Like drifting bamboo: diasporic Pilipinxs and the liberal state

Asian American claims to place-both mainstream and radical- have historically been articulated through liberal discourses of attainment of equal rights and citizenship. However, claiming of space through identification with the state relies on the assumption that individuals and communities have an inherent right to make claims to land and property. Because the existence of United States is predicated on Indigenous dispossession from their lands, contemporary activism by communities of color grounded on this same logic is rendered problematic. This research seeks to understand if Filipino Americans can negotiate claims to space outside of the liberal state. In answering this question I employ Critical Ethnography and Critical Discourse Analysis in order to examine the cultural practices and discourses of Balik sa Dagat Bangka Journey, a Filipino American cultural project.