Across the Philippine highlands, upland peoples are caught in political struggles over lands, livelihoods, and beliefs. But unlike ‘conventional’ conflicts, the biopolitical forces shaping their futures increasingly come not from states or corporations, but from diverse nonstate actors working patiently and persistently to align uplander lives with contrasting notions of modernity.
The seminar examines how, in the relative absence of the state, conservation actors and evangelical missions converge in intent and practice, producing violent consequences as they seek to reform the lives and livelihoods of the Pala’wan people in the mountains of southern Palawan.
By tracing the histories and current strategies of these actors, the talk explores ethnographically how upland social relations and material culture mediate forms of subjugation, alignment, and resistance amid overlapping place-based interventions. It argues that Indigenous sovereignty is more urgent than ever as nonstate biopower deepens across Southeast Asia's uplands.
The talk draws from the book of the same title: For the Sake of Forests and Gods (Cornell Press)
This event is free and open to the public. To confirm your attendance, please RSVP to maria.liwag@anu.edu.au.
About the Speaker
Professor Wolfram Dressler is based at the School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Melbourne. His work explores the colonial legacies and contemporary dynamics of conservation and development in the southern Philippines and Indonesia.