Rugeria, Javier Leonardo V. 2023. “Writing ‘La Universidad de Manila’ Anew: La Solidaridad and the Revival of José María Panganiban’s Campaign for Reforms in Higher Education, 1890-1891.” Bikolnon: Journal of the Ateneo de Naga 9 (1): 66-93.

Abstract

This article examines how the ilustrados, particularly Marcelo del Pilar, Mariano Ponce, and Antonio Luna, sought to revive José María Panganiban’s campaign for reforms in Philippine higher education by resuming the publication of the “La Universidad de Manila” columns in La Solidaridad. I first discuss the salient points of the columns published between December 1890 and September 1891. I also illustrate that the new series juxtaposed the programs of study enforced at the University of Santo Tomas with their counterpart royal universities in Madrid. Finally, I offer a counterpoint to Fidel Villarroel’s assessment of the new series, that these “renewed attacks” added nothing to Panganiban’s litany of the defects of the university. A closer look at the columns however reveals that the new La Universidad de Manila series underscores new issues such as Santo Tomas’ ‘royal’ character and therefore belonging to the state and also its discrepant programs of study relative to its counterpart universities in Spain.

Keywords: José María Panganiban, La Solidaridad, enseñanza superior (Philippine higher education), secularization, Propaganda Movement