George Baylon Radics, "Emotional Filipinos: The American Myth of the 'Lazy Native' and Islamic Separatism in the Philippines" (U Georgia Press, 2026)

George Baylon Radics, "Emotional Filipinos: The American Myth of the 'Lazy Native' and Islamic Separatism in the Philippines" (U Georgia Press, 2026)

From New Books in Islamic Studies by Marshall Poe

May 20, 2026 · 46 min

About this episode

Dr. George Baylon Radics discusses the impact of American colonialism on the Philippines and its connection to contemporary Islamic separatism and social emotions.

In the first half of the twentieth century, the United States attempted to build a colony in the Philippines in its own image—one fraught with racist notions of what it means to be civilized, developed, and worthy of self-rule. These imported notions of race and modernity left a profound imprint on the nation. More recently, we have seen a menacing rise of Islamic "terrorism," political polarization, populism, xenophobia, and isolationism. Conventional wisdom has attributed this rise to a "failed state" or economic insecurity and cultural backlash. In ⁠Emotional Filipinos: The American Myth of the "Lazy Native" and Islamic Separatism in the Philippines⁠ (University of Georgia Press, 2026), however, Dr. George Baylon Radics explains this forgotten part of U.S. history with emotions as a driving force behind social action. The Philippines is currently experiencing the longest-running Muslim-Christian conflict in the modern world and an increasingly anti-Western populist government. By unpacking the role of emotions from the American colonial period to the present, Emotional Filipinos blurs the line between American colonizer and Muslim-Filipino "terrorist," highlighting the lasting…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Miranda Melcher

Guest: George Baylon Radics

Topics covered

  • American colonialism
  • Islamic separatism
  • Philippines history
  • emotions in social action
  • Muslim-Christian conflict
  • political polarization

Keywords

  • Emotional Filipinos
  • lazy native
  • Islamic terrorism
  • anti-Western populism
  • social action
  • colonial history
  • Southeast Asia

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Georgia Press

More episodes of New Books in Islamic Studies

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the New Books in Islamic Studies podcast page.