Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
The permanence of texts
or the impermanence of texts.
I was reading a new book (2010) last night that mentions the first book that I wrote. In his two-page critique of my work, the author writes:
- Strobel's "decolonization" is premised on the putative Filipino American self's idealist transcendence of a colonial history's intertwined social materialities, including its contemporary neocolonial and postcolonial formation
- Strobel's warped decolonization pivots on a strident appropriation and alienation of an undifferentiated "Filipino indigenous"...that restores a foundational premise for "post-1965 Filipino American" identity formation.
- For Strobel and others in resonance with her framing, the abstracted "indigenous" is really a compilation of distant cultural artifacts and composes a project of cultural reification that postpones or erases the current life of actual indigenous peoples and movements in (and beyond) the Philippine nation-state...
- Strobel's conception of identity formation as a linear progression toward a self-realized Filipino American subject....is fundamentally an edification of Filipino American cosmopolitan subjectivity...
- Strobel's...prescriptive narrative of the self-actualized Filipino American as a good citizen-subject ...is a cooperative partner in the multiculturalist civil formation of the U.S. In this rhetorical structure, "decolonization" becomes a partner in the U.S. multiculturalist national project...
I actually appreciate this critique because, based on his own framework in this book, it makes sense. This is what scholars do, after all; in order to build up their own theorizing, they must deconstruct others and displace them in the name of the project they are building. And I agree with the project of this new book: that race, white supremacy, genocide must figure into the reading of the Filipino condition. Without such reading, the Filipino historical subject remains in a sort of "suspended apocalypse."
I quibble, though, with the permanence of texts because my work that is being cited freezes the narrative that I have been living and writing about into a time frame. Time, of course, is what fixes us as historical subjects. (In one of the essays in my second book, I write about my attempts to free myself of Time).
It is important to know one's self as a historical subject and our attempts to articulate and practice a Filipino American historical subjectivity is always contingent, impermanent, perhaps flawed, and always incomplete. The author's contribution to this project is worthwhile. I hope it becomes popularized and accessible to those who do not have easy access to academic theorizing.
I find it interesting that my work is cited as an example of a Fil Am "cosmopolitan subjectivity" and "idealist transcendence" and "appropriation of Filipino indigenous". I can understand how this reading happens and how it is framed as an accomplice to the US multicultural nationalist project.
However, I think those who know me and my work for the past decade a little bit more closely will see that such reading can't be farther from the reality of what I do.
And this is what I decry about the permanence of texts or textuality. As I become more interested in embodied knowing, in storytelling, in indigenous ways of being and doing, I also become conscious of wanting to be more than an overdetermined historical subject. I have devoted time and years to decentering the modern historical narrative in my life and now I want to see this sliver recede into the background of a larger reality.
But I may not have the time nor the desire to theorize about this right now. I just want to...dance.
I was reading a new book (2010) last night that mentions the first book that I wrote. In his two-page critique of my work, the author writes:
- Strobel's "decolonization" is premised on the putative Filipino American self's idealist transcendence of a colonial history's intertwined social materialities, including its contemporary neocolonial and postcolonial formation
- Strobel's warped decolonization pivots on a strident appropriation and alienation of an undifferentiated "Filipino indigenous"...that restores a foundational premise for "post-1965 Filipino American" identity formation.
- For Strobel and others in resonance with her framing, the abstracted "indigenous" is really a compilation of distant cultural artifacts and composes a project of cultural reification that postpones or erases the current life of actual indigenous peoples and movements in (and beyond) the Philippine nation-state...
- Strobel's conception of identity formation as a linear progression toward a self-realized Filipino American subject....is fundamentally an edification of Filipino American cosmopolitan subjectivity...
- Strobel's...prescriptive narrative of the self-actualized Filipino American as a good citizen-subject ...is a cooperative partner in the multiculturalist civil formation of the U.S. In this rhetorical structure, "decolonization" becomes a partner in the U.S. multiculturalist national project...
I actually appreciate this critique because, based on his own framework in this book, it makes sense. This is what scholars do, after all; in order to build up their own theorizing, they must deconstruct others and displace them in the name of the project they are building. And I agree with the project of this new book: that race, white supremacy, genocide must figure into the reading of the Filipino condition. Without such reading, the Filipino historical subject remains in a sort of "suspended apocalypse."
I quibble, though, with the permanence of texts because my work that is being cited freezes the narrative that I have been living and writing about into a time frame. Time, of course, is what fixes us as historical subjects. (In one of the essays in my second book, I write about my attempts to free myself of Time).
It is important to know one's self as a historical subject and our attempts to articulate and practice a Filipino American historical subjectivity is always contingent, impermanent, perhaps flawed, and always incomplete. The author's contribution to this project is worthwhile. I hope it becomes popularized and accessible to those who do not have easy access to academic theorizing.
I find it interesting that my work is cited as an example of a Fil Am "cosmopolitan subjectivity" and "idealist transcendence" and "appropriation of Filipino indigenous". I can understand how this reading happens and how it is framed as an accomplice to the US multicultural nationalist project.
However, I think those who know me and my work for the past decade a little bit more closely will see that such reading can't be farther from the reality of what I do.
And this is what I decry about the permanence of texts or textuality. As I become more interested in embodied knowing, in storytelling, in indigenous ways of being and doing, I also become conscious of wanting to be more than an overdetermined historical subject. I have devoted time and years to decentering the modern historical narrative in my life and now I want to see this sliver recede into the background of a larger reality.
But I may not have the time nor the desire to theorize about this right now. I just want to...dance.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
connecting the dots
Steve Jobs: You cannot connect the dots looking forward.
I have never heard a talk by Steve Jobs before and I stumbled onto this 2005 speech recently. His three stories about his being adopted, dropping out of college, and his close encounter with death ends with his admonition to the audience: Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
I specially like the part about being hungry and foolish. Bradford Keeney would say: be nonsense, make nonsense. don't just understand, stand under something.
Wisened old men - Bradford and Steve. I also live with a wise old man but he doesn't have a public profile. He doesn't want one either. So I go public for both of us. In spite of my own hesitation to be seen and heard. In spite of my shyness.
I have never heard a talk by Steve Jobs before and I stumbled onto this 2005 speech recently. His three stories about his being adopted, dropping out of college, and his close encounter with death ends with his admonition to the audience: Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
I specially like the part about being hungry and foolish. Bradford Keeney would say: be nonsense, make nonsense. don't just understand, stand under something.
Wisened old men - Bradford and Steve. I also live with a wise old man but he doesn't have a public profile. He doesn't want one either. So I go public for both of us. In spite of my own hesitation to be seen and heard. In spite of my shyness.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Summer visits
Visited with Lydia Cabasco today.
Lydia is interested in facilitating the process of healing guilt and shame among her generation of Fil Ams (22-32yrs old). As someone who has been on the spiritual path of healing herself, she now wants to help others. She is a trained coach and facilitator of SoulCollage but both of these modalities are informed by her personal background as a Filipina activist, feminist, and decolonizing spiritual person.
Later this week, Helen and Jason will be visiting as well.
And on Saturday: An Evening of Dawac Stories featuring Manang Betty Tabios.
Lydia is interested in facilitating the process of healing guilt and shame among her generation of Fil Ams (22-32yrs old). As someone who has been on the spiritual path of healing herself, she now wants to help others. She is a trained coach and facilitator of SoulCollage but both of these modalities are informed by her personal background as a Filipina activist, feminist, and decolonizing spiritual person.
Later this week, Helen and Jason will be visiting as well.
And on Saturday: An Evening of Dawac Stories featuring Manang Betty Tabios.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Shaking Medicine
Bradford Keeney's shaking medicine is good news.
Am reading Shaking Out the Spirits and everything he writes about resonates.
I want to be more fully awake like this.
Leave the world of textuality...
Am reading Shaking Out the Spirits and everything he writes about resonates.
I want to be more fully awake like this.
Leave the world of textuality...
Friday, July 23, 2010
The good work of FANHS
My Highlights from the FANHS conference:
- rooming with Karen, Bec, and Titania and Rocco
- the beautiful Seattle University campus
- youth participation: from Kodiak, Alaska; from PEP; from Virginia Beach, Va, youth from Seattle and Tacoma
- Bay Area Kulintang Ensemble: Titatia, Holly, Tala, Patty, Alexis, Pat, Olivia
- FANHS Sonoma County participation/Remembering our Manongs
- dropping in on simultaneous workshops: Battle of Ising in Mindanao, Fil Ams in Detroit, Virginia Beach/FANHS/FACS work with K-12 youth; panel on youth's voices, mestizas, etc., Camp FYA making Babaylan dolls - beautiful!
- authors' reception: being introduced by FANHS Pres Joanie Cordova (thank you!)
- selling copies of Babaylan books (thank you, Linda)
- Our BABAYLAN Panel/Workshop: Karen, Lorial, Bec, Titania plus Baylan, Holly, Pat, Alexis assisting with Kapwa Jammin.
- reconnecting with Emraida from Milwaukee, Amalia from Hawaii, Judy from San Diego, Juanita from San Francisco, Melissa from San Diego, Veronica and the Virginia Beach crew, etc...
- dancing the night away on Friday and Bec's cha-cha line...
- storytelling among friends...
and many more...
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