Docot, Dada
Research
Filipino migration to Japan
My research will focus on the study of Filipino women who now reside in Japan. It will reflect on migration patterns in both the Philippines and Japan, looking to reveal the shifts in what was previously predominantly an America-bound emigration pattern. I intend to particularly focus on migrants hailing from my hometown in the Philippines, and to understand the intricacies of their life through the lenses of feminization of work, national and global policy, the idealization of migration in everyday life, etc. This research is a continuation of my long-time interest in the study of Filipino women in Japan, and of the filming of the everyday life of Filipinos engaged in international migration.
An important component of my research is the production of visual projects, which I hope will give a more human face to migration, and thereby contribute to the development of policies. My hometown is also one of the many understudied communities in the Philippines, so by focusing on migrants from Nabau, I hope to boost interest in the study of smaller rural communities within the country.
Upon the completion of my master's degree from Tokyo University I knew that I wanted to continue studying migration, but that I also wanted to expand on my artistic projects. Visual anthropology felt like a natural fit, for it allows me to combine my interests in visual media and in the study of the Philippines and Japan. This convergence of interests eventually led me to graduate school.
The Ethnographic Film Unit that is hosted by our Department, the very strong Japanese Studies program at the Asian Center, and of course, the opportunity to work with my research supervisor, all encouraged me to come to UBC. I had also heard many positive things about the Department of Anthropology at UBC – for one, that it just beside the world-famous Museum of Anthropology.
If you are not from Canada and you need to find short or long-term accommodation make use of the UBC Classifieds using your interchange account, which you can actually access even before official enrollment. Also, don't be shy to email the graduate studies staff in your program, other graduate students, and even professors – in my experience they all happily reply to inquiries.
