Description
Book SynopsisLooking at nationalism as an unstable production, this volume examines how and with what effects, the concept of nation was produced and deployed in the Philippines. It also examines colonial domesticity through the writings of white women. It is for those interested in Southeast Asian studies, Asian-American studies, and postcolonial studies.
Trade Review“An extremely rich, original, and insightful work. Famously gifted in style and nuance, Rafael ranks among the few contemporary scholars in Asian studies whose writings merit—and reward—careful rereading. This book not only illuminates twentieth-century Philippine history with great sophistication and subtlety but also treats colonialism, nationalism, and constructions of gender and race in ways that many non-Philippine specialists are certain to find interesting and fruitful.”—John T. Sidel, author of
Capital, Coercion, and Crime: Bossism in the Philippines“These critical essays on colonial and contemporary Philippines offer a formidable combination of powerful cultural critique and incisive political commentary. Rafael’s deep knowledge of the Philippines, his capacity to address a large range of issues, his astute use of cultural and political theory and his many brilliant insights and analyses will provide new directions to postcolonial debates on imperialism, nationalism and their relationship to ‘area studies.’ A truly remarkable book.”—Dipesh Chakrabarty, University of Chicago
“Written as a sustained and devoted interruption of postcolonial certainties while seeming to arrive from the future,
White Love and Other Events in Filipino History ushers in its own eventfulness. It is a momentous work.”—John Pemberton, author of
On the Subject of “Java”Table of ContentsIllustrations xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction:
Episodic Histories 1
1. White Love:
Census and Melodrama in the U.S. Colonization of the Philippines 19
2. Colonial Domesticity:
Engendering Race at the Edge of Empire, 1899-1912 52
3. The Undead:
Notes on Photography in the Philippines, 1898-1920s 76
4. Anticipating Nationhood:
Identification, Collaboration, and Rumor in Filipino Responses to Japan 103
5. Patronage, Pornography, and Youth:
Ideology and Spectatorship during the Early Marcos Years 122
6. Taglish, or the Phantom Power of the Lingua Franca 162
7. Writing History after EDSA
190
8. “Your Grief is Our Gossip”:
Overseas Filipinos and Other Spectral Presences 204
Notes 229
Bibliography 265
Index 277
