By Noelle Leslie dela Cruz
Last Saturday, March 23, 2024, Beyond the Ghetto held its first in-person lecture, entitled “Consider ‘Omelas’: Notes on Using Feminist Utopias and Dystopias in an Ethics Class.” The gathering of around fifty people took place at Tereso Lara Seminar Room, on the second floor of De La Salle University-Manila’s most venerable building, St. La Salle Hall. This was BTG’s 22nd lecture and my second occasion to present my ideas (I previously served as a co-speaker with Dr. Tracy Llanera during BTG webinar no. 4).
As explained by our founder, Dr. Jean Tan, during her opening remarks, Beyond the Ghetto originated around the time of the coronavirus pandemic, when a bunch of Filipina philosophers gravitated toward each other online. As that group expanded, it became Women Doing Philosophy (WDP), thanks to the organizing prowess of Ms. Cassandra Teodosio, WDP Chair. As a subcommittee of WDP, BTG’s main vision is to mainstream the works of women philosophers in writing, research, and pedagogy. We do this mainly through webinars, a book discussion group, and of course, this online newsletter.
Partly due to BTG’s virtual inception, our first twenty-one lectures were webinars, attracting many stalwart participants. When it was my turn again to lead a discussion, however, I realized that I was just so sick of the Zoom platform. So I suggested that we do this one in person. It took a lot of energy to be both main organizer and speaker, but in the end, it was worth it, and more! Two of my colleagues from DLSU’s Department of Philosophy—Dr. Natividad Manauat and Ms. Rosallia Domingo—provided commentaries after I read my paper. The roundtable discussion was so lively, and the audience asked such interesting questions that showed how thoughtfully they mulled over the issues. All this made me realize that in-person events are very doable and worthwhile. I just hope that this could be the beginning of BTG’s series of “travelling lectures” as we make the rounds of the different university campuses in the Philippines.
I just hope that this could be the beginning of BTG’s series of “travelling lectures” as we make the rounds of the different university campuses in the Philippines.
The idea for the lecture came to me because this term, I am teaching the undergraduate elective course Science Fiction and Philosophy. Ursula K. Le Guin is among the authors in our syllabus. Of course, I’ve long been using her short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” as required reading in my Introduction to Ethics classes, as it is a short parable that is so useful for illustrating the problem of the suffering of some for the sake of the happiness of others. I talked about how my students received the story, the ways in which it has been taken to stand for specific social ills, and the uses of the feminist utopian imagination in changing the world. Below is an audio recording of the paper I read:
Introduction - 0:08
On utopias and dystopias - 3:43
The story of “Omelas” - 8:24
To stay or to go—and is there a third option? - 15:48
Conclusion: Towards a feminist critical utopia - 24:33
The commentaries that followed just blew my mind. Dr. Manauat talked about her political advocacies. Ms. Domingo presented her reading of feminist utopias. Both of them remarked on the prevalence of ethical ideas in pop culture and how educators could use popular works to illustrate or dramatize the implications of abstract moral principles. We also mentioned Korean pop group BTS’s music video for their single, Spring Day, which evokes Le Guin’s parable. One key scene prominently displays the word “Omelas” as a bright blue neon sign.
After the roundtable discussion, we only had time for five questions from the audience. We pondered the pragmatics of political action, the struggles and gains of feminism, the moral significance of affect. I would have loved to indulge more questions and remarks, but as timekeeper, I also had to spare a few minutes for Ms. Teodosio’s closing remarks about WDP and our current projects. What a high! Moments like this are the reason why I do what I do, running on the fumes of passion. Thank you to everyone who made the effort to attend. Happy Women’s Month!
Thank you to everyone who made the effort to attend. Happy Women’s Month!
Below are more pictures of the event, courtesy of Dr. Beverly Sarza: