The Making of the Other: Orientalism and the Filipino Identity

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The Orient has always been a fascination for the West. The latter laying foundation on the body of knowledge that is the Orient including what it is through their observations and experiences.

For many peoples in the geographical Orient, the narrative of who they are have been written and defined for them. But how do we, as Filipinos, interpret Orientalism? What is our place in it and is it possible to reclaim the narrative through our own telling?

As a continuation of our previous program tackling the Filipino Identity, Postcolonial Philippines: Redefining Our Cultural Identity, we now move forward with a hybrid event entitled, The Making of the Other: Orientalism and the Filipino Identity. Asia Society Philippines and Manila House Private Members' Club, together with experts, sit down to discuss how ‘the Orient’ was created or ‘Orientalized’ and how this impacts the way we think of ourselves as Filipinos.

The program is set to be interactive with participants having the opportunity to send their questions to the panel on April 26th, 2023 (Wednesday) at 3:00 – 5:00 PM PHT, and will be held through Zoom (online) and Manila House (onsite) with limited slots.

Join the discussion of the intersection between Orientalism and the Filipino Identity. For the registration fees, please be guided accordingly:

• Regular fee (onsite at Manila House) - PHP 800*
• Regular fee (online via Zoom) - PHP 100 

If you have any questions, you may reach us at manila@asiasociety.org.

*Registration for onsite participants will be managed by the Manila House team. You may register through this link https://bit.ly/MHAPRIL26. 

PANELISTS: 

Rommel A. Curaming, PhD, Deputy Dean (Graduate Studies and Research), Faculty of Arts and Social Science, History & International Studies Programme, University of Brunei Darussalam

Dr. Rommel A. Curaming is a Senior Assistant Professor at the History and International Studies Programme, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD). He completed a Ph.D. in Southeast Asian Studies at the Australian National University (ANU). Before joining UBD, he was a postdoctoral fellow at La Trobe University and National University of Singapore (NUS). The empirical and thematic areas of his research vary, but they cohere around the politics of the (supposedly) non-political, as evident in historical knowledge production and consumption in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. He published in several international journals including Critical Asian Studies, South East Asia Research, Time & Society, and TRANS: Trans-Regional and National Studies of Southeast Asia. His book Power and Knowledge in Southeast Asia: State and Scholars in Indonesia and the Philippines was published by Routledge (2020).

Wawi Navarroza, Multidisciplinary artist

Wawi Navarroza is an international award-winning Filipina contemporary artist known for her works in photography. Her works navigate self and surrounding as seen in her self-portraits, constructed tableaus, and contemporary landscapes. She is informed by tropicality within the dynamics of post-colonial dialogue, globalization, and the artist as a transnational agent. As a female artist, Southeast Asian and Filipino, her works transmute lived experience to the symbolic while probing materials and studio techniques, creating images that explore the hybridity of identity, photography, and place. She has published 2 books and is also a speaker on photography and visual culture, with the most recent ones at UNESCO Dhaka and at the Atatürk Kültür Merkezi, Istanbul. Navarroza is based between Manila and Istanbul and has lived in Spain and New York. She is represented by Silverlens Gallery (Manila/New York) and Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery (London/Berlin/Norway/Palm Beach).

Carmelea Ang See, Director, Bahay Tsinoy, museum of Chinese in Philippine life

Carmelea Ang See is Director of Bahay Tsinoy, museum of Chinese in Philippine life, and a past president of Chinese-Filipino organization, Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran (Unity for Progress). She teaches Education courses under the College of Education, De La Salle University, Philippines. She is currently taking doctoral studies in Educational Leadership at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Her work in the fields of culture and education spans 20 years and includes engagement with the public-school sector and other museums around the country and abroad. She is a sought-after speaker on myriad topics ranging from history, culture, and the teaching profession. She volunteers as a trainer for Bagong Kulturang Pinoy and trains public school teachers around the country on teaching children how to read. During the pandemic, she undertook many training activities on handling online classes and preparing online contents for virtual teaching.

MODERATOR

Bambina Olivares, Programme Director, Manila House

Bambina Olivares is the Programme Director of Manila Hosue Private Members Club. She is also a Special Projects and Exhibitions Consultant at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, and the author of the upcoming books on the Schools of Living Traditions, Everyday Culture, published by the National Commission for Culture and the Art.

In partnership with

We would also like to thank the following partner universities for their support