Was Dekada 70 a required reading in your school/college?

[g2narat]

Anyone here remember the book Dekada 70 by Lualhati Bautista? I remember this being a required reading when I was in college though I can't remember the subject it was required for. I just had a random thought about it so I decided to post here because I thought it would make a nice discussion about Filipino literature. Seems like we don't have that kind of discussion here yet. 

[sidney]

Which year were you born? I never encountered that book all throughout high school, and I even switched schools twice at that. Maybe it was phased out already by the time I reached high school?

[AExAVF]

I don't recall Dekada 70 being required reading, at least in my college years.  What I recall is that the Rizal courses are definitely required in college.

[petrushka]

I don't recall it being part of the required reading either, but it was definitely in the list for recommended reading, which is why I read it in the first place. The summary provided by the Professor intrigued me so I borrowed it from the library for future reading. I didn't read it right away though and then finished it in 2 days because I had to return the book by that time, haha!

I remember that I enjoyed it and that I liked the themes it presented, even if it took me a while to love the prose itself. I've reread it a few times after that and I really appreciated the professor who recommended it because I don't think it would have been something I'd pick up on a normal setting. I tend to either REALLY like or REALLY dislike novels that have a Marcos regime timeline for some reason but this was one of those I really liked.

I tend to love Filipino myths and folklores, like the story of Alitaptap, lanzones and the epic about the genderblender Babaylan (IIRC) who pretended to be a man to save the guy she loves.

I also really loved this one short story that I can't remember the title or author anymore, about a boy who had a very domineering sister who tend to get everything she wanted because she had a weak heart. She had a very strong personality and he seemed to always be overwhelmed by it, but when he finally snapped and fought back, he realized just how fragile his sister was. It stayed with me because the mood was so atmospheric and I couldn't really recall what the ending was like. I don't know if his fighting back was a good thing or not; I don't know if his sister's vulnerability is supposed to show some sort of moral or just a means to flesh her out from his extremely narrow point of view.

It really stuck with me though. I hope I can find it again.

[g2narat]

Which year were you born? I never encountered that book all throughout high school, and I even switched schools twice at that. Maybe it was phased out already by the time I reached high school?

Haha! Thanks for making me feel old! I was born in the 80's. Maybe that explains it? It was a required reading in a college subject. Can't recall the subject though, probably something like Filipino Literature.

[KimBarstow]

Yep, it was required and moreover - we had to write a lot of texts and projects about it.

[HannahRivera]

On 3/3/2015 at 5:36 PM, petrushka said:

I don't recall it being part of the required reading either, but it was definitely in the list for recommended reading, which is why I read it in the first place. The summary provided by the Professor intrigued me so I borrowed it from the library for future reading. I didn't read it right away though and then finished it in 2 days because I had to return the book by that time, haha!

 

I remember that I enjoyed it and that I liked the themes it presented, even if it took me a while to love the prose itself. I've reread it a few times after that and I really appreciated the professor who recommended it because I don't think it would have been something I'd pick up on a normal setting. I tend to either REALLY like or REALLY dislike novels that have a Marcos regime timeline for some reason but this was one of those I really liked.

 

I tend to love Filipino myths and folklores, like the story of Alitaptap, lanzones and the epic about the genderblender Babaylan (IIRC) who pretended to be a man to save the guy she loves.

 

I also really loved this one short story that I can't remember the title or author anymore, about a boy who had a very domineering sister who tend to get everything she wanted because she had a weak heart. She had a very strong personality and he seemed to always be overwhelmed by it, but when he finally snapped and fought back, he realized just how fragile his sister was. Once I had a task based on the "Dekada 70" book, so I just asked the experts on https://edusson.com/write-my-argumentative-essay to help me write my argumentative essay about it. I don't know if his sister's vulnerability is supposed to show some sort of moral or just a means to flesh her out from his extremely narrow point of view.

 

It really stuck with me though. I hope I can find it again.

Our teacher didn't ask us to read it either, but my mom suggested it as a good book with materials that are valuable food for our minds, so I checked it out even though I wasn't supposed to read it for school.