Deirdre de la Cruz

I am an historian and cultural anthropologist of the Philippines, with an interest in the transformation of religious sensibilities, beliefs, and phenomena in modernity. Specifically, my work examines different varieties of Filipino Christianity through their material, textual, and technological mediations. My approach to these subjects departs from the premise that the Philippines is a highly productive site for comparative and interdisciplinary inquiry, and thus my work situates the Philippines and Filipinos in relationship to other worlds and communities—be they defined by empire, Christian mission, or diaspora—in ways that unsettle claims often made about Filipino culture and history. At the same time, my work “thinks with” Filipino Christian phenomena as a means to develop innovative approaches to researching and writing about religion.