#stephaniejamilla

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Key Concepts: Poverty and Development Project

The first key concept that I address is poverty, which Miller defines as “lack of access to tangible or intangible resources that contribute to life and the well-being of a person, group, country or region” (Miller 2017, p. 346). The man pictured in the photograph is always sitting in the middle of the sidewalk along my commute home from work. He often asks passersby for money and occasionally has newspapers he attempts to sell. I am assuming that he sits out here each day because he lives in poverty and lacks such access to resources. A further sign of his impoverishment is how he is in such a need that he feels that he is so far backed into a corner that he has to ask strangers walking past, which I believe is a kind of last resort in attempting to acquire resources. I believe that this show of poverty in the United States, which is often called a “developed” or “first-world” country, reveals much about development. When one thinks about development it is often framed as improving a “third-world” country or a faraway, exotic land. However, with the textbook definition of development as “change directed toward improving human welfare” (Miller 2017, p. 346), it is clear that developed states such as the US are still in need of such change. This man, and how there are many like him, is testament to that.

Development Project is the second term, defined as “a set of activities designed to put development policies into action” (Miller 2017, p. 355), and I address it with the photo on the right. This shows the place where I work, the Congressional Hunger Center (CHC). I provide support to their Leland International Hunger Fellows program, which places fellows (usually younger adults who hold master’s degrees and some form of international/development experience) in various development projects run by organizations as large as the World Food Program to local nonprofits around the world. Some examples of development projects include researching and developing better farming techniques in Tanzania or implementing school meal programs in Cambodia. The policy goals are dependent on the area in which the project is located, but many have to do with reducing child malnutrition or increasing food crop output. The overall goal of the program is to ensure food security worldwide, both by supporting these individual development projects and by investing in these fellows to later become leaders in the development field.

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Key Concepts: Migration and Remittance

The first photo is taken from an event held by GW’s multicultural student services center for Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Celebration (APIHC) on April 11. The theme for this year is “Immigrant Stories: To Be Continued,” which I thought was fitting for Chapter 14. I’m using this photo to represent migration, which Miller defines as “movement from one place to another” (Miller 2017, p. 324). All of APIHC this year is dedicated to showcasing how migration, both international in the form of our parents and internal in the form of us college students, has shaped the Asian-American experience. In particular, the speaker in this photo is Eddie Huang, a chef, restauranteur, and writer. During his presentation he talked extensively of his background as the child of Taiwanese immigrants, who migrated internationally for economic reasons. Huang also discussed his difficulty with internal migration from his birthplace in DC to down south in Florida and trying to fit in with the different microcultures of each. Since both Huang and APIHC as a whole discuss two forms of migration, I thought the broader, overarching term would suit this photo best.

The second photo was taken last weekend and is an example of a remittance, which is defined in the text as “the transfer of money or goods by a migrant to his or her family in the country of origin” (Miller 2017, p. 328). Each season my parents send “balikbayan box” to family that they left behind in the Philippines. “Balik” means backwards or to return and “bayan” means country. Hence, put together the term means a box sent back to one’s country. The majority of the contents of a balikbayan box are goods that relatives request that cannot be found in the Philippines, along with some money. What is pictured above is my contributions to this season’s balikbayan box. Since I live away from home, I usually gather objects to send to my parents in order for them to include it in balikbayan box. In it is a t-shirt from my culture show that my cousin requested, some lip balm of a brand that is unavailable in the Philippines, the tin that is filled with various American-brand snacks that are also unavailable, and my contribution to the monetary part of the box. In response to the debate about the effect of remittances on the welfare of those who are receiving them, clearly my box is for short-term consumption. Knowing my cousin, the snacks will get eaten quickly, and he may even wear out the shirt in a short amount of time. However, I know my relatives are looking to build a hotel, and our monetary remittances have been contributing to this dream. So, if the hotel does get built and is successful and helps improve the economic situation of my family, then perhaps this will help in long-term investments.

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Key Concepts: Art and Intangible Cultural Heritage

This picture was taken on Sunday April 9th, and it shows the traditional Philippine dance: subli. Subli is an example of art, which Miller defines as “the application of imagination, skill, and style to matter, movement, and sound that goes beyond what is purely practical” (Miller 2017, p. 301). More specifically, subli falls into the category of performance arts. The dance is a ceremonial display in which dancers pay homage to the holy cross. However, this dance has been dramatized and no longer is danced for the sake of worship but instead is now performed almost solely for the sake of entertainment. For example, the subli dancers here are performing it as part of the Philippine Cultural Society’s annual culture show instead of as part of prayer. Regardless, this performance art reveals much about Philippine culture, or at least the microculture of the peoples of Bauan, Batangas where subli originates from. It gives insight to the aesthetics of the region and demonstrates the importance of Catholicism, as the residents value the religion so much as to create a complicated dance in its name.

The photograph also displays an example of intangible cultural heritage. Miller defines this as “UNESCO’s view of culture as manifested in oral traditions, languages, performing arts, rituals, and festive events, knowledge and practices about nature and the universe, and craftmaking” (Miller 2017, p. 319). Although subli isn’t part of UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage, I believe that both subli and all Philippine dances should be added onto it. Further, I believe that the dances are similar to practices that are part of UNESCO’s list. There are five widely accepted Filipino dance suites: Lumad, Igorot, Maria Clara, Muslim, and Rural, the last of which Subli belongs to. These suites and these dances were created by a major dance company in the Philippines in order to promote and preserve Filipino heritage. Due to colonization of both the Spanish and the US, the members were alarmed at how western the country was becoming. Hence, these dances were created as a reclamation of the traditional in the face of colonialism and as an expression of Filipino identity. Additionally, as part of culture show and danced by Filipino-Americans, it is a reclamation of our heritage that each of us feel a sense of disconnect from since none of us grew up in the Philippines.

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Key Concepts: Social Group & Status

Much of what I am about to write is based on assumption, as I do not know these people. In Marvin Center, it is typical for the executive boards of student organizations to have meetings on the couches either on the 4th of 5th floor. I was studying on the 5th floor on March 5 and noticed that one such meeting was happening right in front of me. These girls are part of a social group, which is defined as “a cluster of people beyond the domestic unit who are usually related on grounds other than kinship” (Miller 2017, p. 203). Their connection is based on membership of the organization they run. Membership of this social group is based belief of the mission on which the club was founded (I was unable to hear exactly what organization they head). Considering this group meets together in person, it can be defined further as a primary social group. As Miller notes in the textbook, this face-to-face interaction connotes greater accountability for each member’s role. This is definitely characteristic of executive board groups, since each person holds an elected role meant to further advance the mission of their organization. 

Furthermore, each girl pictured above has a distinct status amongst the larger social group or organization they are a part of. Miller defines status in the text book as, “a person’s position, or standing, in society” (Miller 2017, p. 212). As members of the executive board, they automatically have a specific role within the organization that separates them from other members. There is the president, vice president, treasurer, etc. These statuses hold more prestige than the regular general body member who is part of the social group. With this higher status comes the responsibility of acting upon the role in which they were elected to (perhaps can be considered as an achieved position). Amongst the greater GW society as well, each of these girls has the status of a student leader, as evidenced of their position amongst this one social group.

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Key Concepts: Nuclear Household and Endogamy

This is a picture of my immediate family. I’m the girl in the upper lefthand corner while my parents are at the bottom (the faces are blurred for their privacy). Together with my parents as the adult couple and me as the child, we make a nuclear household. However, this household has been geographically divided, as my parents live in the Midwest while I reside at the East Coast. Miller says that the core of a nuclear household is the adult couple, so my absence does not change this nuclear nature. However, the definition of a household in the textbook has the requirement that individuals share a living space. As I no longer share this space, what does that make of me? Putting my apprehensions aside, I also thought that our situation serves as a good example of how there has been an increase of nuclear households worldwide due to international migration. My mother left her extended household in the Philippines to immigrate with my father to the US and to start a family. Furthermore, the text also explains that children of immigrated, nuclear households strongly identify with the new culture to which they move. I definitely experienced this as a child, however much of my growth now has consisted of a reclamation of the Filipino culture I previously disregarded.

The second concept that applies to this photo is endogamy. My parents have been happily married for about 25 years now and are a result of endogamy. Their endogamy comes in two forms: location and status. Both my parents’ families are from the Philippines. Even more narrowly, they are from the same area in Manila, and it would take around 15 minutes to drive from one family home to the other (granted traffic is not horrible). Furthermore, my parents represent isogamy in every possible way. Their families were of the same socio-economic class, as all my grandparents worked as civil servants and generally were considered middle-class. Concerning the subtypes of this status-based endogamy, my parents are also of the same age, and although this is highly subjective, I believe they are equal in physical features as well. Many have said that they are a couple that suits each other quite well, and I agree.

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Key Concepts: Pure Gift & Expected Reciprocity

The two pictures above display two different kinds of gifts and have two different connotations. The one on the left is a gift given to me by my mother, and I consider it a pure gift. She sent it as a surprise pick-me-up gift, and I don’t think she expects me to balance this exchange send her a care package back. However, as the reading points out, in parental care perhaps what she unconsciously expects me to return is something immaterial, likely in the form of keeping up my grades. As long as I continue to fulfill my end of the unspoken deal of staying out of trouble and living up to her expectations, she’ll continue to lovingly provide me with such gifts. Furthermore, as a long term repayment, I may be expected to take care of her in the future to pay for everything she had done for me. Though, I find this to be a pure gift as well because when that time comes I do believe I would take care of her out of wanting to, not out of repayment. 

The picture on the right is an example of expected reciprocity. It is another Valentine’s Day gift, bought by me and to be given to my significant other. Although the textbook says that an exchange between people who know each other well is more so a generalized reciprocity, I think the timeliness of our exchange makes it more of an expected reciprocity. We both had an (albeit unspoken) understanding that we would exchange gifts some time this week due to the holiday. However, unlike what the textbook outlines, I do not think that our relationship will fall apart if one person neglects to give the other an equally valuable gift. Though if it does so happen that my gift is not at the same level as his, I may imitate the Melanesia kula exchange in that my gift will become intermediary. I then would later follow up with a “clinching gift” (Miller 117) in order to balance the exchange.