Critical Historical Consciousness and Decolonizing for Filipinx American Undergraduates

Abstract

This study seeks to understand how undergraduate Filipinx Americans develop historical consciousness and what the impacts of this are on their racial identity. The roots of Filipinx American historical erasure date back to colonization of the Philippines, both Spanish and U.S. occupations of the Philippines and continue to have a damaging effect on Filipinx Americans today (Leonardo & Matias, 2013). Evidence of this erasure is apparent in the absence of U.S. Philippine history from textbooks as well as the general absence of anything related to Filipinx Americans in contemporary pop culture or dominant narratives. Another form of erasure is in the invisiblity of Filipinx Americans under the racial category of Asian. This monolithic racial category obstructs possibilities to examine unique experiences, successes, and challenges Filipinx Americans as well as many other Asian groups face (Teranishi, 2010). In sum, the legacy of historical erasure, starting with colonization in the Philippines and the invizibilizing of Filipinos as Asian are factors that explain contemporary struggles for Filipinx Americans in higher educational contexts. My research seeks to examine the relationship between these phenomena and to explore what happens when Filipinx American undergraduates engage in learning critical colonial history. This is a qualitative study that centers on the narratives of Filipinx Americans undergraduates and their journey of grappling with racial identity.