Week 8:
For readings—
Chapter 2
1. Why was education such a prominent feature of the U.S. colonization of the Philippines?
2. How does the position of Filipina/o students help to illuminate some of the contradictions faced by community members because of their status as U.S. nationals? What were the advantages promised by their role as students? What were the barriers that they nevertheless faced?
3. How was work an integral part of the experience of many students?
4. What kinds of responsibilities might Filipina/o students feel to family members back in the Philippines?
Chapter 3
1. Why are migration and labor such intertwined experiences for many Filipina/os during this period? How was gender a determining factor in this regard? Why was physical stability such a luxury?
2. What were the different kinds of legal and economic discrimination that Filipina/os faced during this era as U.S. colonials and as racialized minorities?
3. Why were social networks so important to these community members? What were the kinds of "family" relationships that were produced and privileged in this historical context?
4. Why is it crucial to establish a regional portrait of Filipina/o American labor migration? Why were sites like Alaska, California, and Washington essential in this labor migration?
"So close to the good life" excerpt from Philip Vera Cruz, pp. 73-81 in Reader
1. What kinds of images of the United States and Americans did Philip Vera Cruz hold prior to migrating to the U.S. West Coast? What were the conditions that he found in the U.S. West Coast after migrating?
2. How were "family" and social networks significant for Philip Vera Cruz in his migration to the United States? How did they shape his possibilities for economic survival? What was the relationship of Philip Vera Cruz to his family back in the Philippines?
"New Race Riot Outbreak Threatens: Armed Guards Check Mobs from Attack on Filipinos," San Francisco Chronicle, 24 January 1930, pp. 82-84 in Reader
Please note that the correct spelling of Fermin Tobera’s last name is "Tobera."
1. What were the events that precipitated the Watsonville riot? What do these events tell us about the racial and gender hierarchies of the time? Why were relationships between Filipino men and European American women such contested territory?
2. How were the "dance girls" depicted in this article? What images of "family" are being invoked through the article’s mentioning of Lorraine Hoffman?
"Army Acts in Watsonville Race Riots," San Francisco Chronicle, 25 January 1930, pp. 85-87 in Reader
1. Why was the Fermin Tobera case not just a local matter, but also of international concern?
2. What was the response of the "State" to the Watsonville Riot, both in the United States and the Philippines? What different levels of the government became involved in these events?
"Salvador Roldan v. Los Angeles County," p. 88-92 of Reader
Please note that Salvador Roldan’s first name is "Salvador."
1. Who was Salvador Roldan and what were the implications of this case? How is this document an example of how the "State" has control over how "family" is formed?
2. Why is there such a lengthy discussion regarding racial classification? What sources were used to assert the different claims about racial categorization, and what does this tell us about the social construction of race? Why was it so important to distinguish between a "Mongolian" and a "Malay"?
"An act to amend section 60" and "An act to amend section 69," pp. 93-94.
1. What was the purpose of the amendment to section 60 of the Civil Code? What was the purpose of the amendment to section 69 of the Civil Code? Why was the institution of marriage, particularly those marriages involving European Americans, under such close scrutiny by the "State" during this historical period?
2. What were the other groups also restricted from gaining a license according to the amendment to section 69? What do these categories tell us about United States culture at the time?
For in-class film--
"Dollar a Day, Ten Cents a Dance"
1. "Dollar a Day, Ten Cents a Dance" features several oral history excerpts from Filipina/o American community members regarding the California agricultural experience. What kinds of insights do we gain from these oral histories that might be more difficult to discern from other sources?
2. What were the expectations of many of the Filipina/o Americans in "Dollar a Day" in coming to the United States, and what was the reality that they found? How does the excerpt from Philip Vera Cruz’s oral history compare with the discussions of Filipina/o American interviewees in the film?
3. How does "Dollar a Day" along with AWCP help us to challenge the popular portrayal of the pre-1965 Filipina/o American community as a "bachelor society"?
4. How does the discussion of the Watsonville riot in the film compare and contrast with the depiction of the Watsonville riot in the articles in your reader?