E. San Juan, Jr. at ang Diskursong Kulturang Popular

Abstract

While E. San Juan, Jr. admits that he has done little scholarship on popular culture, my contention is that his body of works—especially in the areas of cultural revolution, Third World literature, and diaspora—provides a substantial contribution and intervention in Philippine cultural studies and popular culture studies. His writings on these typify the critical resolve in the cultural turns as experienced in the rise of cultural studies. In particular, it is useful to the analysis of popular culture, representing a framework that has integrity, even in the mapping of the contemporary popularity of social media platforms. This personal essay analyzes the various stages in the rise and development of cultural studies, including the mediations of San Juan in his related critiques, including the place and placement of cultural revolution. The field of popular culture studies owes San Juan a huge gratitude with his early appreciation and understanding that culture is political, and that the political’s call is for national social transformation.