“Kitchen as a Classroom: Domestic Science in Philippine Bureau of Education Magazines, 1906-1932”
by Alex Orquiza in Asia Pacific Perspectives
From 1906 to 1932, the Philippine Bureau of Education published three official magazines that explained the objectives of the American-run public schools. This article explores how Philippine Education, Philippine Craftsman, and Philippine Public Schools described the introduction and the teaching of domestic science during this period. It intervenes in previous scholarship on Philippine domestic science, the Filipina feminine ideal, and the efficacy and language of official texts in the public schools. Ultimately, it argues four contradictions about domestic science emerge in the magazines: 1) a lack of opportunity for the Filipina despite promises of expanding their role in society; 2) an inability to convince poorer, older Filipinos to change despite the hubristic belief in adoption by all; 3) a belief in the physical and mental limitations of Filipino people despite promises to improve Filipino bodies and lives; and 4) a cyclical promotion of western superiority that created a demand for imported goods while simultaneously paying for these items by selling western foods. Domestic science certainly strengthened and healed bodies in the Philippines, and it absolutely attempted widespread cultural change. Yet it ultimately was a practice for making food into an everyday reminder of American cultural hegemony in the Philippines.
Read the article here.
