G. Persoon Introduction. A overview of Philippine studies In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, The PhilippinesHistorical and social studies 157 (2001), no: 3, Leiden, 451-469 This PDF-file was downloaded from http://www.kitlv-journals.nl Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 07:52:39PM via free access GERARD A. PERSOON Introduction An Overview of Philippine Studies In a letter to the readers of this journal dated May 1999, the purpose of which was to explain a number of recent editorial developments, the editor pointed out that the journal's geographical focus, which traditionally has largely been limited to Indonesia, is in fact much wider and also includes other countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Articles on any country in the region but especially Malaysia and the Philippines would be welcome. In order to stimulate the geographical widening of the journal and to encourage com- parative studies between the various countries, this special issue devoted to the Philippines has been published. The aim of this issue is to introduce readers to a number of topics indicative of the recent international interest in Philippine studies. That is one of the reasons why within the wide scope already mentioned there is no further focusing on one particular topic or region within the country. The variety of topics presented in this issue reflects to some extent the variety of work within the field. So far this journal has paid little attention to the Philippines. Over the years the number of articles explicitly related to the Philippines has been rather limited. In its other academic publications, such as the Verhandelingen series, the Institute's attention to the Philippines has also been rather min- imal. There is only one title that explicitly refers to the Philippines (Bootsma 1986), and it deals with the fact that during colonial times the United States and the Netherlands were actually neighbours, although the administrations of both colonies never maintained a very close relationship. Neither did the two countries' academic communities share much mutual interest, in spite of such potentially fruitful areas as the forms of direct and indirect rule, local systems of law and dispute settlement, and linguistics. An effort to set up a common research programme for legal studies by Prof. ED. Holleman, who was teaching in former Batavia, and Prof. H. Otley Beyer of the University of Manila, ended in frustration (Holleman 1990). Apparently administrators and academics at that time were not much interested in neighbouring coun- tries. For a long time, the general focus on Indonesia was also reflected in the Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 07:52:39PM via free access 452 Gerard A. Persoon Institute's acquisitions policies for books and journals. It has only been in recent years that the Institute has more actively included the Philippines in its acquisitions practices. In the Institute's library, the Philippines now re- ceives ample attention. This also reflects a general increase in interest in the Philippines throughout the Netherlands as a whole (see also Van den Muij- zenberg 1992, 2001). To characterize the field of Philippine studies as it exists today world- wide, we can look at some recent conferences which provide a good over- view of current themes and interests. They also reflect the origins of the most important research communities. There are two important series of such events, the International Philippine Studies Conferences and the European Conferences on Philippine Studies. In addition there are numerous smaller- scale meetings or panels within conferences of other types, but for the pur- pose of this introduction it may suffice to refer to the two types mentioned above. The larger of the two is the International Philippine Studies Confer- ence, which is presently being held every four years. The first meeting in this series took place in 1980 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the second in Honolulu (1981), the third in Manila (1989), the fourth in Canberra (1992) and the fifth again in Honolulu (1996). The sixth meeting in the series was recently held in Manila in July 2000 under the theme 'Turn of the Centuries: the Philippines in 1900 and 2000'. The next will take place in Amsterdam in 2004. Philippine Studies Conferences are also held in Europe every three or four years. The first took place in Amsterdam (1991), the second in London (1994), the third in Aix-en-Provence ('Philippine Communities between Local Tradi- tions and Globalization', 1997) and the fourth ('The Philippines in Southeast Asia and Beyond') took place in September 2001 in Alcala, Spain. Though smaller than the first type of international meetings, the European confer- ences are not really different from the international conferences, either in scope or by the identity of their participants. In both cases there are substan- tial numbers of Europeans and Americans as well as Asian scholars, mainly from Japan. The relatively small number of Spanish academics engaged in Philippine studies is somewhat surprising. There are of course also a number of Filipino students and researchers who either come from the Philippines or who have obtained research and teaching positions at research institutions or universities abroad. The geographical distribution of the conferences also reveals the wide- spread interest in Philippine studies combined with the presence of Filipino academics and students in many parts of the world. Both types of confer- ences reflect a continuing interest in a number of themes. There is a kind of consistency in the titles of the panels organized during these conferences. The tables of contents of journals specializing in the Philippines or in edited volumes on Philippine studies indicate a similar tendency. Some of the dom- Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 07:52:39PM via free access Introduction 453 inant themes of current social science research in the Philippines are the fol- lowing (see also Hayase 1991; Anderson, Reed and Sardalla 1996; Rutten 1996; Sanchez Gomez 1995; Macdonald and Pasigan 2000). Colonial history The Spanish and American colonial period, and in particular the period of the revolution at the end of the 19th century, continues to be an important topic for academic research on the Philippines. Spanish researchers have a special interest in the era in which Spain ruled the country. They base their work largely on the available sources in Spain, which does not allow for a general colonial history. Their work is more about the Spanish in the Philip- pines and the history of the Christianization of the country through the eyes of the religious orders. These limitations necessarily influence the kind of research that is possible.1 American and Filipino researchers continue to take a great interest in the political history of the colony, since the Americans took over from the Spanish rulers. Apart from general studies that deal with issues at the national level, there are also a large number of publications that focus on the American presence and influence in particular areas. Many of the topics still being studied and re-studied are based on archive materials in the United States (Jenista 1987; McCoy 1993). One of the interesting examples is the influence of the American administrative system on the classification and boundaries of ethnic groups (see Hutterer 1991). Diaspora and labour migration A large number of Filipinos are working abroad, especially in countries in East and Southeast Asia and the Middle East, but there are also substantial numbers in Western countries. The Filipinos have a number of comparative advantages over citizens of many other countries. With their command of English and their relatively high level of education, combined with a will- ingness to work for relatively low wages, they find their way to other coun- tries as domestic helpers, nurses, skilled labourers and to all kinds of jobs in the hotel and entertainment industry. Filipino sailors are to be found on the fleets of many Western countries. They also seem to suffer less from home- sickness, and consequently they tend not to leave their jobs before the end of their contracts. In many cases married men and women go abroad for 1 Sanchez Gomez (1995) provides a good overview of the Spanish historical studies that relate to the Philippines. Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 07:52:39PM via free access 454 Gerard A. Persoon lengthy periods. Once in a while there are public discussions about whether or not the Philippine state should support this labour migration. Usually these discussions are raised because of incidents of abuse involving Filipinas and Filipinos abroad. But in most cases the discussions fade away and things return to normal. For the economy of the Philippines the remittances sent back by overseas workers are crucial. Migrants returning home, the so-called balikbayans, usually laden with presents, electronic equipment and other items, are welcomed upon their arrival in Manila as the modern heroes of the nation. Jointly they are the biggest single cash earners in the country and in many parts of the Philippines life cannot be properly understood without understanding the economic, demographic and social impact of this migra- tion. All kinds of academic studies have been undertaken that deal with migrant communities in faraway places: economic studies of the impact made by these migrants, the revival of Filipino identity abroad, perceptions and forms of Filipino identity and types of social organization in new envir- onments. Questions related to national identity and culture In the Philippines there is a continuous debate about the nature of Filipino values, identity and identity makers and about the role of Filipino public cul- ture in everyday life. There can be no doubt that the Philippines has lost much of its original cultures in the course of its history.