Modern Babaylan embodied: portraits of Pinay activist-practitioners in higher education

Riodique, MaryAnne Joy (2023) Modern Babaylan embodied: portraits of Pinay activist-practitioners in higher education. Doctoral thesis, Northern Arizona University.

Text Riodique_2023_modern_babaylan_embodied_portraits_pinay_activist-practi.pdf - Published Version Download (834kB)

Abstract

Filipino/a Americans are one of the fastest growing ethnic minority groups in the United States, yet remain invisible in academic research related, as such the demographic imperative to disaggregate data on Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in higher education persists to continue investigating the varied experiences of the diverse ethnic groups within the AAPI category. This study interrogates the impacts of coloniality, race, transnationalism has, and how 2nd generation Filipino/a Americans reconcile that with their ethnic identity and ……By applying this intersectional lens to examine the lived experiences of Filipino American women (Pinays) working in higher education, this study applies a social justice and activist-oriented lens, hence the reference to the participants as activist-practitioners. This study builds upon a growing body of research on the Filipino/a American experience from a position of liberation and decolonization and turns towards the Pinay’s role as change agent, activist, and culture bearer. For this purpose, the idea of the babaylan, as traditional shaman/healers in Filipino indigenous culture, is claimed a both metaphor and inspiration in this study from which to interrogate the Pinay’s role as she “intercedes for the community” and becomes a “transmitter of knowledge” (Strobel, 2010, pg. 2). As a transnational people living in liminality, Filipino/a Americans suffer from cultural amnesia, often lacking an awareness of Filipino history, language, and indigenous knowledge systems, resulting in persistent feelings of otherness and unrootedness. Referencing a conceptual framework by Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales’, this study considers how participants embody Pinayism (2005), and Filipino indigenous knowledge systems, such as kapwa (interconnectedness) and bayanihan (sense of community) in their work. Portraiture is used to draw detailed narrative images of each participant, following each Pinay through the process of “good remembering” through formative educational experiences and leadership lessons (Strobel, 2010, pg. 18) as a part praxis and catharsis. Lessons gleaned from semi-structured interviews and field observations reveal ways the family unit serves as a cultural portal from which to reinforce forgotten cultural knowledge, history, and language to second generation Pinays (Ferrera, 2017). The interviews reflect how lack of representation from minoritized staff and faculty during their educational experiences left an indelible impression on their career paths, inspiring them to lead from the liminal place, to serve Filipino/a American students and other minoritzed students. What surfaces is the participants’ ability to live lives of resistant socialities, enacting change by working from within the apparatus of higher education (Nievera-Lozano, 2016). What may appear to be a conventional, mundane type of activism, reveals a persistence and conviction of service to students, grounded in social justice and decolonizing motivations. Keywords: Filipino-American studies, Pinay, Pinayism, cultural portals, activist–practitioner, student affairs, diversity

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	Activist-Practitioner; Cultural Portals; Diversity; Filipino-American Studies; Pinay; Pinayism
Subjects:	F History United States, Canada, Latin America > F001 United States local history
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of Education > Educational Leadership
Date Deposited:	01 Oct 2025 17:42
Last Modified:	01 Oct 2025 17:42
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/6203

Actions (login required)

IR Staff Record View

Downloads