UST Research Center for Culture, Arts and Humanities

[Research fellow Recognition]

We congratulate Asst. Prof. Joselito Zulueta, Asst. Prof. Paul A. Castillo, PhD, Asst. Prof. Jose P. Mojica, PhD, and Asst. Prof. Ma. Ailil B. Alvarez, PhD, on completing their Doctor of Philosophy in Literature degrees as members of the University of Santo Tomas Graduate School Class of 2026.

Asst. Prof. Zulueta received recognition as the batch Valedictorian, while Asst. Prof. Castillo received recognition as the Salutatorian.

Asst. Prof. Zulueta and Asst. Prof. Mojica are RCCAH research fellows under the Communication and Media Studies - Research Interest Group, while Asst. Prof. Castillo and Asst. Prof. Alvarez are affiliated with the Literary and Cultural Studies - RIG.

[Research fellow engagement]

On June 18, 2026, Prof. Joselito Delos Reyes, PhD, served as one of the speakers in the DOST-SEI 10th Indie-Siyensya Online Science Filmmaking Workshop conducted via Zoom.

He delivered a lecture entitled “Human-Centered Science Storytelling.”

Prof. Delos Reyes is an RCCAH research fellow under the Literary and Cultural Studies - Research Interest Group.

[Research fellow engagement]

On May 29, 2026, Prof. Paolo A. Bolaños served as an invited speaker at the forum entitled 𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘢 𝘠𝘶𝘨𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘺𝘰𝘯: 𝘐𝘴𝘺𝘶 𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘬𝘵𝘪𝘣𝘰 𝘏𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘭 𝘴𝘢 𝘎𝘌 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨, organized by UP Diliman students in relation to the Commission on Higher Education’s proposed reframed General Education curriculum.

Prof. Bolaños delivered a lecture entitled “𝘈𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘭 𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘌 𝘴𝘢 𝘗𝘢𝘨𝘩𝘶𝘣𝘰𝘨 𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘯.” In his lecture, he discussed the reframed General Education curriculum in the context of Theodor Adorno’s critique of “reified education,” elaborating on the concepts of “Halbbildung” (“half-education” or “pseudo-education”), “Mündigkeit” (“maturity”), and the ethical dimension of education.

Prof. Bolaños is an RCCAH research fellow under the Philosophy Studies - Research Interest Group.

[𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭]

We congratulate Prof. Dr. Paolo A. Bolaños for being an invited speaker at the forum entitled “𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘢 𝘠𝘶𝘨𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘺𝘰𝘯: 𝘐𝘴𝘺𝘶 𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘬𝘵𝘪𝘣𝘰 𝘏𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘭 𝘴𝘢 𝘎𝘌 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨,” organized by UP Diliman students on May 29, 2026, in relation to CHED’s proposed reframed General Education curriculum.

At the forum, Prof. Dr. Bolaños delivered his lecture entitled “𝘈𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘭 𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘌 𝘴𝘢 𝘗𝘢𝘨𝘩𝘶𝘣𝘰𝘨 𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘯.” He discussed the reframed GE in the context of Theodor Adorno’s critique of “reified education,” elaborating on the concepts of “Halbbildung” (“half-education” or “pseudo-education”), “Mündigkeit” (“maturity”), and the ethical dimension of education.

Here is the link to their pubmat: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122099885541330306&set=a.122099883657330306

𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒚. 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑼𝑺𝑻.

[Research fellow Recognition]

We congratulate Asst. Prof. Christian V. Esguerra, MA, on receiving the Online Journalist of the Year award at the Rotary Club of Manila's Pro Patria Journalism Awards 2026.

Asst. Prof. Esguerra is an RCCAH research fellow under the Communication and Media Studies - Research Interest Group.

[Research fellow Recognition]

We congratulate Ms. Paula Nicole C. Eugenio, MA, for being recognized as one of the recipients of the Best Paper Award for her paper, “𝘙𝘦𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘖𝘭𝘥 𝘈𝘨𝘦: 𝘈 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯,” at the PHAVISMINDA-SEPI International Philosophical Conference 2026, held from May 29–31, 2026, at the University of the Immaculate Conception in Davao City, Philippines.

Ms. Eugenio is an RCCAH research fellow under the Philosophy Studies - Research Interest Group.

[𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧]

We congratulate Inst. Paula Nicole C. Eugenio, MA, for being recognized as one of the recipients of the Best Paper Award for her paper, “𝘙𝘦𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘖𝘭𝘥 𝘈𝘨𝘦: 𝘈 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯,” at the PHAVISMINDA-SEPI International Philosophical Conference 2026, held from May 29–31, 2026, at the University of the Immaculate Conception in Davao City, Philippines.

𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒚. 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑼𝑺𝑻.

[Publication Announcement]

We are pleased to announce the release of SURI: Journal of the Philosophical Association of the Philippines, Volume 13, Issues 1 and 2 (2025).

We extend our congratulations to our fellow RCCAH researchers featured in these issues:

Volume 13, Issue 1 (2025)

Articles
• Asst. Prof. Anton Heinrich L. Rennesland, PhD — “Theorizing Democracy in the Philippines: Some Notes from Peter Sloterdijk”

• Mr. Allison Cruyff F. Ladero, MA — “In Defense of Left Populism: Rethinking the Affective Dimension in Politics”

Volume 13, Issue 2 (2025)
Featured Report: The Politics of Academic Research

• Prof. Franz Giuseppe F. Cortez, PhD; Mr. Prince Airick S. Gapo, MA; Prof. Rhochie Avelino E. Matienzo, PhD; and Assoc. Prof. Rene Luis D. Tadle, PhD — “A Report on the Politics of Academic Research: Examining the Research Component of a Philippine Higher Education Institution”

• Prof. Franz Giuseppe F. Cortez, PhD, et al. — “Research as Pedagogy: Administrative Discourse and the Politics of Knowledge Production”

• Assoc. Prof. Rene Luis D. Tadle, PhD, et al. — “Metrics, Control, and the Erosion of Dialogue: A Critical Study of Research Governance in a Philippine Higher Education Institution”

• Prof. Rhochie Avelino E. Matienzo, PhD, et al. — “Why Does Academia Abstain? Looking into the Underlying Reasons for Limited Research Participation in a Higher Education Institution”

• Mr. Prince Airick S. Gapo, MA, et al. — “Research, Rankings, Reputation, Reproduction: Critical Pedagogy and the Politics of Student Research in a Philippine University”

Article
• Ms. Zhea Katrina R. Estrada, MA — “Tarots, Stars, and Spells: Witchcraft as Coping and Resistance in Times of Crisis”

Book Review
• Asst. Prof. Anton Heinrich L. Rennesland, PhD — “Aurelio, Michael Stephen G. at Nogoy, S.J., Patrick Vance, S., Pilosopiya, OPM, Pag-ibig”

The journal’s issues may be accessed here:
Issue 13:1 – https://suri.pap73.site/issue-21.html
Issue 13:2 – https://suri.pap73.site/issue-22.html

Asst. Prof. Rennesland, Mr. Ladero, Prof. Cortez, Mr. Gapo, Prof. Matienzo, Assoc. Prof. Tadle, and Ms. Estrada are RCCAH research fellows under the Philosophy Studies - Research Interest Group.

Issue 21

[Research fellow engagement]

Asst. Prof. Anton Heinrich L. Rennesland served as one of the speakers at the hybrid seminar entitled 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, organized by the Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB) in collaboration with the Faculty of Cultural Sciences of Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia.

Asst. Prof. Rennesland delivered a lecture entitled “𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘥: 𝘙𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘰’𝘴 ‘𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩, 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘻𝘶 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘯’ 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘵’𝘴 𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘵.”

Asst. Prof. Rennesland is an RCCAH research fellow under the Philosophy Studies - Research Interest Group.

[Research fellow engagement]

Ms. Cathlyne Joy P. Alvarez-Abarejo, M.A., L.P.T., served as one of the facilitators in the breakout workshops during the 10th FIT: Frontiers and Innovations in Teaching Conference 2026 organized by Xavier School.
She facilitated the workshop entitled “𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘍𝘒 (𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘒𝘦𝘺𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥) 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦.”

Ms. Alvarez-Abarejo is an RCCAH research fellow under the Philosophy Studies - Research Interest Group.

[𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭]

Inst. Cathlyne Joy P. Alvarez-Abarejo, M.A., L.P.T., served as one of the facilitators in the breakout workshops during the 10th FIT: Frontiers and Innovations in Teaching Conference 2026 organized by Xavier School.

Her workshop was entitled “𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘍𝘒 (𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘒𝘦𝘺𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥) 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦.”

𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒚. 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑼𝑺𝑻.

[Publication Announcement]

We are pleased to announce the release of Kritike: An Online Journal of Philosophy, Volume 20, Issue 1 (March 2026), the official journal of the Department of Philosophy of the University of Santo Tomas.

We extend our congratulations to our fellow RCCAH researchers featured in this issue: Mr. Kyle Alfred M. Barte, MA, for his article “Rethinking the Neoliberal University through Byung-Chul Han (Second of Two Parts),” and Prof. Franz Giuseppe F. Cortez, PhD, for his article “Border Crossing as a Form of Resistance.”

The journal’s issue may be accessed here: https://www.kritike.org/volume-20-1.html

Mr. Barte and Prof. Cortez are RCCAH research fellows under the Philosophy Studies - Research Interest Group.

Volume 20:1

[Research fellow engagement]

On May 21, 2026, Prof. Marella Ada V. Mancenido-Bolaños, PhD, served as one of the speakers in the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Department of Humanities and Philosophy program entitled “𝘗𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘺𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘉𝘢𝘵𝘢: 𝘔𝘶𝘭𝘢 𝘒𝘶𝘳𝘺𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘥 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘯.”

She delivered a lecture entitled “𝘗𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘺𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘉𝘢𝘵𝘢: 𝘗𝘢𝘨𝘩𝘶𝘣𝘰𝘨 𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘶𝘳𝘺𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘒𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘢 𝘗𝘢𝘨-𝘪𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘱.”

Prof. Mancenido-Bolaños is an RCCAH research fellow under the Philosophy Studies - Research Interest Group.