Between the Home and the Diaspora

by Susanah Mendoza

Arguing for the contingent nature of theories and the need for nuanced perspectives in their invocation across politically-uneven contexts, this study models a way of productively engaging the current debates between deconstructive cultural criticism and the project of indigenization as these are played out in the struggles of Filipino and Filipino American academics seeking empowerment for their respective communities.

258 pages, Hardcover

First published December 21, 2001

Reviews

[S. Alberto ঌ⁻⁷ (semi-active, always yearning) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really came through for me—especially as a source for my seminar paper (yes, it made the bibliography, respectfully). Mendoza does a thoughtful job of unpacking the layered complexities of Filipino and Filipino American identity, especially in relation to diaspora, memory, and nationalism. The way she bridges the personal and the political felt grounded and genuinely reflective of the tensions many of us know too well but don’t always have the language for.

It leans academic but not in an inaccessible way. I appreciated how Mendoza interrogates the idea of “home” as not just a physical place but a shifting, contested narrative, shaped by both historical trauma and cultural negotiation. Her work pushed me to reflect on my own understandings of belonging—especially in the context of postcolonial identity, dislocation, and cultural in-betweenness.

It’s definitely a book that invites you to slow down, sit with the contradictions, and feel the politics of theorizing identity. I rated it 4 stars only because I wanted more—more chapters, more contemporary connections, more of that good good diasporic analysis. But overall? A strong, thought-provoking read that I’ll keep revisiting, especially in future research or anytime I feel like my identity’s doing the most.