In an age of globalization and neo-conservatism, Filipinos, like most Asians, are trying to articulate their community identities in ways that will not only respect their separate cultural traditions but also commit to the shaping of a just, democratic, and egalitarian order in the United States. What are the prospects for and limits of this trend? Using excerpts from the documentary film "Savage Acts: Wars and Fairs" San Juan approaches the situation of Filipinos in the United States as the product of a long historical process that began with the colonization of the Philippines at the turn of the century and the entry of Filipinos into a labor market (in Hawaii and the West Coast) long inhabited by Chinese, Japanese, and Korean workers.

Cosponsored by: Department of Anthropology, Department of Educational Policy Studies, Department of English, Department of History, Department of Political Science, Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, Asian American Studies Committee, Asian Pacific American Resource Committee, Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities, Office of the Dean of Students Asian Pacific American Affairs