On Carlos Bulosan: Writing Diaspora, Becoming Filipino

The public is invited to
On Carlos Bulosan: Writing Diaspora, Becoming Filipino
by Jeffrey Arellano Cabusao (Bryant University [USA]) 

Part of the KRITIKA KULTURA LECTURE SERIES

To register, visit go.ateneo.edu/KKLectureCabusao.
Admission is free and open to the public. Please bring a valid ID for campus access. 

Kritika Kultura, in collaboration with the Literary and Cultural Studies Program and PLUME, invites you to a lecture titled “On Carlos Bulosan: Writing Diaspora, Becoming Filipino,” to be delivered by Jeffrey Arellano Cabusao of Bryant University (USA). The event will take place on 10 November 2025, from 5:00–7:00 PM, at the NGF Conference Room in De la Costa Hall, Ateneo de Manila University.

This lecture revisits the life and works of Carlos Bulosan to explore his enduring significance in the 21st century. Moving beyond his reputation as a writer of the Filipino diaspora, it examines Bulosan as a theorist who grappled with key “struggle concepts” such as class, culture, and identity to imagine social transformation. By rereading America Is in the Heart alongside his letters and essays, the discussion reclaims Bulosan’s intellectual legacy and affirms his relevance amid today’s digital and diasporic contexts.

ABSTRACT
This presentation focuses on pioneering 20th-century writer Carlos Bulosan. Born in Binalonan, Pangasinan, in 1911, Bulosan bore witness to the development of a working-class Filipino diaspora. By dramatizing the hopes, fears, and aspirations of 150,000 Filipino migrant workers, Bulosan’s writings embodied the “voice” of the Filipino-American experience from the 1930s into the 1950s.

Bulosan left our planet seventy decades ago. Does he continue to speak to us? Or is Bulosan, once again, relegated to the dustbin of history, only to be retrieved as a reminder of what once was or an affirmation of “how far we’ve come”? Should we continue to read Bulosan in the 21st century, which is increasingly dominated by a “click-and-scroll” form of literacy and easy access to ChatGPT summaries on mobile devices?

To push against historical erasure or the trivialization of Bulosan’s achievements, we could examine how he engages what feminist theorist Teresa Ebert calls “struggle concepts” necessary for social transformation (society, history, class, etc.). By reconsidering Bulosan’s America Is in the Heart in relation to his other writings (letters and essays), this project examines “struggle concepts” that are specific to Bulosan’s work—“writing diaspora” and “becoming Filipino.” This approach sheds light on a different aspect of Bulosan, who has long been categorized as a poet, short story writer, and novelist. By considering Bulosan as a theorist who rearticulates concepts such as “class,” “culture,” and “identity,” we might appreciate his continued relevance for Filipinos everywhere in the 21st century.

BIONOTE
Jeffrey Arellano Cabusao is Professor of English and Cultural Studies in the Department of History, Literature, and the Arts at Bryant University, Smithfield, Rhode Island (USA), where he teaches courses in Asian American studies, ethnic studies, literary/cultural studies, and media literacy. As editor and contributor, Cabusao published Writer in Exile/Writer in Revolt: Critical Perspectives on Carlos Bulosan in 2016 (University Press of America). He is currently on sabbatical as a Kritika Kultura Visiting Professor jointly affiliated with the Literary and Cultural Studies Program (LCSP) at the Ateneo de Manila University. Cabusao is a member of the International Board of Editors for Kritika Kultura, a co-director emeritus of the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) Early Career Educator of Color Leadership Award Program, and the president of the Working-Class Studies Association (WCSA).

ABOUT KRITIKA KULTURA
Kritika Kultura is acknowledged by a host of Asian and Asian American Studies libraries and scholarly networks and indexed in the MLA International Bibliography, Arts and Humanities Citation Index (Clarivate), Scopus, EBSCO, the Directory of Open Access Journals, and the International Consortium of Critical Theory Programs (ICCTP). Read KK issues and learn about submission guidelines and events at https://archium.ateneo.edu/kk or email the editors at kk@ateneo.edu.