Legacies of 1898: Sovereignty and Colonialism in Puerto Rico,
Cuba, Guam, the Philippines and Hawai'i, and their Impact
on the United States
June15—July 2, 1998
Co-Directors: Virginia Domínguez, Anthropology and Jane Desmond, American Studies/Women's Studies
"This was the most successful seminar I have ever participated in… The Legacies Seminar was outstanding in the way that it broadened the perspectives of every participant and achieved open and friendly debate. I was impressed by the exchange of information and the increasingly understanding perceptions of one another which the participants achieved. . . . I think that a number of factors contributed to this outcome. One was the broad range in participants' backgrounds, disciplines, and theoretical orientations—specifically the arts, humanities, history, and social sciences and the geographic areas from which we came. There also was a productive sharing of an interest in educational outreach, combined with strong personal involvement in subject matter." -Stephen T. Boggs |
This seminar took an interdisciplinary approach to late twentieth-century sovereignty issues in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines, and
Hawai'i. These five sites are historically united through their "acquisition" in 1898 by the United States during the period of expansion following the Spanish-American War; and, even today, these islands are in various stages of local sovereignty movements. The seminar marked the centennial of the Spanish-American War with a detailed analysis of the similarities and differences in the histories of these islands since 1898 and their respective legal, cultural, and economic relations with the U.S.
The Seminar addressed these primary questions:
- What are the differences among the islands in terms of their current relations to the U.S.? How did those differences come to be?
- What similarities and differences do we find in today's independence movements? How are these related to the geopolitical sphere (Pacific, Caribbean) of the islands' locations?
- What does a comparative analysis of these varieties of colonial and post- or neo-colonial relations tell us? What generalizations can we make?
The events of 1898 have long been treated as key events in the nationalist movements and historiographic narratives of all of the conquered territories and of Spain. The seminar took the unusual step, not only of differentiating and comparing the impact on the territories involved, but of measuring the impact of the war on the U.S. The Spanish-American War has rarely been viewed as a major U.S. event. The seminar examined how the war represented a key change in the way the U.S. viewed its sense of nationhood and its own position as colonial power.
The Obermann Seminar was supported by the Obermann Center, the Office of the Vice President for Research, the Graduate College, and the Christopher Reynolds Foundation.
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| Jane Desmond, Fernando Picó, Virginia Domínguez, Stephen T. Boggs, and Nick Deocampo. |
Obermann Fellows
Katharine Bjork (History, University of Chicago); Stephen T. Boggs (Anthropology, University of Hawai'i at Manoa); Ralph Cintron (Rhetoric, The University of Iowa); Soraya M. Castro-Mariño (Center for U.S. Studies, Havana University); Nick Deocampo (Director, Mowelfund Film Institute, Philippines); Vicente Diaz (Micronesian Area Research Center, University of Guam); David M. Forman (William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawai'i at Manoa); Juan A. Giusti-Cordero (History, University of Puerto Rico); Jorge Ramón Cuesta Ibarra (Instituto de Historia de Cuba); Cesar M. Medina (Social Studies and History, Bicol University Graduate School, Philippines); Glenn Petersen (Anthropology, Baruch College, The City University of New York); Fernando Picó (History, University of Puerto Rico); Kelvin A. Santiago-Valles (Sociology and Africana Studies, Binghamton University); Amy Ku'uleialoha Stillman (Musicology, University of California at Santa Barbara); Lanny Thompson (Sociology and Anthropology, University of Puerto Rico); David E. Wilkins (Political Science, University of Arizona)
Guests and Consultants
Fath Davis-Ruffins (National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution); Jorge Domínguez (Center for International Affairs and Professor of Government, Harvard University); Marvette Pérez (National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution); Vicente Rafael (Communication Studies, University of California at San Diego); Geoffrey White (International Cultural Studies, East-West Center)
Distinguished Visiting Fellows
Linda K. Kerber (History, The University of Iowa); Sidney Mintz (Anthropology, University of California at Berkeley)
Research Assistants
Leslie Abadie (Rhetoric); Brigittine French (Anthropology); Charles V. Hawley (Education); Sharon Romeo (Rhetoric); John Gronbeck-Tedesco (Spanish/American Studies)