Join us for a conversation discussing the historical and contemporary relationship between the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, beginning with their acquisition in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. As sites of U.S. territorial expansion, both were governed through military rule and colonial policies justified by racial and economic ideologies.

While Puerto Ricans were granted U.S. citizenship in 1917, the Philippines moved toward independence by 1946, creating divergent but interconnected paths shaped by migration, labor extraction, and strategic military interests. The discussion moves from this shared colonial foundation to contemporary issues—including large-scale migration, economic dependency, grassroots resistance, and debates over political status. It highlights how diasporic communities engage with questions of identity and belonging and how movements for self-determination continue to challenge the legacy of the U.S. empire today.

Panelists

Christine Bacareza Balance is an associate professor of performing and media arts and Asian American studies at Cornell University. Her work as a scholar and cultural worker bridges performance, popular culture, and Asian American studies, with a particular focus on Filipino and Filipino-American experiences. Her research and teaching explore how music, media, and performance shape diasporic identity, memory, and political life. She is also engaged in community-based and public humanities work that connects academia to broader conversations around race, empire, and cultural expression. 

Rebeca L. Hey-Colón is an associate professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Literatures in English and the Latina/o Studies Program at Cornell University. She is a scholar of Afro-Latinx and Caribbean cultures whose work explores how race, migration, and religion shape identity and resistance across the Americas. Her research and teaching center on Afro-diasporic spiritual practices, visual and literary cultures, and the everyday experiences of Latinx communities. She engages questions of colonialism, borders, and belonging through a focus on cultural expression and community knowledge.

Host

This event is organized by the Migrations Program's undergraduate Migrations scholars and co-sponsored by Latina/o Studies Program and Asian American Studies  

Don't miss our first event hosted by the Migrations scholars on April 21: Margins and Mobilization: Migrant Worker Precarity and Power in the Trump-era Economy.