Patrick Alcedo, Postdoctoral Scholar

Born and raised in Kalibo, Aklan, Philippines, Patrick Alcedo received his Bachelor’s degree in English: Language from the University of the Philippines, Diliman, and Ph.D. in Dance History and Theory from the University of California, Riverside, under the auspices of the Asian Cultural Council (Ford Fellowship). His dissertation, “Traveling Performance: An Ethnography of a Philippine Religious Festival,” focuses on issues of authenticity, cultural identity, transgenderism, mimicry, and transnationality as these are performed and emdodied by Santo Niño devotees during the Ati-atihan festival in the Central Philippines and Los Angeles, California.

Directed by Sally Ann Ness, it received funding from the Pacific Rim Research Program of the University of California Office of the President, and won for Alcedo both the Phi Beta Kappa Competition for International Students of Southern California and the Graduate Research Award for excellence in research. His article, “Sacred Camp: Transgendering Faith in a Philippine Festival,” submitted to the Journal of Southeast Asian Studies is under review. Currently he is at work on his book manuscript, and is also co-organizing the February 2007 conference, “Religious Festival in Contemporary Southeast Asia,” with Hendrik Maier and Sally Ness. Since 2004 he has been teaching for SEATRiP accelerated courses in Tagalog/Filipino, Philippine Dance, and Philippine Literature in English.