The Past, Present, and Future of the Social Sciences in the Philippines: The Second Roundtable Discussion
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MANILA – The Philippine Social Science Council (PSSC) has once again brought together prominent social scientists in its second installment of roundtable discussions (RTD), held on 19 November 2024, 2-5 PM at Jose P. Laurel Hall, Lyceum of the Philippines University, entitled “The Past, Present, and Future of the Social Sciences in the Philippines: The Second Roundtable Discussion.” The event aligns with PSSC’s vision to unite and advance the Philippine social science disciplines.
As with the previous RTD, the discussion follows this year’s theme, “Pamana at Panata: Limampu’t Limang Taon ng Kahusayan sa Agham Panlinpunan,” commemorating PSSC’s enduring role in fostering Filipino Social Sciences. This time, the event featured four distinguished social scientists: Dr. Alejandro S. Bernardo (Linguistics), Dr. Allan B.I. Bernardo (Psychology), Dr. Ma. Luisa T. Camagay (History), and Dr. Edna Estifania A. Co (Public Administration and Governance) led the discussion, moderated by Philippine Political Science Association (PPSA) President Dr. Jan Robert Go.
INSIGHTS FROM THE EXPERTS
The panelists exchanged ideas on various relevant topics. They reflected on their journeys in the social sciences, celebrating the scholars and mentors who shaped their paths. They also discussed the evolution of their fields, the challenges faced by Philippine social science, and the importance of decolonizing research. The exchanges highlighted how PSSC has been instrumental in shaping the discipline and fostering collaboration across fields.
Dr. Alejandro observed that the Linguistic discipline, while distinct in its domain of inquiry, still remained interconnected with each other when addressing pressing national issues in the country. “Linguistics is now marrying other disciplines… we borrow, we draw inspiration from other disciplinal areas like psychology, sociology and even religion. In other words, Linguistics has become some sort of a crossroad where different disciplines converge and meet.”
Reflecting on the transformative evolution of their disciplines throughout the years, they also recognized PSSC’s pivotal role in shaping the landscape of social sciences in the Philippines, and they posed challenges to PSSC to continuously integrate the works of the social scientists.
As Dr. Allan emphasized, PSSC has consistently fostered and created spaces for interdisciplinarity. “The migration research network, for example… It was creating more of these opportunities where the disciplines are signaled and looked at by engaging other disciplines that are also growing and maturing.”
The panelists also acknowledged that although advancing the social sciences is challenging, the pursuit lies on continuous localization of knowledge and conversations with fellow scholars.
“I think social science will have to move from more generalizations. Let’s be more evidence-based, data-based, while also trying to highlight what is the Philippines, what is local,” Dr. Edna claimed.
Reflecting on the value of history and highlighting how it informs the present and future of Philippine research, Dr. Luisa further underscored this point by advocating for “more conversations among the disciplines” where the social sciences can weave together and create data-backed agendas, be it in terms of policy making or hard research.
With the hope that the social science landscape will flourish, the discussion ended on an optimistic note that the social science disciplines will continue to make significant contributions to the future of the Philippines.
The event concluded with the distinguished panelists envisioning a bright future for the disciplines of social science that will thrive by embracing intellectual humility, conducting research-driven community involvement and development, and prioritizing local knowledge. All while continuing to collaborate with scholars and institutions throughout the Philippines, PSSC’s dedication to social science remains strong after 55 years of leadership and service.
Watch the 2nd PSSC RTD now on the link below.
Stay tuned as PSSC continues to lead conversations that shape the future of Philippine social science.
MANILA – The Philippine Social Science Council (PSSC) has once again brought together prominent social scientists in its second installment of roundtable discussions (RTD), held on 19 November 2024, 2-5 PM at Jose P. Laurel Hall, Lyceum of the Philippines University, entitled “The Past, Present, and Future of the Social Sciences in the Philippines: The Second Roundtable Discussion.” The event aligns with PSSC’s vision to unite and advance the Philippine social science disciplines.
As with the previous RTD, the discussion follows this year’s theme, “Pamana at Panata: Limampu’t Limang Taon ng Kahusayan sa Agham Panlinpunan,” commemorating PSSC’s enduring role in fostering Filipino Social Sciences. This time, the event featured four distinguished social scientists: Dr. Alejandro S. Bernardo (Linguistics), Dr. Allan B.I. Bernardo (Psychology), Dr. Ma. Luisa T. Camagay (History), and Dr. Edna Estifania A. Co (Public Administration and Governance) led the discussion, moderated by Philippine Political Science Association (PPSA) President Dr. Jan Robert Go.
INSIGHTS FROM THE EXPERTS
The panelists exchanged ideas on various relevant topics. They reflected on their journeys in the social sciences, celebrating the scholars and mentors who shaped their paths. They also discussed the evolution of their fields, the challenges faced by Philippine social science, and the importance of decolonizing research. The exchanges highlighted how PSSC has been instrumental in shaping the discipline and fostering collaboration across fields.
Dr. Alejandro observed that the Linguistic discipline, while distinct in its domain of inquiry, still remained interconnected with each other when addressing pressing national issues in the country. “Linguistics is now marrying other disciplines… we borrow, we draw inspiration from other disciplinal areas like psychology, sociology and even religion. In other words, Linguistics has become some sort of a crossroad where different disciplines converge and meet.”
Reflecting on the transformative evolution of their disciplines throughout the years, they also recognized PSSC’s pivotal role in shaping the landscape of social sciences in the Philippines, and they posed challenges to PSSC to continuously integrate the works of the social scientists.
As Dr. Allan emphasized, PSSC has consistently fostered and created spaces for interdisciplinarity. “The migration research network, for example… It was creating more of these opportunities where the disciplines are signaled and looked at by engaging other disciplines that are also growing and maturing.”
The panelists also acknowledged that although advancing the social sciences is challenging, the pursuit lies on continuous localization of knowledge and conversations with fellow scholars.
“I think social science will have to move from more generalizations. Let’s be more evidence-based, data-based, while also trying to highlight what is the Philippines, what is local,” Dr. Edna claimed.
Reflecting on the value of history and highlighting how it informs the present and future of Philippine research, Dr. Luisa further underscored this point by advocating for “more conversations among the disciplines” where the social sciences can weave together and create data-backed agendas, be it in terms of policy making or hard research.
With the hope that the social science landscape will flourish, the discussion ended on an optimistic note that the social science disciplines will continue to make significant contributions to the future of the Philippines.
The event concluded with the distinguished panelists envisioning a bright future for the disciplines of social science that will thrive by embracing intellectual humility, conducting research-driven community involvement and development, and prioritizing local knowledge. All while continuing to collaborate with scholars and institutions throughout the Philippines, PSSC’s dedication to social science remains strong after 55 years of leadership and service.
Watch the 2nd PSSC RTD now on the link below.
Stay tuned as PSSC continues to lead conversations that shape the future of Philippine social science.
MANILA – The Philippine Social Science Council (PSSC) has once again brought together prominent social scientists in its second installment of roundtable discussions (RTD), held on 19 November 2024, 2-5 PM at Jose P. Laurel Hall, Lyceum of the Philippines University, entitled “The Past, Present, and Future of the Social Sciences in the Philippines: The Second Roundtable Discussion.” The event aligns with PSSC’s vision to unite and advance the Philippine social science disciplines.
As with the previous RTD, the discussion follows this year’s theme, “Pamana at Panata: Limampu’t Limang Taon ng Kahusayan sa Agham Panlinpunan,” commemorating PSSC’s enduring role in fostering Filipino Social Sciences. This time, the event featured four distinguished social scientists: Dr. Alejandro S. Bernardo (Linguistics), Dr. Allan B.I. Bernardo (Psychology), Dr. Ma. Luisa T. Camagay (History), and Dr. Edna Estifania A. Co (Public Administration and Governance) led the discussion, moderated by Philippine Political Science Association (PPSA) President Dr. Jan Robert Go.
INSIGHTS FROM THE EXPERTS
The panelists exchanged ideas on various relevant topics. They reflected on their journeys in the social sciences, celebrating the scholars and mentors who shaped their paths. They also discussed the evolution of their fields, the challenges faced by Philippine social science, and the importance of decolonizing research. The exchanges highlighted how PSSC has been instrumental in shaping the discipline and fostering collaboration across fields.
Dr. Alejandro observed that the Linguistic discipline, while distinct in its domain of inquiry, still remained interconnected with each other when addressing pressing national issues in the country. “Linguistics is now marrying other disciplines… we borrow, we draw inspiration from other disciplinal areas like psychology, sociology and even religion. In other words, Linguistics has become some sort of a crossroad where different disciplines converge and meet.”
Reflecting on the transformative evolution of their disciplines throughout the years, they also recognized PSSC’s pivotal role in shaping the landscape of social sciences in the Philippines, and they posed challenges to PSSC to continuously integrate the works of the social scientists.
As Dr. Allan emphasized, PSSC has consistently fostered and created spaces for interdisciplinarity. “The migration research network, for example… It was creating more of these opportunities where the disciplines are signaled and looked at by engaging other disciplines that are also growing and maturing.”
The panelists also acknowledged that although advancing the social sciences is challenging, the pursuit lies on continuous localization of knowledge and conversations with fellow scholars.
“I think social science will have to move from more generalizations. Let’s be more evidence-based, data-based, while also trying to highlight what is the Philippines, what is local,” Dr. Edna claimed.
Reflecting on the value of history and highlighting how it informs the present and future of Philippine research, Dr. Luisa further underscored this point by advocating for “more conversations among the disciplines” where the social sciences can weave together and create data-backed agendas, be it in terms of policy making or hard research.
With the hope that the social science landscape will flourish, the discussion ended on an optimistic note that the social science disciplines will continue to make significant contributions to the future of the Philippines.
The event concluded with the distinguished panelists envisioning a bright future for the disciplines of social science that will thrive by embracing intellectual humility, conducting research-driven community involvement and development, and prioritizing local knowledge. All while continuing to collaborate with scholars and institutions throughout the Philippines, PSSC’s dedication to social science remains strong after 55 years of leadership and service.
Watch the 2nd PSSC RTD now on the link below.
Stay tuned as PSSC continues to lead conversations that shape the future of Philippine social science.
