The patchwork of Dr. Stephanie Marie Coo
Unable to sleep in the wee hours of 8 August 2021 in Lisbon, Dr. Stephanie Marie Coo (BS Management 2000, MA History 2006) found herself checking emails. However, one particular email made her more alert than ever: it was a message informing her that her book won as the Best Book in Humanities- English edition from the International Institute for Asian Studies- International Convention of Asia Scholars (IIAS-ICAS). Out of 247 book entries worldwide, Coo's book, "Clothing the Colony: Nineteenth-Century Philippine Sartorial Culture, 1820-1896," was also the only one from Asia to be shortlisted. The biennial award is endowed by a consortium of universities hosted by Leiden University's IIAS-ICAS.
Themes of clothes, fashion, civilization, cultural standards, and evolution are threaded throughout Coo's 550-pages tome, published by the Ateneo de Manila University Press in 2019.
Coo, an Assistant Professor at the Department of History, had no clue that her doctoral dissertation on cultural history at the Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis would one day be transformed into a book, much less be recognized globally.
"I just wanted to do good work. What original things can I contribute? I had to hear my voice, what I had to say about the subject and not what's already out there. Between production and consumption of knowledge, I chose to produce new knowledge. I listened to counsel but ultimately, I trusted my decisions," she says.
"The subject of clothing," she continues, "was suggested to me by a colleague of mine, Randolph de Jesus. In 2010, I was applying for an international doctorate program. I wanted to work under Professor/Baron Xavier Huetz de Lemps after hearing his name from my Master's adviser at Ateneo, Dr. Olivia Anne M. Habana (Department of History). Huetz de Lemps, based in Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, is an established French historian working on Philippine colonial history. De Jesus suggested that I work on this topic because it had never been studied before." There were folios in the short text but not an extensive study, de Jesus said, convincing Coo that the topic deserved more attention. Coo readily agreed, having grown up with a passion for clothing, thanks mainly to having a grandmother who hoarded textiles. "It's part of my upbringing; my background drew me into the subject. It was my subject to analyze, my story to tell."
Sadly, de Jesus died without seeing the results of his prodding.
Racking up images from Rizal Library to Spain
Armed with only one source- a Tipos del Páis album called the Karuth Album (watercolor paintings depicting the different inhabitants of the Philippines in different types of nineteenth-century clothing), Coo took an omnivorous approach to amass images.
"There had to be enough sources to reconstruct the clothing culture of the period, so I had to gather a lot," she says. She started at her beloved Ateneo's Rizal Library, and when she moved to France, her professor recommended finding more sources in Spain, especially in Madrid and Valladolid. As a father of three girls, one named Philippine, Huetz de Lemps said, "Go to Madrid in January because it's sale season...you can go shopping after a day at the archives."
"The beauty about clothing is that it encompasses everything; everyone is clothed so that you can find it practically everywhere- fashion magazines, business magazines, novels, etc.," she says. For her dissertation, Coo used eight primary sources, including paintings, sketches, engravings in periodicals, and even travel accounts.
"It was tedious work," she recalls as she had to go through storage and sift clothes amidst dust. But, overall, she was able to rack up about 15,000 images of clothing. In her dissertation, she presented 300 images but whittled it down to 91 for the book version.
"It was quite expensive to purchase the publication rights of each photo. I had to weigh the cost with the ease of getting the permissions," she says candidly. She worked on her dissertation from 2011-2014, wanting to finish before her grant runs out. What she did not anticipate was the heartache that came with the deaths of her brother and mother.
Turning grief into purpose
"By the time I arrived in the Philippines, they were already ashes. So I channeled that grief into writing. In a way, I also delayed grief, which explains why I left France only days after defending my dissertation. To survive and thrive, I had to ask myself, 'What do I feel like writing today?' I had to listen to myself to discover my own process. I had to see what works for me, one day at a time," she says.
And what worked for her was writing short sections: "I didn't do it by chapter. Instead, I reversed the process. It was later on that I stitched it like a tapestry. It's challenging to do it this way because you don't see what you have accomplished until the final product."
Between 2015 and 2018, she started looking for funding, and her alma mater again helped. The Office of the Associate Dean for Creative and Research Work, then under Dr. Emilyn Espiritu, granted her financing to help secure publication rights to the images and allowed her to hire a research assistant. At that time, Coo had a teaching load and served as Chair of the Internationalization Committee/ Coordinator for Internationalization.
Her dissertation had over 1000 pages and had to be edited for the book version. Her colleague at the department, Assistant Professor Hidde van der Wall, was tapped to help with the editing.
In 2019, the Ateneo de Manila University Press finally published the book version.
Of missing home and living well
Coo is currently a Marie Curie Postdoctoral fellow at the Universidad de Granada in Spain and NOVA School of Law- Universidade Nova de Lisboa in Portugal. And like any Filipino expat, she misses her lush home in Bacolod and her Ateneo home.
"Home is where our loved ones (people, animals) are. That slogan 'Ateneo is home' is true. I miss the smiles, the laughter, the kindness, the exchange of banter, and the good conversations," she says. "It would take me a while to reach my destination on campus because I would bump into colleagues and students (Dr. Jovi Miroy, Dr. Butch Zialcita, Dr. Charlie Veric, Dr. Joyce Martin, Dr. Vince Serrano, Dr. Anjo Lorenzana, Dr. Hidde van der Wall, Missy Maramara, Neville Manaois, Isa Nazareno), and I'd get distracted," she laughs. Aside from her friends and colleagues, she misses the weekly meditation sessions organized no less by the Vice President for the Loyola Schools, Dr. Maria Luz Vilches.
Since the start of her postdoctoral fellowship, she has published an article with Philippine Studies Journal about clothing's hidden messages in Rizal's Noli me tángere. She has submitted a book chapter on Philippine clothing for Dr./M.L. Pattaratorn Chirapravati's anthology of "The Politics of Dress." Coo is also working on another book with Prof. Armando Marques Guedes (Full Professor, NOVA School of Law-Universidade Nova de Lisboa; former President of the Portuguese Diplomatic Institute) and Dr. Ana Ruiz Gutierrez (Author of El Galeon de Manila, Universidad de Granada) about Germany's interest in the Philippines during the American colonization. She is also collaborating with Prof. Dr. Roger Friedlein at Ruhr University's Philippine Studies Program.
"I found this exchange of letters between a German count and a German collector who the US government hired to go to the Philippines to collect materials for the Philippine exhibition at the 1904 St Louis exposition. There are two other topics I am researching on, which have never been studied before. COVID19 just stalled my visit to the archives in Northern Spain so I cannot complete the stories yet."
Unlike before, when she channeled her grief to write, she now has the time to appreciate everything, to find joy even in the most mundane things.
"I miss Sunday lunch with my family in Bacolod. For stability while abroad, I have weekly rituals. There are things I do and people I meet regularly in Lisbon. Several times a week, I have dance classes, weight training, swim sessions, and massage therapy. These physical activities calm my mind. On Sundays, I have outdoor breakfast with my postdoc supervisor, and at 3 pm, I join my friends at the beach. Occasionally, I would attend sailing and golf events. Sometimes, I would go alone to open karaoke bars and just laugh at and with people deliberately 'destroying' songs," she says with a chuckle. "Before, I would watch movies about vampires and werewolves, or comedies with really low rotten tomatoes ratings and just laugh."
In everything, Coo stresses the importance of living well, of striking a balance between work and play. There has to be room for play. To play is to be inspired. "Last week, I was invited to the concert of legendary Brazilian artist, Caetano Veloso. It was such a treat! Over private dinners in June, I got to meet the famous Portuguese comedian, Herman José, as well as the President of Madeira, Miguel Filipe Machado de Albuquerque," she happily declares.
Amid the good things in life, Coo is aware that the wider community should not be forgotten. "I am part of a nonprofit organization called Hera which is dedicated to women's empowerment. With Marianela Mirpuri (Mirpuri Foundation) at its helm, we are organizing initiatives to help Afghan women and to promote sustainable living for a 'healthier' planet. For example, through the Mirpuri Foundation, Marianela developed the Good Bottle, a 100% biodegradable bottle made of mineral, instead of plastic. It is a pleasure to be at the forefront of these conversations and conservation efforts," she adds.
"For me, to do well, we have to live well. So I surround myself with people and things that I love, music that I love, scents that I love. I allow myself to own beautiful things, to wear quality clothes, to eat good food, to hug dogs, and more importantly, to fully experience and be grateful for the big and small moments. I enjoy the company of happy, successful and funny people, who are secure with their place in this world. I think happy thoughts. I eat healthy (lots of spinach, carrots, pumpkin and octopus). I smile and laugh a lot. I go for long walks by the river and by the sea. I get enough sun. I enjoy sunset drives and motorcycle rides. I have my spiritual advisers. I live fully and deeply. Success does come if you are truly happy," she ends.
Order the book at Ateneo de Manila University Press.
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