Legitimizing Empire: Filipino American and U.S. Puerto Rican Cultural Critique

When the United States acquired the Philippines and Puerto Rico, it reconciled its status as an empire with its anticolonial roots by claiming that it would altruistically establish democratic institutions in its new colonies. Ever since, Filipino and Puerto Rican artists have challenged promises of benevolent assimilation and portray U.S. imperialism as both self-interested and unexceptional among empires.

Faye Caronan's examination interprets the pivotal engagement of novels, films, perf...