New APA Faculty Profile: Interview with Dr. Terese Guinsatao Monberg
Tell us about your educational background?
I did my undergraduate work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I started there with a focus in engineering. Because I was a first-generation college student (and I was good in math and science), I was advised to follow a technical track. But after my first year, I was very unhappy. I knew I could make it through the four-year curriculum, but I wasn’t sure I’d be happy with the job I’d have at the end of the road. So, I changed my major to English. Later, though, my cousin strongly encouraged me to think about another major because she didn’t think I’d have any job prospects. I graduated with a degree in economics, which was a good blend of math, analytical thinking, and concern for the social good. It’s ironic, though, that I went on to pursue graduate work, that I’m now a professor in rhetoric and writing, and that I explore APA identity issues in my work. I’ve come full circle back to the things I am most passionate about.
Where did you do you graduate work?
I did my graduate work in an interdisciplinary program in Language, Literature, and Communication at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. As a mixed race, third-generation Filipina American who grew up on the south side of Chicago in an extended Filipino family, I was very interested in how people negotiate racial and cultural identities, where people form alliances, and what role institutions play in representing and circulating representations of race and culture. So, in my research, I am interested in relationships between rhetoric(s), race, and culture, history and social movements, collective identities and civic participation-with a specific focus in Asian American and Filipino American rhetoric and writing. I’m highly interested in the ways second- and third-generation Filipino Americans negotiate their identities, forge alliances, engage with their cultural and historical legacies, advocate for others like them, and participate in movements for social change.
Where were you before coming to MSU?
Prior to coming to MSU, I taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of Louisville, and the University of Kansas.
What intrigued you about MSU?
I came to MSU this past fall to take a position as Assistant Professor in the new Residential College in the Arts & Humanities (RCAH) because I think it’s a College that’s on the cutting-edge of undergraduate curriculum. I was especially attracted to the RCAH because of its emphasis on transcultural studies and civic engagement—emphases that resonate strongly with APA Studies. I was also attracted to MSU because it’s an institution that encourages interdisciplinary research and teaching while also emphasizing community outreach—and because APA Studies had a strong presence here. I’m also Affiliated Faculty in Asian Pacific American Studies, an APA Studies Advisory Board Member, and Core Faculty in Rhetoric & Writing. I’m happy to be back in the Midwest and closer to my family in Chicago.
What are some of your current research interests?
My current research project, for example, focuses on the emergence of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), a community-based historical society, in relationship to larger economic, social, and global changes impacting Filipino American communities after World War II and intensifying after 1965. It’s been a study in both Filipino American history and identity. One of the most interesting things I’ve found is that shared experiences cut across the traditional categories we’re given like first, second, or third generation, immigration waves, geographic locations, etc. but specific historical circumstances strongly impact the resources we have available to us in negotiating our identities and learning our histories. In the process, I’ve also learned a lot about Filipino American and APA history, my own family history, my own place in history and the role I can play in our future. We need to play an active role in sustaining and documenting our cultural and historical legacies.
Terese Monberg
Publications:
"Listening for Asian American Women’s Histories, Identities, and Rhetorical Legacies." Conference on College Composition and Communication. New York, NY, 23 March 2007.
"'Do You Speak Tagalog?': Identity Tensions in Post-1965 U.S. Filipina/Filipino Communities and Their Potential Implications for Regional Studies." Association for Asian American Studies Conference, New York, NY, 05 April 2007.
Listening for Legacies, or How I Began to Hear Dorothy Laigo Cordova, the Pinay Behind the Podium Known as FANHS." Manuscript revised and accepted for inclusion in: Asian American Rhetoric: Histories, Theories, Practices. Edited by LuMing Mao and Morris Young. Book manuscript currently under review with Utah State Press.
