Dada Docot
Why did you decide to pursue a graduate degree?
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.
Why did you decide to study at UBC?
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.
What was the best surprise about UBC or life in Vancouver?
There are so many resources within UBC of which students can take advantage. For example The Liu Institute for Global Issues has made possible the creation of the Philippine Studies Series, a group which aims to bring to UBC the discussion of Philippine-related issues. Through the Philippine Studies Series I have met many wonderful individuals who share my interests.
What advice do you have for new graduate students?
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.
Learn more about Dada's research
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.