20th
i was a filipino girl writing about a filipino dude who wrote about being filipino
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What does it mean to be Pilipino-American? This question is connected to to Pilipino-American idenitity, representation, and mobilization as well. It is connected to these concepts and the meanings behind these concepts are what help answer that question. The collectivity of the Pilipino-American experience and the collectivity of the knowledge which this experience has created are what it means to be Pilipino-American. The meaning of “Pilipino-American” is something which every Pilipino-American knows, but knows in his or her own context. So, in a way, it is like a concept which everyone and no one knows. As a Pilipino-American myself, I hold my own beliefs about identity, and my beliefs about identity itself shape my beliefs about my own identity and shape my beliefs about the Pilipino-American identity in general. For me, the representation of the concept of Pilipino-American was different than it may have been for other Pilipino-Americans. The meaning of Pilipino-American cannot be quantified, and therefore understanding of this meaning is left to the objects of knowledge created to convey meaning those outside the experience . The representation and mobilization of Pilipino-Americans into objects of knowledge created by experience stand for this meaning. Personal experiences and contexts shape this knowledge and the artifacts it creates. As one person begins to identify themselves as Pilipino-American and discover their own Pilipino-American identity, it helps shape and add to the collective Pilipino-American identity. Personal experiences, struggles, political actions and realizations are all added to and a part of the creation of the body of knowledge on the Pilipino-American experience. Therefore, personal experiences such as Carlos Bulosan’s can become personal histories such as America is in the Heart and can become political tools when used to mobilize Pilipino-Americans.
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TAKE ME TO YR LEADER
