DECOLONIAL STUDIES PROGRAM

The term modernity/coloniality (Quijano 2007; Mignolo 2007)is often used with reference to
continuing and often deleterious processes, conditions, and attitudes brought about by the colonial
period, which Quijano and Mignolo argue is inextricably linked to the epistemology of modernity.
Interrogating coloniality therefore involves identifying those aspects of Western modernity in
postcolonial states and involves a critical engagement with colonial-era texts, collective memory
and the use of both colonial and local languages.

The Decolonial Studies Program(DSP) focuses on five different dimensions of

coloniality/modernity that continue to impact institutions in the Global South in ways that often
hinder them from achieving their liberating potential: religion, law, English Studies, European
Studies, and Southeast Asian Studies. The program does not intend to limit itself to area studies
and seeks to involve comparative cross-disciplinary analyses in various Global South regions. In
addition, its disciplinary scope may expand over the years as potential Global South scholars from
humanities, philosophy, social sciences, and natural sciences will join the program.

The first two fields present both epistemological and ontological challenges due to the sheer
divergences of experience and worldviews between colony and colonizer. Issues of translation,
hybridization, and localization have led to various contradictions and deviations from European
expectations without necessarily capturing local needs, realities, and belief systems. The latter
three fields are closely linked to educational policies and a supposedly non-biased construction of
disciplines or areas of study.Their proponents strive to identify which approaches or practices in
the Global South, Southeast Asia, or the Philippines in particular, can help cultivate an
environment more conducive to criticaland reflexive thought.

DSP envisions to submit the deliverables (e.g. discussion papers and policy briefs) within one year
of commencement of the program. These documents will be drawn from the roundtable
discussions that will be held between May and August.The convener is M.A.J. Villaceran, the co-
convenor is F.A.C. Cruz, and the project leaders are N.M. Adiong,D.B. Gatmaytan, and R.
Guillermo. The program produces scholarly works that decolonize selected bodies of knowledge
in the Philippines. Each of them will head a research project that constitute the entirety of DSP.

1.Decolonizing Religion in the Philippines

by Asst. Prof. Dr. NassefManabilangAdiong, Institute of Islamic Studies, UP Diliman;
2.Decolonizing Law in the Philippines
by Professor Atty. Dante B. Gatmaytan, College of Law, UP Diliman;
3.Decolonizing English Studies in the Philippines
by Asst. Prof. Dr. Marie Aubrey J. Villaceran, Department of English and Comparative Literature,
College of Arts and Letters, UP Diliman;
4.Decolonizing European Studies in the Philippines
by Asst. Prof. Frances Antoinette C. Cruz, Department of European Languages, College of Arts
and Letters, UP Diliman;
5.Decolonizing Southeast Asian Studies in the Philippines
by Professor Dr. Ramon Guillermo, Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature, College of
Arts and Letters, UP Diliman.

1. Decolonizing Religion by N.M. Adiong

There is no common understanding of the meaning of religion whether in social sciences, theology
or philosophy. Some may perceive religion as the fundamental force or energy of the cosmos,
while others conceive it as the singular and central invisible force that drives and moves people. It
thus far gives meaning of what it really meant to become a human being which feeds the mind,
body and soul of a human. There are two basic ways that religion can affect the world: by what it
says and by what it does. The former relates to religion’s doctrine or theology, the latter refers to
its importance as a social phenomenon and mark of identity. This can work through a variety of
modes of institutionalisation, including church–state relations, civil society and political society.
Religion or ‘religions’ are actually modern inventions that are made to appear ubiquitous, in a
sense that it is present everywhere, and have been marginalized and privatized because it construed
to be only serving the mystification of the supposed natural rationality of the secular (e.g. the
modern nation-state and the capitalist systems). To decolonize religion in the Philippines, it is
essential to go back to the obsolete spiritual customary laws of a pre-colonial Filipino society and
how colonial religious inscriptions changed and were adapted within the traditions, customs, and
norms of present-day Filipinos. This project is divided into two parts, one is deciphering decolonial
constructs of Christianity, the other, of Islam. Bulk of studies will focus on religious influence
topolicy making and public opinion.

1.1 Expected deliverables by N.M. Adiong

Two roundtable discussions, one discussion paper, and a policy brief.

2. Decolonizing Law by D.B. Gatmaytan

President Rodrigo Duterte’s popularity despite his contempt for constitutional rules raises
questions about how democratic and republican ideals have not taken root in the Philippines. There
are two strands in the legal literature that implicate the transfer of law. Both address the failures of
these transfers. There are “rule of law” or “law and development” projects designed to implant
western legal concepts to failed states. These studies attempt to address the reasons why adoption
of western structures have not allowed States such as Afghanistan to flourish. States created in the
image and likeness of the colonizer are seldom accurate copies of the original. The other studies
address piecemeal adoption of laws from one state by another. These inquire into the reasons why
the transfer of patent laws, judicial reforms, human rights, run into problems in implementation
and design. Scholars in this area try to determine why “legal transfers” also fail. Both sets of studies
assume the necessity and benevolence of these projects. I suggest, however, that these efforts,
however seemingly benign, are the continuation of the subjugation inherent in the colonization
processes. I will demonstrate how the US in particular “abandoned a commitment to legal
cosmopolitanism and developed a contemporary legal culture both parochial in its resistance to
engaging foreign legal experience and universalist in its messianic desire to export American law
abroad.” Current “rule of law” projects are tainted with the same unspoken premises. There is a
superior system that have to be adopted by other states. Similarly, piecemeal transfers of law are
premised on the improvement of laws on the part of the recipient states. The failure to acknowledge
the colonial strain in these projects dooms these efforts. A new approach that respects the
conditions and demands from recipient states is needed to create a scheme that facilitates the
transfer of legal ideas. This study is intended to inform any discussion on constitutional change,
hopefully to reorient the discourse away from blind adoption of foreign concepts.

2.1 Expected deliverables by D.B. Gatmaytan

One roundtable discussion and a policy brief.

3. Decolonizing English Studies by M.A.J. Villaceran

English Studies in tertiary education continues to be a site of contestation. Teaching English in
Philippine classrooms is not about an aesthetic appreciation for Anglo-American literary works
but is also geared towards acquiring skills that, according to a joint statement by ASEAN education
ministers where they include English Language Education as an area, “will help narrow
development gaps” (8th ASEAN Education Ministers Meeting, 2014). Concerns about English
instruction diminishing a sense of nationalism and marginalising Philippine languages continue to
this day. One possible way of bridging this divide or addressing these concerns is through the
decolonization of English Language Education (ELE). One recognized method for decolonizing
English language teaching in the Philippines is through contextualization by the use of indigenous,
local cultural, and experiential resources to generate materials for teaching. A decolonization of
English studies involves the inclusion of literatures in English from the non-West and an
acknowledgment of how they have enriched and transformed the field of English studies. Another
attempt at decolonization is through the pluralization of English - the acknowledgement that other
varieties of English, not just “Standard” English, can be used in teaching as well. This is based on
the assumption that Philippine English is a legitimate variety of English and is as intellectualized
as any other Englishes (Tupas, 2016).

This proposed research project will: 1) conduct a desktop review study on the presence and purpose
of the term “decolonisation” in curricular offerings and syllabi of the English Departments of three
major universities in the Philippines to discover its traction in English language instruction and
English Studies in said universities, 2) carry out case studies, FGDs on best practice towards a
decolonisation of English language skills teaching and English Studies, and 3) recommend new
policy-oriented approaches to a decolonised teaching of English skills and English studies.

3.1 Expected deliverables by M.A.J. Villaceran

One roundtable discussion, one discussion paper, and a policy brief.

4. Decolonizing European Studies in SEA by F.A.C. Cruz

This program seeks to empower the role of the academe in formulating policies to disseminate and
preserve key texts, such as travel diaries, essays and books, on the Philippines and selected
countries in the Global South that were written in foreign languages through translation and
digitization. This endeavor is proposed due to the significant risks that fire and other natural
calamities pose to valuable historical collections and the country’s collective memory, as well as
the need to increase awareness of transnational and intercultural themes in the teaching of
European Languages and History. By providing a venue for cooperation with translators and
librarians, it aims to collect best practices for a policy that will entail the selection and migration
of works to online platforms and formulate translation and selection policies for key works written
about the Global South that have been rendered inaccessible due to their lack of English or Filipino
translations. These procedures shall include digitizing, translating, creating public access to, and
digitally storing French, Italian, German and Spanish travel diaries, ilustrado writings, records,
and newspaper commentaries on the Philippines. Secondly, the project shall assess foreign
language policies in the country and evaluate the viability of including and didacticizing
intercultural and transnational approaches in (non-English) language programs through workshops
and FGDs. This will, in the conceivable future, help stimulate the conscious creation of teaching
materials that integrate intercultural competencies and may address the gap in cultural and
linguistic skills for Foreign Language Teachers in postcolonial societies.

4.1 Expected deliverables by F.A.C. Cruz

Two roundtable discussions, one discussion paper, and a policy brief.

5. Decolonizing Southeast Asian Studies by R. Guillermo

It might be strange to talk about "decolonizing" something which hardly seems to exist in the first
place. However, this study aims, in the first place, to undertake a comprehensive survey of the
current state of Southeast Asian (SEA) Studies in the Philippines and neighboring countries, while
secondly, making the case that it is precisely the incomplete or unachieved "decolonization" of
this particular area of study which has hampered the full development in SEA Studies in the
Philippines and its regional neighbours. The longstanding dominance of the Anglo-American and
European metropoles in SEA Studies has prevented the development of regional and national
centers of intellectual contact and communication within SEA itself, and necessitates a nuanced
set of policies that strengthen education about SEA on one hand, as well as identifying which areas
of endeavor can reasonably engender deeper social and cultural ties. The study ends with
proposals for overcoming the current hurdles in the construction of a genuinely Southeast Asian
SEA Studies.

5.1 Expected deliverables by R. Guillermo

Oneroundtable discussion, one workshop, one public lecture, and a policy brief.

REFERENCES
Mignolo, Walter D. 2007.Delinking.Cultural Studies, 21:2-3, pp. 449-514.
Quijano, Aníbal. 2007. Coloniality and Modernity/Rationality.Cultural Studies, 21:2-3, pp. 168-
178.
ACADEMIC PROFILES

Dr NassefManabilang ADIONG is the founder of Co-IRIS (International Relations and Islamic

Studies Research Cohort) and PHISO (Philippine International Studies Organization). He is the
chief editor of the International Journal of Islam in Asia (Brill Publishers), Islam and International
Relations series (Gerlach Press), Islam in Southeast Asia series (Palgrave Macmillan), Islam and
Global Studies series (Palgrave Macmillan), International Relations in Southeast Asia series
(Routledge), and Islam in the Philippines series (DLSU Publishing House). He is the associate
editor of the Mathal: A Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Multidisciplinary Studies (The
University of Iowa). He works on theoretical research between Islam and International Relations,
Muslim governance in the Philippines, and political interaction of Muslim societies with Western
modernity. His publications are listed here,https://nassef.info/publications/.

Frances Antoinette C. CRUZ is an assistant professor of German Studies at the Department of

European Languages, University of the Philippines, Diliman, and an affiliate faculty of the Center
for International Studies at the same University. She has taught classes dealing with the Global
Diaspora and Migration, Middle Eastern relations with Europe, German Society and Culture, and
German Linguistics. Ms. Cruz obtained her Master in International Studies from UP Diliman and
an MA in German Studies from the University of Bielefeld. She has worked as a translator and
interpreter for various private firms and special-interest organizations. Her key research areas are
norm diffusion, migration, and acoustic phonetics. Her publications are listed here,https://up-
diliman.academia.edu/FrancesAntoinetteCruz

Atty. Dante B. GATMAYTAN is professor of Constitutional Law, Legal Method, and Local
Government Law at the University of the Philippines Diliman.  He writes on the intersection of
law and politics. Before he entered the academe in 1998, he practiced law through public interest
law offices working with rural poor communities involved in environment and natural resources
law, indigenous peoples’ rights, agrarian reform, and local governance. He graduated with a
Bachelor’s Degree from the Ateneo de Manila (B.S. Legal Management) in 1987 and a law degree
(LL.B.) from the University of the Philippines in 1991.  He holds Master’s Degrees from Vermont
Law School (cum laude) and the University of California, Los Angeles. Details of his illustrious
scholarship can be found here,http://law.upd.edu.ph/dante-gatmaytan/.

Dr Ramon GUILLERMO is professor of Philippine Studies at the Department of Filipino and

Philippine Literature at the University of the Philippines Diliman. He is the author of several books
and studies on translation studies, Philippine indigenization theory, Southeast Asian radical
movements and digital philology/humanities. His publications are listed
here,https://scholar.google.com.ph/citations?user=mdDCM6IAAAAJ&hl=en

Dr Marie Aubrey J. VILLACERAN is a professor of Creative Writing in the Department of

English and Comparative Literature in the University of the Philippines, Diliman. She obtained
her Masters in Creative Writing in UP Diliman and her Ph.D. in Sociology from La Trobe
University in Melbourne, Australia. She is also currently the Deputy Director for Research and
Publication of the UP Center for Women’s and Gender Studies and is the editor of its peer-
reviewed publication, Review of Women’s Studies.