Philippine Studies

Recent trends in Philippine historiography reflect both a reaction against colonial scholarships and a vigorous search for an indigenous and truly Filipino perspective of the past. The assertion that “history is never for itself; it is always for someone” is as true now as it was then. Then, because history served the ends of foreign colonial rule and its domestic partners; now, because Filipino historians seek to write history, first and foremost (some would say exclusively) for Filipinos. Hence, the subject on Philippine Studies has become so broad that it has today become a fertile ground for new paradigms and studies.  

The course provides varied information and extremely broad sets of issues in Philippine Historical Studies presented both diachronically and synchronically. It serves to form, strengthen, widen, and enhance the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values of social studies graduate students about the country’s history in general and present issues that affect the Filipinos in particular. It also offers the students an avenue for critical thinking as issues and trends require some form of deconstruction and reconstruction.