The Cory Aquino Leadership: Perspectives from the Social Sciences
(A Public Forum)
September 9, 2009 (Wednesday), 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Pulungang Claro M. Recto, Bulwagang Rizal (Faculty Center)
University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City
Speakers: Filomeno V. Aguilar Jr., Randolf S. David, Emmanuel S. de Dios, Amado M. Mendoza Jr., Michael L. Tan
Is there anything left to explain for the social scientists? What part of Cory Aquino have we not understood amidst the very public outpouring of grief and deep gratitude that we, the Filipino nation, have expressed during her passing last August? The University of the Philippines (UP) Third World Studies Center, together with the Office of the UP Diliman Chancellor, the UP Department of Political Science and the Philippine Political Science Association organized this event to counter precisely these concerns, which are borne out of cynicism and our haste to get over the former president’s death. The organizers believe that Cory Aquino’s life as a leader, her experiences, and the decisions she made that still strongly inform our society today, were all drawn from a wide range and sometimes conflicting mix of personal conviction and political positions. Thus, to interpret her life in the same way we attempt to comprehend the nation’s sorrow over her death, there is a need for the different disciplines of the social sciences to come together and share their understanding of her life and legacy. Equally important is the opportunity that this forum will avail to the current generation of students whose idea of her role in the nation’s history is only a faint approximation of that what their elders have lived through. The forum challenges us to go beyond the narrow sentimentality of grief; that it be an occasion not only for old war stories but also for new inquiries about a past and a leader whom we have shown so deserving of our sacrifice, too worthy of our tears.
Program
Welcome Remarks
Ma. Lourdes G. Rebullida
Chair and Professor
Department of Political Science
College of Social Sciences and Philosophy
University of the Philippines-Diliman
Introduction of the Speakers
Speakers
Amado M. Mendoza Jr.
Professor
Department of Political Science
College of Social Sciences and Philosophy
University of the Philippines-Diliman
Randolf S. David
Chair and Professor
Department of Sociology
College of Social Sciences and Philosophy
University of the Philippines-Diliman
Emmanuel S. de Dios
Dean and Professor
School of Economics
University of the Philippines-Diliman
(unavailable)
Filomeno V. Aguilar Jr.
Professor
Department of History
Ateneo de Manila University
Michael L. Tan
Professor and Chair
Department of Anthropology
College of Social Sciences and Philosophy
University of the Philippines-Diliman
Open Forum
Moderator:
Roland S. Fernando II
Senior Lecturer
Department of Political Science
College of Social Sciences and Philosophy
University of the Philippines-Diliman
A transcript of the open forum can be viewed via this link.
