will present different facets of Rizal's life and work and share their thoughts on the relevance of Rizal today, in the twenty first century. Who was Jose Rizal and what did he accomplish? How did his personal and political experiences influence his political thought? Who were the women in his life and what were his thoughts about women and gender in Philippine colonial society? How did his ideas spawn Filipino nationalism and revolutionary action? Why does his life and work continue to resonate in the minds of Filipinos everywhere and how can we explain his enduring legacy? These are just some of the questions our panelists will explore, and hopefully our discussion on the life and legacy of Jose Rizal would provide us with a keen knowledge of the complexities of defining the Filipino nation and identity. More...
Spring 2011 Lectures
The State of Social Science in the Philippines,
March 28, 2011, Monday, 1:30 pm - 3:00 p.m., Moore Hall 319 (Tokioka Room)
Virginia A. Miralao, Ph.D.
Fulbright Visiting Senior Scholar, Columbia University
In her presentation, V.A. Miralao will share the initial results of state of the art reviews that Filipino
social scientists have prepared for their disciplines for a proposed Philippine Social Science Report, an
undertaking initiated by PSSC following the release of the 2010 World Social Science Report. These state of
the art papers which were prepared for the disciplines of economics, sociology, psychology, political science,
history, geography, linguistics, communication and public administration assess the progress and challenges
of these disciplines in terms of producing a successor generation of Filipino social scientists, and the
disciplines' contribution to knowledge-making via their research and publications outputs. The presentation
will also include some discussion on how university-based Filipino social scientists are responding to global
changes in knowledge production, and the impact of the brain drain and of consulting work opportunities on
the Philippine social sciences.More ...
The Privatization of Metro Manila: Wither the Public Good?
April 6, 2011, Wednesday, 2:00 pm - 3;30 p.m., Moore Hall 319 (Tokioka Room)
Dr. Gerard Finin, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow and Director, Pacific Islands Development Program
Public space that is open and accessible to the masses is ordinarily viewed as a critical element in the
planning of livable cities. During its first 375 years, Spanish and American concepts of public space played
a key role in Manila’s growth. While these colonial influences continue to shape notions of scale and space,
major transformations in the post-independence era, especially the relationships between public and private
spheres of activity, are critical to understanding how public space is being redefined in contemporary Metro
Manila. Particularly important are the ways in which governance issues and private institutions are shaping
the planning process.More ...
Fall 2010 Lectures
An Aesthetic Politics of Gendered Violence: The Maguindanao
Massacre, Kinatay, and National Times, November 19, 2010, Friday, 12:30 pm - 2:00 p.m., Saunders Hall 624
Melisa Casumbal-Salazar, Doctoral Candidate
UHM Dept of Political Science,
As rendered in both the social and cinematic events this presentation engages, misogynist violence in the
Philippines is simultaneously spectacular and invisible, exceptional and banal, unintelligible and multiply-coded.
The mode of misogynist violence upon which I focus is the rape and murder of women, and the mutilation of their
bodies, as perpetrated in the event popularly known as the Ampatuan or Maguindanao Massacre (November 23, 2009),
and as staged in the film Kinatay/Butchered (dir. Brilliante Mendoza, 2009).More ...
Amazons of the Huk Rebellion: Gender, Sex, and Revolution
in the Philippines, October 29, 2010, Friday, 12:30-2:00pm, George Hall 213. Sponsors: UHM Women's
Studies, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, and Center for Philippine Studies.
Speaker: Vina Lanzona, Ph.D.
UHM Department of History
Labeled “Amazons” by the national press, women played a central role in the Huk rebellion, one of the
most significant peasant-based revolutions in modern Philippine history. As spies, organizers, nurses, couriers,
soldiers, and even military commanders, women worked closely with men to resist first Japanese occupation and
later, after WWII, to challenge the new Philippine republic. More ...
The “Local” in Philippine National History:
Some Puzzles, Problems and Options," October 22, 2010, Friday, 12:00-1:30pm, UHM Center
for Korean Studies Auditorium. Sponsors: Asian Studies Program, Center for Philippine Studies,
Center for Southeast Asian Studies, and Center for Korean Studies.
Speaker: Patricio N. Abinales, Ph.D.
Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan
Despite the pre-eminent role played by localities in giving shape and direction to Philippine
politics nationally, local histories have been poorly integrated into the writing of the
national(ist) narrative. This talk explores possible explanations and consequences of this
discrepancy.
Patricio Abinales is a professor of Comparative (Southeast Asian) and American Politics at the
Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University. He holds a B.A. in History from the
University of the Philippines (U.P.), Diliman and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Government from the
Department of Government of Cornell University. More....
The 2010 Philippine Elections: Towards Democratic Consolidation or Continuing Instability?
September 15, 2010, Wednesday, 2:00pm, Moore Hall 319 (Tokioka Room).
Speaker: Takeshi Kawanaka, Ph.D.
Institute of Developing Economies, Japan
Although the Philippines started the “third wave” of democratization in Asia, its democracy has
been perceived as unstable. The country experienced not a few coup attempts, scandals of the Presidents,
and large scale rallies on the street. Even elections, a fundamental democratic solution to the
conflicts in the society, have not been able to gain the confidence of the people due to various frauds.
In the 2010 elections, Noynoy Aquino, son of the two national “heroes” of democratization, was elected
new President. Did the 2010 elections bring the hope for democratic consolidation? Or was the same old
game merely repeated? We will try to assess the impact of the 2010 Philippine elections.
More...
