Anthropology of the hometown : the workings of migration and intimacy in the Town of Dollars, Philippines
department or school: Arts, Faculty of
department or school: Anthropology, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Docot, Ma Ledda Brina (Dada)
issued: 2018-09-04T16:19:13Z
issued: 2018
related degree: Doctor of Philosophy - PhD
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Filipinos are now among the most mobile population in the world, and much literature on Filipino migration has focused on what happens overseas. This dissertation investigates the effects of migration at home, in an attempt to address the gap in existing literature, as has been noted by scholars of migration. Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork as well as from an archive of experiences as returning resident of Nabua, a lowland riverine-agricultural town located in Southeastern Luzon Island, Philippines, I explore how migration and intimacy co-produce what is now called by its residents “Town of Dollars.” In the Bicol region, Nabua is known for the many male townsfolk who served in the United States Navy from the beginning of the 20th century until the closure of the U.S. Bases in 1991, and who sent dollars to their relatives who were left behind. Generations of people from Nabua have been shaped by this migration and by the stories brought home of the “American dream.” Therefore, this dissertation investigates Nabua as a site in which desires for and orientations for migrant futures are produced and conditioned. I look into the entangled workings of migration and intimacies in everyday life – including both quotidian and spectacular public events. The chapters in this dissertation make sense of several domains such as religious ritual, memorialization projects by returned retirees, and the private realm of the family. However, like many rural communities in the Philippines and elsewhere, Nabua has also been transformed by rapid globalization and neoliberal restructuring, resulting in the transformation and structuring of life, particularly of the majority of the non-migrating rural poor. Engaging with feminist, phenomenological, and postcolonial/decolonizing renderings of the lived experience, this dissertation argues for the need to bridge discussions of the much-studied Filipino diaspora with the investigation of what occurs in the origin community of migrants, in…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/67088
note: ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE HOMETOWN: THE WORKINGS OF MIGRATION AND INTIMACY IN THE TOWN OF DOLLARS, PHILIPPINES by MA LEDDA BRINA (DADA) DOCOT A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (Anthropology) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) AUGUST 2018 © MA LEDDA BRINA (DADA) DOCOT, 2018 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: Anthropology of the Hometown: The Workings of Migration and Intimacy in the Town of Dollars, Philippines submitted by Ma Ledda Brina (Dada) Docot in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology Examining Committee: Alexia Bloch Supervisor Geraldine Pratt Supervisory Committee Member Patrick Moore Supervisory Committee Member Leonora C. Angeles University Examiner Leslie Robertson University Examiner Martin F. Manalansan IV External Examiner iii Abstract Filipinos are now among the most mobile population in the world, and much literature on Filipino migration has focused on what happens overseas. This dissertation investigates the effects of migration at home, in an attempt to address the gap in existing literature, as has been noted by scholars of migration. Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork as well as from an archive of experiences as returning resident of Nabua, a lowland riverine-agricultural town located in Southeastern Luzon Island, Philippines, I explore how migration and intimacy co-produce what is now called by its residents “Town of Dollars.” In the Bicol region, Nabua is known for the many male townsfolk who served in the United States Navy from the beginning of the 20th century until the closure of the U.S. Bases in 1991, and who sent dollars to their relatives who were left behind. Generations of people from Nabua have been shaped by this mig…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2018-11
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0371908
language: eng
degree discipline: Anthropology
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/67088