Resil Mojares — LLMpedia

Resil Mojares
KING RODRIGUEZ/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO · Public domain · source
Name	Resil Mojares
Birth date	1943
Birth place	Cebu City
Occupation	Historian, critic, essayist, professor
Nationality	Philippines
Notable works	"The War Against the Americans", "Brains of the Nation"

Contents

Resil Mojares is a Filipino historian, literary critic, and public intellectual widely recognized for his scholarship on Visayas history, Philippine literature, and colonial-era studies. He has been associated with key Philippine universities and cultural institutions, contributing to debates involving José Rizal, Andrés Bonifacio, Emilio Aguinaldo, Apolinario Mabini, and regional movements in Cebu. His work bridges historiography, criticism, and cultural studies, engaging with figures such as Nick Joaquin, Edgar Allan Poe, Federico García Lorca, Antonio Pigafetta, and scholars from Ateneo de Manila University, University of the Philippines, and De La Salle University.

Early life and education

Born in Cebu City in 1943, Mojares grew up amid postwar transformations that involved interactions with personalities and movements linked to Sergio Osmeña, Manuel L. Quezon, Sergio Osmeña Jr., and provincial politics in Cebu. He pursued higher education at institutions including University of the Philippines Diliman, where he encountered faculty influenced by Renato Constantino, Fernando Zialcita, Nick Joaquin, and León María Guerrero. His doctoral and postgraduate formation connected him to international centers such as Harvard University, Oxford University, and networks involving scholars like Benedict Anderson, Stuart Hall, and Edward Said.

Mojares held professorial and research positions at universities including University of San Carlos, University of the Philippines Visayas, Ateneo de Manila University, University of the Philippines Diliman, and De La Salle University. He directed centers concerned with Philippine studies and collaborated with institutions such as National Historical Commission of the Philippines, Cultural Center of the Philippines, and National Commission for Culture and the Arts. His academic affiliations brought him into dialogue with historians like Teodoro Agoncillo, William Henry Scott, John N. Schumacher, Luis Camara Dery, and critics such as Bienvenido Lumbera and F. Sionil José.

Mojares authored seminal books and essays including "The War Against the Americans", "Brains of the Nation", and collections on Visayan literature and culture, positioning him alongside authors like Nick Joaquin, Carlos P. Romulo, Rizalina Ilagan, Jose Garcia Villa, and Cirilo Bautista. He edited and contributed to volumes addressing figures such as Apolinario Mabini, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Graciano López Jaena, and texts on colonial encounters referencing Antonio Pigafetta and the Magellan expedition. His critical essays engage comparative frameworks with writers like Gabriel García Márquez, Pablo Neruda, R. K. Narayan, E. M. Forster, and historians including John R. W. Smail and Roland Barthes.

Mojares reoriented studies of regionalism and nationalism, examining connections among Visayas, Mindanao, and Luzon through archival investigations in repositories such as National Library of the Philippines, Archivo General de Indias, and municipal archives in Cebu City and Iloilo City. He advanced dialogues with theorists and movements represented by Leftist movements in the Philippines, People Power Revolution, and cultural debates involving Pambansang Alagad ng Sining, Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, and Kilusang Bagong Lipunan critiques. His work dialogues with international historiography exemplified by Eric Hobsbawm, Benedict Anderson, Homi K. Bhabha, Dipesh Chakrabarty, and literary criticism from Harold Bloom and Raymond Williams.

Mojares received major honors from Philippine cultural bodies such as the National Artist of the Philippines-adjacent commendations, awards from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and prizes linking him to peers like Bienvenido Lumbera, Lualhati Bautista, F. Sionil José, Rolando Tinio, and Edgardo M. Reyes. He has been recognized by universities including University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, and international organizations connected to ASEAN cultural initiatives and academic associations like the Association for Asian Studies.

Mojares's personal sphere intersected with the cultural life of Cebu and national debates involving personalities such as Sergio Osmeña III, Lapu-Lapu City civic leaders, and cultural producers in Visayas. His legacy includes mentorship of scholars now teaching at University of the Philippines Cebu, Silliman University, Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan, Mindanao State University, and curatorial roles in exhibits at the Cebu Provincial Museum and collaborations with writers like Ricky Lee, Ninotchka Rosca, and Angela Manalang-Gloria. His influence extends to contemporary historians and critics involved with projects on Philippine Revolution, American colonial period, Spanish colonial period, and regional literary canons.

Category:Filipino historians Category:Filipino literary critics Category:People from Cebu City