Week 7:

For readings —

Introduction

1.   Why is Margaret Duyungan Mislang’s life history a significant way to begin a discussion of Filipina/o American history in the Introduction to AWCP?   What might be "surprising" about her story to readers who begin the book?   Why do you think Professor Fujita-Rony chose Mislang’s story as a way to open up her discussion in AWCP?

2.   What were the kinds of sources that Professor Fujita-Rony utilized to write this book?   Why were oral histories such an important kind of material for her study?

3.   On page 7 of AWCP at the end of the first paragraph, what does Professor Fujita-Rony mean when she writes, "an array of power relations informs reclamation of Filipina/o American history, whether from inside or outside the community"?

4.   In the last paragraph of page 18 of AWCP, Professor Fujita-Rony writes, "What if we reverse the gaze to imagine what it meant for a community to "face America" instead of the other way around?   What if those typically excluded from the dominant narratives become the primary players, and we tell the story of American culture from a far different perspective, but one that is nonetheless central to the development of American culture?"   What is the intent of this statement?

Chapter 1

1.   Why is Chapter 1 called "Empire and Migration"?   Why is it important to learn about the military conquest of the U.S. in the Philippines in order to understand the formation of the Filipina/o community in the U.S. West?

2.   Why do you think that Professor Fujita-Rony begins Chapter 1 with Rufina Clemente Jackson’s story, and why might her story also be "surprising" (like Margaret Duyungan Mislang’s history)?  

3.   How did U.S. colonialism reshape the Philippine economy?   Why can Seattle be considered a colonial metropole?

4.   How did U.S. government policy shape the demographic patterns of Filipina/o migration?   How did families become transpacific?   What kinds of decisions did families make regarding who would be chosen to migrate to the United States?

For in-class film—

"Savage Acts"

1.   Why do you think that the American Social History Project called its film, "Savage Acts"?

2.   "Savage Acts" features commentaries from such diverse historical figures as Susan B. Anthony, Mark Twain, Frederick Douglass, and Emilio Aguinaldo, among others.   Why do you think the American Social History Project decided to tell the story of the U.S. intervention in the Philippines through the words of so many different kinds of historical figures?   How does our sense of history change when we learn about events from multiple perspectives?

3.   What were some common ways that Filipina/os were represented in U.S. culture, and what purpose did these representations serve?   What kinds of power relations are imbedded in the images that were produced?

4.   Why is it important to examine the display and participation of Filipina/os in World’s Fairs in tandem with United States’ military and economic conquest of the Philippines?