Jonathan Beller's Letter to President Emerlinda Roman

The Cinematic Mode of Production: Attention Economy and the Society of the Spectacle






December 3, 2009

Prof. Emerlinda Roman, Ph.D.
President
University of the Philippines

Dear UP President Roman:

It is with great urgency that I write to support tenure for Sarah Raymundo. Quite simply Sarah’s brilliance, erudition, scholarly achievements and intellectual contribution to the University and to the Philippines at large should qualify her. Sarah has been teaching at the University of the Philippines for more than eight years and is widely recognized as one of the most influential minds of her generation. Her insightful, committed and inspiring writings on literature, media and mass culture, are published and widely circulated – it is no exaggeration to say that as a scholar, a teacher, and a public presence she has been crucial in shaping a generation of thought at the University of the Philippines. Without a doubt, she is among the most highly qualified persons and most significant minds applying for tenure at UP. The fact that her quest for tenure has been so difficult is nothing short of shameful – a blight upon a University that prides itself on intellectual excellence and integrity.

Having taught for several years at the University of the Philippines myself, and having lived and worked in the Philippines for approximately four out of the last fifteen years, I can assure you that Sarah is on the way to national prominence as a writer and that as an intellectual, she is already widely recognized as a leader. Perhaps there are those among you who do not believe that Sarah stands for good causes or who think that her politics are unacceptable because of her pro-masa positions. This is not a position that can be maintained by a liberal institution although it is certainly possible to adopt it in a proto-fascist one. From an outsider’s perspective I do not think it serves the university, the Filipino people, or the international reputation of the Philippine State to censure its most talented and progressive thinkers. I have known Sarah for five years and during that time have had the opportunity to understand first hand that Sarah has an incredible ability for comprehension and synthesis of heterogeneous materials, as well as a genuine gift for communication. She is a committed organizer and a well known public speaker who is unafraid to stand up for causes of social justice even in the face of a corrupt government that punishes dissenters in a variety of ways, ways that include the extrajudicial killings of more than 1,000 persons (activists, union organizers, journalists, students) since Glorial Macapagal Arroyo came to power. Sarah has been a leader in the faculty organizations that battle state corruption and exploitation, and that allies itself with exploited and marginalized groups. It seems to me that an institution of so-called higher learning that forecloses the possibilities of thought that under duress refuses to buckle, thought that holds out for truth even at great personal risk, is an institution that knows how to honor neither the life of the mind nor that which is higher than the daily compromises and complicities in human potential. Indeed it seems that an institution that will not stand up for the integrity of its most politically and ethically astute thinkers has no right to call itself a university.
I should also say that Sarah’s scholarly work has been important to my own. (While I do not expect you to know me, I am relatively well known in several minor and marginal fields and my attesting to Sarah’s influence on my own work is, for me anyway, a genuine compliment and one that I rarely pay.) In a recent article for Postcolonial Studies, “Iterations of the impossible: questions of a digital revolution in the Philippines (Postcolonial Studies, Vo l. 11, No. 4, pp. 435 - 450, 2008) I devoted several pages to her brilliant essay “In the Womb of the Global Economy: Anak and the Construction of Transnational Imaginaries” an essay which is forthcoming in the international journal positions. Her essay details the ways in which an ostensibly progressive, that is populist film, Anak, works to reconcile Filipino overseas contract workers to state policies bent upon producing Filipinos as the principle export of the Philippines in an economy driven by remittances. It is only appropriate that serious minds raise significant questions about the relationship between culture and state policy – policy which affects the lives of millions of Filipinos. This is particularly true in an era when culture is being directly accessed as a vehicle of economic and political agendas. Sarah has an understanding of culture and politics that is both wide and deep, having at her disposal a vast arsenal of literary and cinematic analytic techniques as well as a profound understanding of Filipino history and politics and the way that these are implanted in some complex relation to the histories of colonialism, imperialism and globalization/neo-imperialism. She can hold her own at any seminar table or in any conference and is already a full-fledged contributor to the highest level discussions of politics and culture now taking place in the Philippines.

Sarah’s other essays, which include, “In the Concrete Now: Investigating Feminist Challenges to Popular Romance Production” and “Articulations of Capital in a Globalized Culture” are equally astute pieces, well conceived and well executed. Sarah has real expertise in psychoanalytic theory, various branches of sociological analysis and media theory, and is already an accomplished critic and theorist. Indeed her publication list is long and impressive and there is no doubt in my mind that all who have the opportunity to work with her will learn something from her.

In sum, and without exaggeration, there is probably no one more qualified for tenure at UP than Sarah Raymundo. I urge you to reverse the damaging decisions already made and to grant her tenure at once. Then I urge you to personally seek to repair the damages that have been done to Sarah’s career and to the reputation of the university. Rarely does a University President have the opportunity to be completely confident in her decisions, but I have absolutely no doubt that Sarah will not only continue to be a brilliant scholar, but that your decision to support her will have a positive impact on the world at large.

If I can be of any assistance please do not hesitate to email or call.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Beller
Professor
English and Humanities and
Critical and Visual Studies
Pratt Institute
200 Willoughby Ave.
Brooklyn NY 11205 USA

Chancellor Cao's Decision on Prof. Sarah Raymundo's Appeal for Tenure

A. On October 28, 2009, after a very long period of inaction, UP Diliman Chancellor Sergio Cao has decided AGAINST UP Diliman Sociology Prof. Sarah Raymundo's appeal for tenure. Read his memo here Chancellor cao memo on SR tenure (12 pages). To read Chancellor Cao's memo complete with attachments, click here COMPLETE Chancellor Cao memo (78 pages; will take some time to download). Attached to his memo are correspondences from Prof. Raymundo, the Socio Dept, CSSP Dean, VCAA Lorna Paredes, Chancellor Cao and other faculty members of CSSP.

B. Last Friday, November 6, 2009, concerned faculty members, REPS and administrative staff, the All UP Workers Union and the All UP Academic Employees Union met and formed the alliance RIGHTS OF UNTENURED FACULTY or R.U. U.P. Faculty. Prof. Raymundo's case is just one of the many cases of unfair labor practices committed against untenured faculty members of UP. In Diliman alone, aside from Prof. Raymundo's case, there are two more cases waiting for Chancellor Cao's decision.

C. In Chancellor Cao's memo, some observations were made:

1. There was no real consultation, transparency and due process, especially within the Sociology Department, regarding issues raised against Prof. Raymundo. Issues raised remained "departmental secrets" until Chancellor Cao attached to his memo a very long minority report from three Sociology tenured professors (Fernandez, Rubio and Arguillas). There was no real, formal and written correspondence addressed to Prof. Raymundo, and thus, she was never given the formal chance to defend herself. It also should be noted that in Chancellor Cao's decision, not one of the letters and statements sent by the All UP Academic Employees Union-Diliman chapter was put into account. An example of this is a striking statement by the union entitled "Criteria for Tenure Cannot Be Departmental Secrets."

2. The minority report, needless to say, is a blatant attack against the political right of Prof. Raymundo. The said minority report is nothing but red-tagging disguised as issues of professional ethics and academic integrity.

3. There is inconsistency as to the application of a 2/3 confidence majority vote as a departmental tenure rule/practice. If such a rule does exist, then it should have been enforced in the April 18, 2008 votation where Prof. Raymundo easily garnered the 2/3 majority vote. This enforcement of the 2/3 vote rule as a supposed Departmental practice in the last instance is indicative of malice and bad faith on the part of the Department. Note also that in Sociology Department Chair Randy David's letter to the Chancellor dated June 3, 2009, no mention of the 2/3 rule was made.

4. The issue of departmental autonomy is being used by the Sociology Department and by the Office of Chancellor Cao to justify political persecution. Departmental autonomy is not and should never be synonymous to abuse of authority.

5. Chancellor Cao skewed the whole issue by saying that Prof. Sarah Raymundo is not academically accomplished. The Chancellor applied the stricter tenure requirements of the College of Science (CS) to Prof. Raymundo who belongs to the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP). It is altogether malicious since CSSP adheres to the minimum academic requirements outlined in the Faculty Manual of UP Diliman. It seems that Chancellor Cao is undermining non-CS units such as CSSP!

We appeal for justice and the reversal of the non-tenure decision.

D. Please send support statements/letters for Prof. Sarah Raymundo. Online petition is still ongoing (links are on the right side of this blogsite). Prof. Raymundo will be writing an appeal letter to President Roman and the Board of Regents. We will also be making an omnibus statement, which will also serve as a petition, to be sent to President Roman and the BOR. Please help in gathering signatures for the said omnibus petition statement.

Thank you very much! Padayon sa ating lahat!

Saga ni Sarah by Prof. Rolando Tolentino

from PinoyWeekly online July 13, 2009 http://pinoyweekly.org/new/saga-ni-sarah/

Walang nagsabi kay Sarah na aabutin ng siyam-siyam ang kanyang pagiging permanente sa pagtuturo. Pumapatak nang isang taon at kalahati ang proseso, at wala pang katiyakan kung kailan ito bababa. O kung aalukin o tatanggihan ang kanyang aplikasyon.

Ito ang tinatawag na interregnum ni Antonio Gramsci, na ang kanyang paliwanag ay hindi pa namamatay ang luma gayong hindi pa isinisilang ang bagong kaayusan. Mala-mala, kumbaga, na tulad ng mga palaisipan, wala rito, wala roon; o hindi tao, hindi hayop…

Na kung iisipin naman, lahat ng karanasan ay dinadanas sa yugto ng interregnum. Walang lubusang apropriasyon o subersyon sa kasalukuyang kaayusan, gayong hindi rin naman lahat ay negosasyon. Tanging sa lilim ng akademya ang mga radikal na kaisipan nagkakaroon ng ugat at sanga, dahil may pangako ang akademya ng ideolohikal na tunggalian—dahil sa lebel lang naman ng idea ito maaring umusbong, umunlad, magbunga at magmaterialisa.

At ito ang pangunahing “krimen” na ipinadanas kay Sarah: na tanggalin ang kondisyon ng posibilidad sa ideolohiya sa akademya. Matapos niyang mamuhay at ituring ang akademya bilang tahanan ng sampung taon, at hanggang sa mga araw na ito ay wala pa ring formal na pagpapaabot ng kadahilanan ng pagtanggi sa tenure, kundi man kung bakit hindi pa ito ipinagkakaloob, ay inibsan na ang kontraryong kamalayan sa poder na ito.

Hindi lamang halos ipinid na ang pinto ng akademya kay Sarah. Ang nauna nang ipinid ay ang pag-asa sa kontraryong kaisipan at pagkilos na maaring tanggapin ng postura ng UP, ang tinatawag na exemplaryo ng liberalismo sa tertiaryong edukasyon. Akademya na ang isinasarang pinto dahil kung i-deny ang tenure ni Sarah, wala itong malilipatang ibang kapantay na karanasang UP.

Hindi nga ba’t tatlo o apat lang naman ang institusyon ng higher learning, mali man, na binibigyan-turing ng lipunang Filipino? Ang alingasngas ng kawalan ng tenure kay Sarah ay hahabol sa anumang unibersidad na pag-aapplyan nito. Sino ang gustong kumuha ng professor na kahit akademikong kwalipikado ay may tanong sa di akademikong gawain nito, kahit hindi naman dapat?

Malapit ang turing ko kay Sarah. Ko-editor kami sa pinakapaborito kong librong nalathala, Akademics Against Political Killings. Na kahit tadtad ng typo ay hindi pa rin matatawaran ang napapanahong interbensyon ng progresibong kaguruan sa di pa ring tumutumal na politikal na pagpaslang at abduction sa mga aktibista. Si Sarah ang isa sa pinakaorihinal na manunulat at kritikong panlipunan na natunghayan ko.

Kasama ko siyang natuto sa running. Ang aming itinakdang petsa ng pagkatuto ay ang unang fun run, 5K sa UP noong Agosto 2007. Pareho kaming halos mamamatay bago pa man matapos ang takbong ito. Ngayon ay minamani na lang namin ang 5K. At dumadalas ang pagsasama namin, kabilang ang iba pang guro, sa mga fun run. Tunay na isa itong sanktuwaryong aktibidad. Na kahit mabigat ang pasanin sa trabaho, o sa kanyang kaso, ang nagigipitang bato sa interregnum, ay nariyan ang running, umambon man o umaraw.

Na bago magmukhang parangal at letter of recommendation itong kolum, nais ko na lamang banggitin ang isang aspekto ng buhay. May mga taong dumarating sa buhay, may mga taong nawawala, lumiliban at bumabalik kahit paminsan-minsan, o permanenteng lumiliban. Ibang bagay pa kung bakit sila pinatutuloy o sa gate lamang kinakausap, o iniiwasan na parang walang tao sa bahay. Na ang katok o door bell ay kasing tindi ng antisipasyon kung ano ang dapat gawin, kaya ang madalas piliing gawin ay wala na lamang gawin.

Si Sarah ay dumating at tila hindi na aalis sa buhay ng maraming tao. Hindi naman sa pag-aangkin dahil si Sarah pa ang huling taong gustong magpaangkin bilang karelasyon, katuwang, kasama at kaibigan. At madalas nga ay nababalitaan ko na lamang, tulad ng ibang pang maimbentong rason ng di pagsulpot o pag-text back, na mayroon itong reunion sa mga kaklase niya noong high school, college, at pati grade school.

Hindi bumibitaw si Sarah, kaya hindi rin ako bibitaw. At ang iba pa niyang kasama. Sa edad ng interregnum, sa pinakalakas na kalabog ng isinasarang pinto o pinakatago—at kung gayon, pinakamalalim—na latay sa kalamnan, ang saga ng tenure at katarungan ni Sarah ay saga ng lahat ng guro at manggagawa sa edukasyon sa papakitid na siwang ng liberalismo sa edukasyon. Kung bakit tayo nandito at wala sa ibang lugar. Kung bakit ito ang pinili nating arena para makipagtunggali.