THIS is a short tribute to Professor Resil Mojares, our newly chosen National Artist for Literature. I’ve read a Facebook post saying that the award is overdue. I cannot agree more.
People are for sure wondering why Mojares and his kind remain relevant in a country that has been struggling with a lot of “real” issues. I am using the word “real” because many people nowadays define and understand reality in terms of “practicality” and “usability.” Unfortunately, the reality of life is still beyond our grasp. Artists, poets, historians, writers, and philosophers continue to remind us that no matter how much we look at a thing “we will never get to know the thing-in-itself.”
Mojares is a great pride not only of and for Cebuano-speaking people. The whole Philippines should be proud of him. The title “national artist” therefore aptly describes who he is to us, Filipinos. Unlike other renowned scholars in Philippine Studies, Mojares did not get his doctorate abroad. He studied Literature at the University of San Carlos and the University of the Philippines. And although he has been a visiting and postdoctoral fellow in many universities abroad, he remains in essence an organic or homegrown scholar.
His writings nonetheless have enriched not only literature but also other disciplines outside but related to his specialization. His scholarship is far-reaching. His works are read in history, political science, anthropology, and even philosophy and religion. When I did my graduate studies in Political Science, Mojares was a required reading in my political culture course. His well-written work “Brains of the Nation” is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the intellectual background of Philippine nationalist history.
There is another important point that I want to emphasize. Little do most people know that Mojares is a critic of Philippine culture and society. This he did, of course, without bravado. The Humanities is not a neutral field. Artists may not talk as often as lawyers do but they are not mute when it comes to issues and realities. Art in whatever form is never just for the sake of itself. Writing in particular is at its best when it creates discomfort and thus bothers us.
In an essay which I wrote in 2012 in honor of Reynaldo Ileto (another distinguished Filipino scholar) I said: “a people’s reflections, critiques and analyses of themselves and their condition basically speak of the kind of persons that they are and the [kind of] country that they have.” Our country’s successes and failures ultimately reflect the extent and depth of our thinking.
Thinking and writing about the country remains relevant. We are sometimes tempted to abandon our own in the face of regional economic integration. The new educational paradigm has even shaped a mentality where only the “useful” subjects should be studied. It is sad that “relevance” is naively understood to mean economic viability. Mojares however reminds us that:
“[T]here is a measure of bad faith in urging a country that has been colonized by foreign powers to “globalize” since by definition a nation colonized is globalized. The imperative lies in whether it is being globalized in ways that people are critically aware of, and in terms that they can effectively negotiate with or command” (Mojares 2014).
Our national artist for Literature is a living reminder that one need not get a degree abroad in order to write for the country. Many academics have now used the poor excuse that they cannot do research because there is little funding. Inquiry and writing are foremost fueled by care and passion for the things that concern us.
Professor Resil Mojares truly deserves the national artist award. He is not only a scholar; he is an inspiration!