NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

I've been working for a few months on an article for a book on discourses on sustainability. I reached a number of deadends in my writing, but eventually, finally found a breakthrough last month in terms of how I wanted to craft my argument about how we an see discourses on sustainability in terms of discussions and critiques on the US military buildup plans for Guam. I'll be presenting some components of my draft at the upcoming Academic Research Conference sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) at UOG. I just submitted my abstract for it, which I've pasted below: "Situating Sustainability: Disrupting Military Buildup Fantasies" In 2009 the USDOD announced their intention to dramatically increase their military presence on the island of Guam. Although this “military buildup” was predicted to cause severe damage to the island in environmental, social and economic terms, discourse from island leaders and

This week I am in Taiwan, I'll be attending and presenting at the 2015 International Austronesian Conference. People from Guam have been attending this conference for quite a while and I am honored to be the most recent attendee. I'll be presenting a paper titled, "The Austronesian Sakman: The Role of FESTPAC in Chamorro Efforts at Cultural Revitalization." I am attending on behalf of the Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency (GCAHA) and so I made certain my presentation was connected to FESTPAC which will be held in Guam next year. I'm pasted below my abstract and I'm sure I'll be sharing more about my experiences on this blog. Chamorro culture of the Mariana Islands has been dramatically influenced by centuries of colonization by Spanish, Japanese and American forces. Despite these changes, the Chamorro people have maintained various forms of continuity to their Austronesian ancestors that are still manifest today in

I'm up late trying to finish my talk for tomorrow at the Marianas History Conference at UOG. The title of my talk is "Jumping the Fence" and it is an evaluation of the impact that Nasion Chamoru and its first Maga'lahi Angel Santos has had on contemporary Guam. I outline a number of changes that they helped to facilitate in terms of culture and politics. Jumping the fence is a metaphor for decolonization and it refers to the infamous incident when Angel Santos, Ed Benavente and several others jumped the fence at former Naval Air Station, or what is today known as "Tiyan." They did this right in front of media and military police, and when they were arrested Santos spat in the face of one of his captors. It was a moment that defined Nasion Chamoru for many people in a negative sense, but can also play a big role in helping us understand just how much they changed the island with their activism. My favorite line thus far in my presentation is as follow

I'm not sure when I'll start posting again. I'm preparing my presentation for the upcoming Marianas History Conference in Saipan next week. Originally my presentation was supposed to be about one thing and it is slowly evolving into something else. It's both exciting and frustrating I'll be writing more about it soon I'm sure. In the meantime, despensa yu' put i tinague-ku guini. Siempre ti apmam bai hu bira tatte! Here's my original abstract for the conference, but as I already said it won't be much like this when I actually present it though: Mumon Linahayan:   The Reinvigorating of the Retelling of the Chamorro-Spanish Wars Although Marianas histories are overloaded with the importance of World War II in recent history, in a longer-view the Chamorro-Spanish Wars had a far greater impact on the lives of Chamorros and their islands. However, with the exception of figures such Pale’ Vitores and Maga’låhi Kepuha who emerg

You Are Cordially Invited to Attend: "Before the Storm, After the Fire" A Solo Exhibition Or Meggai na Monotypes By Michael Lujan Bevacqua I.P. Coffee Mangilao, Guam OPENING RECEPTION: 5:30 - 8:30 pm May 7, 2010 Refreshments will be provided... If my brother can work it, there might be music at the opening... Exhibit will remain up until it is taken down... For more info contact me at mlbasquiat@hotmail.com Or I.P. Coffee at 735-3663 Put fabot, kefatto (pi'ot an guaha salape-mu) guihi para i binaba...

I've just finished setting up my conference schedule for the rest of the school year, and it looks pretty exciting. In addition to the two conferences that I am organizing (click here for info on one, and I'll have more info on the other very soon), I've got four academic papers that I'll be presenting at conferences all around the country. The most exciting panel that I'll be on will be at the 2008 Indigenous Studies Conference at the University of Georgia. I'll be joined on this panel by three of my friends, to discuss in different ways the concept or spirit of "sovereignty" in the lives of Native Americans and Pacific Islanders. The title of our panel is Sovereignty and the Problem of Recognition. I'll post the panel description and abstracts below, since it'll explain where we are coming from better than I will. I've got a lot on my plate right now in terms of preparing for the new school quarter and then all the other writing and act

I've got another conference coming up this week, but thankfully no flying this time, since its so close by. The conference is up at University of California, Irvine, is titled " The Contested Terrains of Globalization " and is sponsored by the Global Studies Association. The paper that I'll be presenting is titled "The Materiality and Fantasy of Empire: The Case of Guam," which is part of my intended dissertation. I'll post my short abstract of it below which you can check out, but to quickly summarize my paper, I'd have to say that there is something about the political and discursive status of Guam today which is very instructive to those looking for the structure and tendencies of Empire today. I have often noted that the banal political ambiguity of Guam today clues us into tendencies in the global order which are just taking root now, but which will soon become the norm. Check out the abstract below, for a tiny bit more information. “The Materi

Just wanted to share with everyone the abstract for a paper I plan to write for a conference next year. Gof malago yu' kumula i estao i militat gi i ketturan Chamorro yan gi i hinasson Chamorro. Sa' hafa bula na Chamorro sigi ha' manaonao gi i setbisu? Ti sina put i kemissary ha', sa' atan siha, sesso manggofpatriotic lokkue, yan ma gof guaiya Amerika. Sa' hafa? Ti unu ineppe (repuesta), lao hu diseseha na maolek ha' yan nahong ha' an sigi ha' ta famaisen. "The Sacrifice of Army Specialist Christopher Rivera Wesley" Chamorros on Guam as Homo Sacer Soldiers." On December 8, 2003, Christopher Rivera Wesley a Chamorro from Guam was killed in Iraq. Four months later another Chamorro, Michael Aguon Vega also died. Despite the unequal status of Guam in relation to the United States, media reports and local discourse surrounding both deaths made little to no mention of Guam’s colonial status. When family members in Guam commented on the s