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Best regards, Andrew Stewart - - - Subscribe to the Washington Babylon newsletter via https://washingtonbabylon.com/newsletter/ Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> > Date: February 26, 2020 at 9:28:41 AM EST > To: [email protected] > Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-Empire]: Green on Steinbock-Pratt, 'Educating the > Empire: American Teachers and Contested Colonization in the Philippines' > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Sarah Steinbock-Pratt. Educating the Empire: American Teachers and > Contested Colonization in the Philippines. New York Cambridge > University Press, 2019. 390 pp. $120.00 (cloth), ISBN > 978-1-108-47312-5. > > Reviewed by Hilary N. Green (University of Alabama) > Published on H-Empire (February, 2020) > Commissioned by Charles V. Reed > > Education, Citizenship, and American Imperialism > > Scholars have recently returned their gaze toward the role of public > education in defining the nation, citizenship, and imperialism in the > late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.[1] Sarah > Steinbock-Pratt adds to the conversation by exploring American > civilian educators' contributions in shaping American imperialism in > the Philippines. In _Educating the Empire_, she explores "how > education contributed to the creation of US empire in the > Philippines, and the ways that this colonial project was formed > through the contests and collaborations of a variety of actors with > different goals and desires, which in turn indelibly shaped the > counters of colonization" (p. 5). For Steinbock-Pratt, colonial > authority was created in schoolhouses and private homes and not > solely in government offices. Race, gender, class, nationality, and > imperial position mattered in defining educators' experiences and > their degrees of influence over the colonial project to the chagrin > of colonial bureaucrats. "As imperial mediators," Steinbock-Pratt > argues, American civilian educators "negotiated with both state > officials and people on the ground to enact a colonialism shaped by > multiple and conflicting impulses and intentions" (pp. 24-25). These > collective interactions produced mixed legacy of American imperialism > in the Philippines. > > The opening chapter explores the ways that American educators > constructed a "catalog of colonial knowledge" for setting their > expectations (p. 27). Thus, pre-travel Western biases formed the > foundational narrative of "colonial education and state-building, at > times, to the consternation of officials in Manila" (p. 27). When > civilian educators arrived, they did not encounter a barren > educational field. Rather, they found a populace with a knowledge and > understanding of Western colonial education models. Army schools > taught by black and white soldiers initiated the Americanizing > process. American colonial policy mandates for English-only > instruction, however, dictated the employment of civilian American > educators. After an extensive demographic survey, Steinbock-Pratt > reveals that educators' pre-departure preparations consisted of San > Francisco Chinatown tours, educational lectures, and other social > activities. In addition to contemporary notions of racial hierarchy, > these activities created their catalog of colonial knowledge. They > leveraged this ever-expanding knowledge and asserted their expertise > for defining the colonial project. Through contestations and > negotiations, colonial officials and educators constructed a colonial > state through education of Filipino citizens. > > Over the next three chapters, Steinbock-Pratt outlines the main > thrust of her argument over the creation of the colonial state by > colonial officials, educators, and Filipino subjects. Starting with > the second chapter, she demonstrates how colonial official policy of > fitness, imbued with notions of racial, gender, classist, and > nationalistic hierarchies, failed when "enacted on the ground" and > ultimately allowed for "greater variety of who was able to access > positions within the empire" (p. 51). In part, colonial officials > underestimated the white women, African American educators, and > American-style-educated Filipinos employed. They found empowerment > through upending presumed hierarchies and challenging colonial > officials. Despite conflict and policy changes, Steinbock-Pratt > contends, the number of women employed remained consistently steady > throughout the period under examination. In an era of increased > feminization of the teaching force in the United States, it remains > unclear following this discussion why colonial officials had > ambivalence to their employment. Interestingly, > turn-of-the-twentieth-century African American educational debates > also influenced which African Americans initially served in the > Philippines. Steinbock-Pratt demonstrates that notions of racial > hierarchy and the creation of a tiered imperial citizenship mirrored > contemporary American hierarchies shaping domestic public schooling. > Few black educators secured appointments. Filipino educators also > served in a limited capacity initially. They, too, expanded their > position. Often graduates with Americanized education, the early > Filipino educators expected the same access within the imperial > system and challenged contrary policies. > > Co-opting the language of fitness, educators asserted new identities > and understandings that challenged race, class, gender, and > nationality in the Philippines and at home. Here, Steinbock-Pratt's > mastery of diverse archival sources is on full display. White men > often had their expectation of professional advancement unfulfilled. > In contrast, white women proved their independence and leadership > capabilities in and outside of the classroom. Her rich analysis adds > to recent scholarly discussions regarding the ways that late > nineteenth-century American women's education empowered students and > alumnae to consider themselves as race leaders. While not fully > explored in the text, this educational development extended beyond > national boundaries to the Pacific colony.[2] Likewise, African > American men and women had similar motivations to their white > counterparts but with the added expectation of racial uplift for > themselves, Filipinos, and African Americans at home. John Henry > Manning Butler, and Carter G. Woodson, as shown by Steinbock-Pratt, > positioned themselves as American citizens and not racial inferiors > who were "best suited to carry out the project of Americanization" > (p. 101). > > The fourth chapter convincingly demonstrates how the creation of > race, specifically whiteness, blackness, and Filipinoness became > important, and yet elastic colonial designations. Steinbock-Pratt > sheds light on the process whereby "nationality was racialized and > race was nationalized" (p. 134). Whiteness expands. Gilbert S. Perez > and other passing African Americans transformed their racial identity > and achieved self-invention. Some white men felt a loss of privilege > by marrying Filipinas. This perceived loss increased the policing > against these racial offenses. Claims of American identity and > nationality also disrupted notions of blackness. Since traditional > color conventions lacked meaning, African Americans articulated > rights denied them at home. Steinbock-Pratt contends that they took > advantage of the adverse consequences posed by sustaining > domestically accepted racial discrimination for the colonial project. > Furthermore, African American and Filipinos had better relations, as > evidenced by intermarriage and a shared nonwhite identity. Instead of > race, education, class, and imperial status became important markers > of distinction. > > Textbooks and curriculum, as demonstrated in the fifth chapter, > prepared Filipinos to become assimilated but never equal imperial > citizens. American educators had a dual role of educating students > and making their uplift work visible to local communities. Curricular > decisions, however, reflected American disciplinary body-centered > pedagogy and colonial expectations for racial subordination with a > vocational curriculum domestically used in the schooling of Native > Americans, African Americans, and other racialized American > communities. Originally, religious affiliation determined curriculum. > Steinbock-Pratt shows how Christian Filipinos received the classical > model while non-Christian Filipinos received an industrial model > curriculum. Over time, the curricular differences shrank as the > industrial education spread across the entire system. White educators > embraced colonial officials' understandings of Filipinos' capacity > for self-governance. While more positive than their white > counterparts, African American educators still articulated gendered > American language to describe Filipinos' capacity for > self-governance. These differences affected their reception by > students, parents, and communities and encouraged Filipino > nationalism, especially in secondary and postsecondary schools. > Eventually, Filipino educators replaced the American teaching force > and closed this unique period of opportunity for American educators. > > Beyond the classroom, educators had an essential role in sustaining > American imperial contact in the individual homes and communities. > This sixth chapter permits Steinbock-Pratt to fully develop her > subargument regarding the sustained and most direct American imperial > contact. Intimacy proved essential to defining state authority. Both > educators and Filipino community members understood their power was > limited without military backing and the support of local provincial > governors. Still, educators did function as colonial arbiters in > local affairs. Steinbock-Pratt demonstrates that some social > interactions disrupted power dynamics but other interactions, > specifically the employment of Filipino domestic servants, often > maintained hierarchy. All interactions proved fraught. > > As shown in the final chapter, the fully implemented Filipino > teaching force shaped the political discourse over nationalism, > independence, and demise of the colonial regime. This crucial > refashioning of their Americanized education revealed the unintended > consequences of the colonial project. Colonial rhetoric of unfitness > and American teachers' outright racism fueled student protest. In an > attempt to stem student activism, colonial directives had the > opposite effects. Students increasingly demanded dignity, > self-determination, and independence. Even the rollback of > Filipinization under the Harding administration, according to > Steinbock-Pratt, further radicalized students, who now had a > significant presence in the independence movement. > > Setting the path toward full independence, Filipino teachers replaced > all American educators. Former American educators either ended their > service or transitioned to educating other marginalized populations. > African American educators often continued their racial uplift work > through the formation of new organizations, such as the Association > of the Study for Negro Life and History (ASNLH) and the National > Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). > Independence, as a result, produced a complex and ambivalent legacy. > > Overall, _Educating the Empire_ offers a comprehensive and insightful > examination on the role of education in the American colonial project > in the Philippines. Readers will appreciate Steinbock-Pratt's careful > attention to the overlapping forces of race, gender, and nationality > in shaping the development of the colonial state and how Filipinos > refashioned their education in their struggle for self-governance and > independence. At times, readers might desire clearer connections > between the colonial system and other American educational systems > for marginalized domestic communities. In other words, did the > marginalized Americans' domestic struggles influence their Filipino > counterparts and vice versa in the American imperial educational > project during this era? Nonetheless, this work is a fine addition to > the field and will appeal to diverse scholars and students. > > Notes > > [1]. See Clif Stratton, _Education for Empire: American Schools, > Race, and the Paths of Good Citizenship_ (Oakland: University of > California Press, 2016); and John R. Gram, _Education at the End of > Empire: Negotiating Pueblo Identity in New Mexico's Indian Boarding > Schools_ (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2015). > > [2]. See Sarah H. Case, _Leaders of Their Race: Educating Black and > White Women in the New South _(Urbana: University of Illinois Press, > 2017); and Jewel A. Smith, _Transforming Women's Education: Liberal > Arts and Music in Female Seminaries_ (Urbana: University of Illinois > Press, 2019. > > Citation: Hilary N. Green. Review of Steinbock-Pratt, Sarah, > _Educating the Empire: American Teachers and Contested Colonization > in the Philippines_. H-Empire, H-Net Reviews. February, 2020. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=55048 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
