A good friend asked me this question: in the event that you have finished your PhD, will you still come back to the Philippines?
I just smile back in reply. Then, raise an off-tangent issue then the question is soon forgotten.
Actually, it was not my first time to hear the dreaded question. Back in Manila, I have been advised about doing so many things including returning back.
But family and friends (and even adversaries), the answer to the question is not as easy as you think.
You see, I can enumerate countless reasons why I should NOT come back, from the national to career to personal motivations. Unfortunately, the reasons for not returning outweigh why I should return.
But let me put it simply: it is difficult to have a single, solid response because anything can happen in the next four years.
Academics and scholars are not simply assets of their own universities. They are (and ought to be) global citizens committed to both knowledge creation and knowledge exchange. The continued pursuit of knowledge to serve humankind must always be in its immediate goal which cannot be done by simply being confined in the bounds of university libraries and offices. The academic asks the relevant questions, goes out into the field and archives, and explore the world of possibilities.
Can this be done within the Philippines or any home country for that matter?
Of course. But here is the caveat: the Philippines or any country for that matter cannot be studied in isolation especially in this age of rapid development, globalization, and transcultural change. Gone are the days when the nation-state as a unit of analysis dominated the discourse. As people, commodities, and ideas are rapid, boundaries are reshaped beyond the political and national.
The challenge is actually to look into how these boundaries keep on extending and expanding (or if there are any boundaries at all!). This implies immersing into various contexts and cultures in order to better understand the complex realities of our existence.
With these possibilities, anything can happen in the next four years. I do not know what lies ahead of me. For sure, there will be opportunities that will lie ahead of me. And when it does, who in the right mind declines such opportunities to learn more about oneself and the world?
