My thesis project is tentatively titled: “E-MAHINASYON: Design Fictions Materializing Future Technological Imaginaries in the Philippines”. But it can also be called, in a TL;DR way, Black Mirror in the Philippine context.
Description: The technologies that surround us uphold existing systems of power and reinforce inequalities, and Filipinos bear the brunt of all this. Yet many remain unconscious of their exploitation. Given this, how can we foster Filipinos’ critical consciousness of technology? To liberate ourselves from these systems, we must stimulate the imagination — cultivating estrangement from dominant beliefs. And I believe that science fiction, as a form of technology criticism, is the best way to do this. In this project, I aim to visualize alternative technological futures in order to interrogate the systems of domination present in the Philippines.
What I need help with: I definitely need the most help with the research process, given the complexities of my project. See my linked slides for more details.
Expected deadlines: I will probably be defending my thesis this coming April, since graduation will be around June/July pa next year.
Current timelines: TBH, I’m really behind. After I finished my proposal, I was supposed to continue working on this January pa, but I got overwhelmed catching up with other subjects. Probably okay, though, since most thesis projects in Ateneo usually have a 1-year timeline. Anyways, I plan to conduct and analyze research during my first semester (August-December), then work on my creative output during my second semester (January-April/May).