The University of San Francisco USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center Doctoral Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects 2014 Artist as Citizen: Transnational Cultural Work in the National Democratic Movement of the Philippines Ryan Anthony Leano University of San Francisco, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.usfca.edu/diss Part of the Asian American Studies Commons Recommended Citation Leano, Ryan Anthony, "Artist as Citizen: Transnational Cultural Work in the National Democratic Movement of the Philippines" (2014). Doctoral Dissertations. 102. https://repository.usfca.edu/diss/102 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects at USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The University of San Francisco ARTIST AS CITIZEN: TRANSNATIONAL CULTURAL WORK IN THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the School of Education International and Multicultural Education Department In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education by Ryan A. Leano San Francisco, California May 2014 THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO Dissertation Abstract Artist as Citizen: Transnational Cultural Work in the National Democratic Movement of the Philippines The inspiration for this topic comes from my own experiences as a Filipino transnational cultural worker in this movement. There has been research done on Filipinos in the arts and social movements, however there is a paucity of information concerning Filipino cultural work. Cultural work and cultural workers are intentional in creating culture as an act of resistance to imperialism, as of the stories they tell though their creative work are not revealed much in mainstream media. Cultural workers also seek to debunk the myth of artists working in isolation from the community. As shared by the participants in this study, cultural workers are more importantly organizers working closely with marginalized communities, and in many ways are “popular educators” and “organic intellectuals.” The purpose of this study is twofold: to examine the extent to which cultural work brings political consciousness to marginalized populations in the Philippines and the U.S. who do not have access to education, and to examine the impact of cultural work locally and transnationally as a tool for social change and addressing issues that impact marginalized populations, particularly in the National Democratic Movement of the Philippines. The qualitative methodology used for this study is narrative research, gathering the stories of Filipino cultural workers both in the Philippines and the U.S. These cultural workers are part of the National Democratic Movement of the Philippines. Data was collected in the Philippines and the U.S. through interviews and field observations. ii The participants in this study confirmed the assumptions offered by the theories that guided this work, through the experiences they shared. Their organizing through cultural work is in essence the social practice of Theater of the Oppressed. Their role as critical organic catalyst is exemplified their practice of being Artist-Teacher-Organizer- Researcher (ATOR) with the communities they align themselves with. Lastly, the cultural workers closely identified with the National Democratic Movement of the Philippines as a social movement with a distinct social process of transnational collective action. iii This dissertation, written under the direction of the candidate’s dissertation committee and approved by the members of the committee, has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. The content and research methodologies presented in this work represent the work of the candidate alone. Ryan A. Leano August 15, 2014 Candidate Date Dissertation Committee Dr. Shabnam Koirala-Azad August 15, 2014 Chairperson Dr. Emma Fuentes August 15, 2014 Dr. Robyn M. Rodriguez August 15, 2014 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………ii SIGNATURE PAGE……………………………………………………………………..iv CHAPTER I—INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 Statement of Problem .............................................................................................. 7 Background and Need ............................................................................................. 7 Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................... 10 Purpose of the Study .............................................................................................. 12 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 12 Significance of the Study ....................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER II—REVIEW OF LITERATURE .................................................................. 14 Cultural Work ........................................................................................................ 15 Theater of the Oppressed ........................................................................... 15 Cultural Work/Worker Defined ................................................................. 17 Filipino Cultural Work .............................................................................. 20 Human Rights in the Philippines in a Historical Context ...................................... 30 Miseducation and Decolonization in the Philippines ................................ 30 The Current Human Rights Crisis in the Philippines ................................ 40 Exploring the National Democratic Movement of the Philippines through Social Movement Theory ................................................................................................. 52 Social Movement Theory .......................................................................... 52 History of the National Democratic Movement of the Philippines ........... 61 History of Filipino Migration and Transnationalism ............................................. 65 CHAPTER III—METHODOLOGY ................................................................................. 72 Background of the Researcher ............................................................................... 72 Restatement of the Purpose of the Study ............................................................... 75 Overview ............................................................................................................... 76 Research Design .................................................................................................... 79 Research Setting .................................................................................................... 82 The Philippines: NCR ................................................................................ 82 The United States: San Francisco Bay Area .............................................. 83 Participants ............................................................................................................ 85 Cultural Workers in the Philippines .......................................................... 86 Cultural Workers in the United States ....................................................... 88 Validity and Reliability ......................................................................................... 91 Data Collection ...................................................................................................... 93 Interviews .................................................................................................. 94 Fieldnotes and Observations ...................................................................... 95 Data Analysis ......................................................................................................... 97 Ethical Considerations ........................................................................................... 97 v CHAPTER IV—FINDINGS ............................................................................................. 99 Research Question 1: According to cultural workers, what is cultural work and how does it look in a transnational context? ....................................................... 100 Defining Cultural Work and Cultural Workers ....................................... 100 The Role of Cultural Work Transnationally ............................................ 107 Summary .................................................................................................. 113 Research Question 2: How is cultural work used in the National Democratic Movement of the Philippines? ............................................................................. 113 Personal Experiences as Cultural Workers in the National Democratic Movement ................................................................................................ 114 Highlights of Cultural Work in the National Democratic Movement ..... 131 Challenges of Cultural Work in the National