02/21/2014 University Event
The Institute for Cultural Studies will be hosting a symposium on the theme “The State of Philippine Pen: Challenges to Filipino Literature to Articulate A Philosophy For Our Time” with National Artist Frank Sionil Jose as keynote speaker to be held on February 27, 2014, from 8:00 a.m. to 12 noon, at the College of Education Multimedia Function Room at the 3rd Floor of the Campus Main Building, Anonas Street, Sta. Mesa, Manila.The activity will coincide with the celebration of the Institute for Cultural Studies’ 2nd Founding Anniversary.
F. Sionil Jose’s enduring contribution as a national artist with enviable penchant for blending literature and philosophy against the background of our evolving history as a people is the perfect mix for this scheduled symposium on the said theme. This is not to mention Sionil’s actual participation in some of the most difficult episodes of contemporary Philippine history, proving that creativity and praxis are not two distinct entities, each an independent dimension to its own.
No doubt, Sionil Jose’s written works have helped expand the political imagination of Filipinos, writers and activists, cultural workers and professionals, etc. who have also distinctly echoed his thoughts, one way or another, in much of today’s post-colonial discourse. This certainly helps us frame the theme of the symposium within a multi-perspectival dimension that as his novels can show in terms of weaving literature and philosophy, or imagination and political engagement—reminiscent of Jean-Paul Sartre’s literary status in France in the late 60s—make history more palpable to a conscientious reading public.
And perhaps also, in the face of accelerating trend towards virtuality in today’s world that dispenses with frontiers and boundaries at the expense of local sensibilities and the concrete dimensions of experience they offer, Sionil Jose’s political and creative sensibility both as a respectable nationalist and writer of extreme talent can lend much needed voice to the growing concern over one particular aspect of virtual culture that threatens to make of today’s humanity less accommodating to concrete experiences than it is to the excitable dimension of the virtual medium. Although the internet has played a great role in recent political upheavals that toppled long-time dictators, the prospect of a sustainable momentum for progress and reform that these uprisings invoke leaves much to be desired as the case of Arab Spring can illustrate, indicating signs of regression.
In our local history, similar concerns were reflected in the writings of our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal whose legacy has not been without attempts to render his teachings ambiguous, specifically, on the question of his relevance to our post-colonial time. We are aware that some of Sionil Jose’s writings aim to resituate the legacy of our national hero within the contemporary climate of apathy, uncertainty and lack of political will of our national leaders, if only to make Rizal’s prognosis coeval with the concern of today’s critical mass with what is taking place in our country. Rizal, like Sionil Jose is a writer of extreme talent, a nationalist in his own right whose legacy must not be lost in this stream of apathy and continual neglect of history as a meaningful site of transformation, a place of hope when hope seems to be out of sight. We think that along these lines Sionil’s experience both as a writer and a political actant who can practice what he can preach can offer valuable lessons to counter these intersecting political and cultural trends.
Virgilio A. RivasDirector, Institute for Cultural Studies
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