4th Nakem International Conference

The poster of the 4th Nakem International Conference convened and hosted by the Ilokano Language and Literature Program, University of Hawaii at Manoa, November 11-14, 2009.

Co-sponsors of the conference are the Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures Department, U of Hawaii at Manoa; the College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature, UH Manoa; the UH Leeward Philippine Studies Program; the Filipino Heritage Fund; the Oahu Filipino Community Council; the Ilokano Writers Guild Global/America/Hawaii (TMI Global/America/Hawaii; the GUMIL Hawaii; the UH Center for Southeast Asian Studies; the UH Center for Philippine Studies; the UH National Foreign Language Resource Center; the Nakem Conferences Philippines; the Nakem Conferences International; Talaytayan Mother Language Education Alliance; the Fil-Am Observer; and Timpuyog: Ilokano Student Organization.

4th Nakem Conference Bulletin 10

4^TH NAKEM INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Honolulu, Hawai’i, November 11-14, 2009

 

DAP-AYAN:

SHARING AND UNDERSTANDING

ETHNOLINGUISTIC WORLDS

TOWARDS CULTURAL PLURALISM

 

Convened and hosted by

 

Ilokano Language & Literature Program

Dept. of Indo-Pacific Languages & Literatures

University of Hawai’i at Manoa

Honolulu, Hawai’i, U. S. A.

 

CALL FOR PAPERS

 

·      Ilokano and heritage language teaching and the world languages curriculum

·      Appreciating ethnolinguistic worlds

·      Tangible heritage from the various ethnolinguistic groups

·      Theories and practices in the sharing and understanding of a heritage

·      Cultural pluralism as a philosophy of education

·      Pathologies of multiculturalism, remedies of cultural pluralism

·      Languages and cultures in the diaspora

·      Subversions of the multicultural Philippines experience

·      Mass media, popular culture, and heritage education

 

Send abstract to the Abstract Selection Committee: Aurelio Solver Agcaoili, nakemconference@yahoo.com; Lilia Quindoza Santiago, lilias@hawaii.edu; Raymund Llanes Liongson, rliongson@gmail.com. For logistics and finance, email Clem Montero and Julius Soria, respectively: montero@hawaii.edu and soria@hawaii.edu.  For more information, visit nakemconferences.blogspot.com.  

Call for Papers-4th Nakem Conference

CALL FOR PAPERS

 4^TH NAKEM INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

 “DAP-AYAN: SHARING AND UNDERSTANDING ETHNOLINGUISTIC WORLDS TOWARDS CULTURAL PLURALISM”

The University of Hawai’i’s Ilokano Language and Literature Program convenes the 4^th Nakem International Conference on “Dap-ayan: Sharing and Understanding Ethnolinguistic Worlds Towards Cultural Pluralism.” The conference will be held at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa on Nov. 11-14, 2009.

The four-day conference is expected to be attended by cultural researchers, heritage language educators, advocates of heritage preservation and promotion, public policy leaders, and cultural artists and workers who are interested in the issues of cultural pluralism, multicultural education, cultural democracy, heritage language teaching, and critical practices related to the pursuit of linguistic rights and social justice.

The conference, the fourth in the Nakem Conference series that began in 2006 during the centennial celebration of the coming of the Filipinos to Hawai’i and the second to be held in the United States, aims to bring into the open a critical and creative discourse—as what happens in the dap-ayan—on what it means to share a heritage in a multicultural Philippines and among peoples of the Philippines in the diaspora.

The conference also hopes to locate Ilokano and various languages in the culturally plural experiences of the peoples of the Philippines and to revisit methods and methodologies that can be deployed to respond to the issues of multicultural education, literacy, cultural production and promotion, the sustenance of living traditions, and the writing and sharing of intangible heritage.

 

Abstract Requirements

The abstract proposals we are looking for are those that zero in on the theme of the conference or those that cover any of the topics listed in this Call for Papers. Any abstract submitted for consideration by the Selection Committee must be 300 words or less and must specify the issue or the issues it raises and the tentative direction it takes to respond to the issue or the issues it raises.

The Selection Committee encourages papers from various ethnolinguistic communities in the Philippines and in the Philippine diaspora. Philippine scholars are encouraged to write their papers in any Philippine lingua franca (Ilokano, Tagalog, or Cebuano) provided that these papers have parallel English translation to be used during the presentation. The translations are required due to the international nature of the conference.

Abstracts must be saved on a document file, on Arial type font 12, and sent as an attachment. Accompanying the abstract is a separate sheet on the proponent, with the following details:

1.    Name:

2.    Organizational affiliation (if applicable):

3.    Complete address including contact number: (work)

4.    Complete address including contact number: (home)

5.    Email address: (a must)

6.    Alternative email address: (we encourage you to have one)

 

Program Abstract

The Selection Committee requires that another abstract of 50 words or less be submitted for inclusion in the program. The abstract should bear the title of the paper, the author or authors, and the institutional affiliation (if applicable).

 

Topics for Presentation

Abstract proposals for full consideration by the Selection Committee must deal with the theme or any of the following topics:

·      Ilokano and heritage language teaching and the world languages curriculum

·      Appreciating ethnolinguistic worlds

·      Tangible heritage from the various ethnolinguistic groups

·      Theories and practices in the sharing and understanding of a heritage

·      Cultural pluralism as a philosophy of education

·      Pathologies of multiculturalism, remedies of cultural pluralism

·      Languages and cultures in the diaspora

·      Subversions of the multicultural Philippines experience

·      Mass media, popular culture, and heritage education

 

Session Format

 

The conference will follow a plenary session format for both the plenary speakers and the paper presenters. Each presentation is limited to 20 minutes maximum, with 5-10 minutes allotted for open forum. There will be separate sessions devoted for workshops, and organizing and advocacy work.    

 

Full Paper Submission

Abstract proposals turned in prior to the deadline get prior consideration by the Selection Committee. This is to allow time for the proponents to prepare their full paper, not to exceed 20 pages including references. Full papers are double spaced, on an Arial type font 12, MLA format, saved on a document file, and sent as an attachment to the Selection Committee. Full papers are due by May 31, 2009. 

 

Conveners and Selection Committee

The conveners and members of the selection committee are made up of Dr. Aurelio Solver Agcaoili, Dr. Lilia Quindoza Santiago, and Dr. Raymund Llanes Liongson.

The conference steering committee is made up of Aurelio Agcaoili, coordinator of the Ilokano Language and Literature Program of UHM (conference chair); Lilia Santiago, assistant professor of Ilokano, UHM (co-chair), Raymund Liongson, coordinator of the Philippine Studies Program, Leeward Community College (co-chair); Clem Montero, lecturer of Ilokano and education specialist of the UH Center for Philippines Studies (member); and Julius Soria, instructor of Ilokano at UHM and at Farrington High School in Kalihi (member). 

  

Where to send abstract and deadlines

Abstracts should be sent to nakemconference@yahoo.com, cc to lilias@hawaii.edu and rliongson@gmail.com.

Deadline for submission of abstracts is January 31, 2009. Proponents of abstracts accepted for presentation will be notified on or before February 15, 2009.  

For updates on the conference, please visit nakemconferences.blogspot.com. Or you can visit the Nakem Conference button under the UH Ilokano Language and Literature Program website.

 

 

Waiver

Out-of-state and out-of-country participants are advised to make arrangements with their travel agencies for itineraries and for special services like travel to and out of the Honolulu International Airport. The 4^th Nakem International Conference Steering Committee does not have the resources for lodging and other forms of accommodation to participants. As such, all participants are advised to check in with hotels and lodgings close to the conference site at UH Manoa. The University has a number of hotels and hostels but booking is normally six months prior to the conference. Booking with these hotels and hostels are done individually; an online transaction would be sufficient for all your reservation and booking needs.

Participants need to check with the University of Hawai’i website for these services.

Likewise, the Steering Committee cannot offer any financial assistance or grants to paper presenters. 

 

Linkage

The holding of 4^th Nakem Conference is part of an international linkage of UH Manoa Ilokano Language and Literature Program with Nakem Conferences, Inc. (based in Hawai’i) and Nakem Conferences International- Philippines Chapter (also known as Nakem Conferences Philippines), a language and culture advocacy group whose institutional and individual members come from various universities, colleges, and organizations in the Philippines.  Other organizations and individuals have been invited to take part as co-sponsors in an effort to advance mother language education, cultural pluralism, and linguistic and cultural rights of all peoples of the Philippines in the homeland and in the diaspora.

Contact Us

All questions about the 4^th Nakem Conference should be emailed to the conference chair (Aurelio Solver Agcaoili, nakemconference@yahoo.com) and co-chairs (Lilia Quindoza Santiago, lilias@hawaii.edu and Raymund Llanes Liongson, rliongson@gmail.com).  For scholars in the Philippines, you may write to Dr. Alegria Tan Visaya, President of Nakem Conferences Philippines, atvisaya@yahoo.com.   

 

Response to Dr Abueva

(Note: This is my response to Dr Jose Abueva, former president of the University of the Philippines and now president of Kalayaan College in Marikina. Dr Abueva believes in multilingualism and has seen the cultural denigration that is happening to the Sebuano people. Together with other advocacy groups, he has come to be a voice for the education of our people in their languages. Today, he wrote to me to ask for testimonies pertaining to the claim of one member of the Presidential Task Force on Education that claims that 'only the Visayans are complaining' about the the Tagalog language; the 'Ilokanos' are not complaining. The subtext is that we are happy about this state of affairs. My response is this letter that I have made available to the public (originally part of our private communication). Now, Dr Abueva needs our help to prove that we Ilokanos are not happy about this internal colonization that is happening. I am thus calling all cultural organizations in and about the Ilocos to help support this cause of linguistic freedom and cultural democracy not only among the Ilokanos but of all non-Tagalog peoples of the homeland and in the diaspora.--Aurelio Solver Agcaoili, Honolulu, Hawai'i, November 5, 2008)

Dear Dr. Abueva,

Thank you for involving us in this struggle. 

First, that member of your Task Force is probably a reincarnation of the same 'Tagalogized' mindset that infected the members of the 1935 Constitution. I dare that member for the lack of substance of his/her argument, a lack that is based on something that is baseless, a contradiction in terms indeed, that he/she cannot hold onto. He/she probably is not attuned to the facts of the case, and he/she is conveniently and comfortably callous to the cultural denigration that is so widespread in the Ilocos-land at this time. If he/has any sense at all, he/she has to offer proof. Failing to do that, I say: he/she is a clanging cymbal and has no place in an august body such as yours. 

In sum: how can an argument based on ignorance be passed off as an argument in the Presidential Task Force on Education? 

Second, we have been fighting for recognition and public space relative to our linguistic and cultural rights for so long, and in our country, and in the Ilocos and in the Ilokanized parts of Amianan, the Northern Philippines. In Ilocos, how can it be that we are fighting for our right to be educated in Ilokano? What is the explanation for this except to admit as absolutely true the statist notion of nationalism from the center that valorizes the language and culture from the center? This is one evil that we have had to contend with--and which we continue to contend with. I do not know how long are we going to continue fighting for our basic human rights--for our right to our language, for our right to our culture.

In sum: are we Ilokanos--and by extension, our various ethnolinguistic communities--part of the national conversation?

Third, our 'Ilokano case' is not a matter of 'complaint'--as that honorable member of the Presidential Task Force is saying. The word used is not even correct. The correct phrase is 'we are fighting for our right' to exist, with this existence mediated by our language and our culture, in the homeland as well as in the diasporic communities where we are found. There is a single word for this: struggle. But the real problem is that when we have people in the Presidential Task Force--uninformed and ignorant as that person seems to be--this struggle takes on a new angle, a new form, a new substance. We cannot forever be playing second fiddle to the statist notion of nation that derides our sense of a culturally plural society that takes on, as one of its founding principles, cultural nationalism. Let us remind that person who seems to be misplaced: that cultural nationalism is a form of nationalism that admits plurality and recognizes as undemocratic the cultural and linguistic tyranny of the center. And one more reminder for him: that cultural nationalism that invokes and summons the energy we draw form cultural pluralism is the way to go in creating a liberatory practice of social justice and equality, the cornerstones of a real and honest-to-goodness democratic way of life. 

In sum: we cannot even dignify that dismissive act of your member. He/she does not know his/her facts.

Fourth, the Nakem Conferences, an advocacy group designed to combat this cultural denigration that has defined us, not only us Ilokanos but every ethnolinguistic group of the homeland colonized internally by this vicious philosophy of nation-building and state-crafting called Tagalogism, is one of the first to support the Gunigundo initiative, HB 3719. Our statement of support, in the form of a conference resolution and signed in May 2008 by participants of the Nakem Conference 2008, was given in July 2008 to Hon. Gunigundo personally by me as a convener of the 2008 Nakem Conference and by Dr. Alegria Tan Visaya as president of Nakem Conferences Philippines. The scanned copy of that resolution is on nakemconferences.blogspot.com. This show of support disproves the claim of your honorable member. That member, by the way, needs to explore the field, ask the the universities and colleges, and ask himself/herself clearly if it is right to effect linguistic and cultural genocide among our young. 

In sum: we are going to continue to struggle for our right; we are not going to allow this to happen.

Fifth, I want to stress this: that member of your Task Force is guilty of at least one fallacy, and he/she should review his/her logic: hasty generalization. His/her statement has one quality: sweeping.

In sum: the member of your Task Force argues on the basis of illogicality and lack of evidence. I wonder if the claim to the fantastic is one of the basis for decision-making now. 

No, sir, that person in your Task Force is not in the know. He/she needs to be educated on the various sensibilities of people, on our dream to build a common homeland that respects the many that is us, and our duty to translate into action what social justice is all about. This education that we all ought to have as a condition for our community building is non-negotiable. We non-Tagalog peoples have given up so much. It is high time that we also asked--'demanded' is the right word here--our linguistic and cultural rights from this homeland that never regarded us with dignity and respect. 

I am going to be sending you position papers from our various communities, from our advocacy groups, and from our various studies on the need for a culturally plural society, for mother language education, and for multi-cultural education. I am going to be submitting essays from our scholars that state with clarity our position relative to our position on our inherent right to claim our language and culture. Our Ilokano nation--and all the nations of our homeland--deserve every right to exist side by side with everyone else.

Here are two initial position papers that respond to the falsities vended off as truths by that member of your Task Force. Please expect position papers from various cultural groups.

We are going to be mindful of your deadline--but we will submit to you position of support for your position. 

In the name of our struggle, and in the name of all our peoples,

Mahalo and aloha,

Aurelio S. Agcaoili

4th Nakem Conference Bulletin No. 006/ENGLISH

CALL FOR PAPERS

 

4^TH NAKEM INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

 

“DAP-AYAN: SHARING AND UNDERSTANDING

ETHNOLINGUISTIC WORLDS TOWARDS CULTURAL PLURALISM”

 

 

The University of Hawai’i’s Ilokano Language and Literature Program convenes the 4^th Nakem International Conference on “Dap-ayan: Sharing and Understanding Ethnolinguistic Worlds Towards Cultural Pluralism.” The conference will be held at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa on Nov. 11-14, 2009.

 

The four-day conference is expected to be attended by cultural researchers, heritage language educators, advocates of heritage preservation and promotion, public policy leaders, and cultural artists and workers who are interested in the issues of cultural pluralism, multicultural education, cultural democracy, heritage language teaching, and critical practices related to the pursuit of linguistic rights and social justice.

The conference, the fourth in the Nakem Conference series that began in 2006 during the centennial celebration of the coming of the Filipinos to Hawai’i and the second to be held in the United States, aims to bring into the open a critical and creative discourse—as what happens in the dap-ayan—on what it means to share a heritage in a multicultural Philippines and among peoples of the Philippines in the diaspora. 

The conference also hopes to locate Ilokano and various languages in the culturally plural experiences of the peoples of the Philippines and to revisit methods and methodologies that can be deployed to respond to the issues of multicultural education, literacy, cultural production and promotion, the sustenance of living traditions, and the writing and sharing of intangible heritage.

 

Abstract Requirements

 The abstract proposals we are looking for are those that zero in on the theme of the conference or those that cover any of the topics listed in this Call for Papers. Any abstract submitted for consideration by the Selection Committee must be 300 words or less and must specify the issue or the issues it raises and the tentative direction it takes to respond to the issue or the issues it raises.

The Selection Committee encourages papers from various ethnolinguistic communities in the Philippines and in the Philippine diaspora. Philippine scholars are encouraged to write their papers in any Philippine lingua franca (Ilokano, Tagalog, or Cebuano) provided that these papers have parallel English translation to be used during the presentation. The translations are required due to the international nature of the conference. 

Abstracts must be saved on a document file, on Arial type font 12, and sent as an attachment. Accompanying the abstract is a separate sheet on the proponent, with the following details:

      1.    Name:

2.    Organizational affiliation (if applicable):

3.    Complete address including contact number: (work)

4.    Complete address including contact number: (home)

5.    Email address: (a must)

6.    Alternative email address: (we encourage you to have one)

 

Program Abstract 

The Selection Committee requires that another abstract of 50 words or less be submitted for inclusion in the program. The abstract should bear the title of the paper, the author or authors, and the institutional affiliation (if applicable).

 

Topics for Presentation

 Abstract proposals for full consideration by the Selection Committee must deal with the theme or any of the following topics:

·      Ilokano and heritage language teaching and the world languages curriculum

·      Appreciating ethnolinguistic worlds

·      Tangible heritage from the various ethnolinguistic groups

·      Theories and practices in the sharing and understanding of a heritage

·      Cultural pluralism as a philosophy of education

·      Pathologies of multiculturalism, remedies of cultural pluralism

·      Languages and cultures in the diaspora

·      Subversions of the multicultural Philippines experience

·      Mass media, popular culture, and heritage education

 

Session Format 

The conference will follow a plenary session format for both the plenary speakers and the paper presenters. Each presentation is limited to 20 minutes maximum, with 5-10 minutes allotted for open forum. There will be separate sessions devoted for workshops, and organizing and advocacy work.    

 

Full Paper Submission 

Abstract proposals turned in prior to the deadline get prior consideration by the Selection Committee. This is to allow time for the proponents to prepare their full paper, not to exceed 20 pages including references. Full papers are double spaced, on an Arial type font 12, MLA format, saved on a document file, and sent as an attachment to the Selection Committee. Full papers are due by May 31, 2009. 

 

Conveners and Selection Committee 

The conveners and members of the selection committee are made up of Dr. Aurelio Solver Agcaoili, Dr. Lilia Quindoza Santiago, and Dr. Raymund Llanes Liongson. 

The conference steering committee is made up of Aurelio Agcaoili, coordinator of the Ilokano Language and Literature Program of UHM (conference chair); Lilia Santiago, assistant professor of Ilokano, UHM (co-chair), Raymund Liongson, coordinator of the Philippine Studies Program, Leeward Community College (co-chair); Clem Montero, lecturer of Ilokano and education specialist of the UH Center for Philippines Studies (member); and Julius Soria, instructor of Ilokano at UHM and at Farrington High School in Kalihi (member).  

 

Where to send abstract and deadlines

 Abstracts should be sent to nakemconference@yahoo.com, cc to lilias@hawaii.edu and rliongson@gmail.com.

 Deadline for submission of abstracts is January 31, 2009. Proponents of abstracts accepted for presentation will be notified on or before February 15, 2009.  

For updates on the conference, please visit nakemconferences.blogspot.com. Or you can visit the Nakem Conference button under the UH Ilokano Language and Literature Program website.

 

Waiver

Out-of-state and out-of-country participants are advised to make arrangements with their travel agencies for itineraries and for special services like travel to and out of the Honolulu International Airport. The 4^th Nakem International Conference Steering Committee does not have the resources for lodging and other forms of accommodation to participants. As such, all participants are advised to check in with hotels and lodgings close to the conference site at UH Manoa. The University has a number of hotels and hostels but booking is normally six months prior to the conference. Booking with these hotels and hostels are done individually; an online transaction would be sufficient for all your reservation and booking needs.

Participants need to check with the University of Hawai’i website for these services.

Likewise, the Steering Committee cannot offer any financial assistance or grants to paper presenters. 

Linkage 

The holding of 4^th Nakem Conference is part of an international linkage of UH Manoa Ilokano Language and Literature Program with Nakem Conferences, Inc. (based in Hawai’i) and Nakem Conferences International- Philippines Chapter (also known as Nakem Conferences Philippines), a language and culture advocacy group whose institutional and individual members come from various universities, colleges, and organizations in the Philippines.  Other organizations and individuals have been invited to take part as co-sponsors in an effort to advance mother language education, cultural pluralism, and linguistic and cultural rights of all peoples of the Philippines in the homeland and in the diaspora.

  

Contact Us 

All questions about the 4^th Nakem Conference should be emailed to the conference chair (Aurelio Solver Agcaoili, nakemconference@yahoo.com) and co-chairs (Lilia Quindoza Santiago, lilias@hawaii.edu and Raymund Llanes Liongson, rliongson@gmail.com).  For scholars in the Philippines, you may write to Dr. Alegria Tan Visaya, President of Nakem Conferences Philippines, atvisaya@yahoo.com.