The Philippines as tool-forged nation: Revisiting Nick Joaquin’s use of Marshall McLuhan’s Medium Theory to reconstruct colonial history

In his 2004 essay, “Culture as History,” the late National Artist for Literature, Nick Joaquin, retold the colonial history of the Philippines through Marshall McLuhan’s medium theory, framed in the famous aphorism “the medium is the message.” Joaquin followed McLuhan’s thought by positing that technology is behind the metamorphosis of the Philippines. Accordingly, this metamorphosis occurred between the 16th and 17th centuries with the arrival of tools, like the plow, from Spain that enabled the colonized subjects to improve their lot and forge their identity as Filipinos. Joaquin and McLuhan’s thoughts, conjoined in the former’s essay, steered colonial history away from nationalistic currents, via objects, artefacts, or technology, towards a narrative of a tool-forged nation. This paper examines Joaquin’s suppositions on Philippine history by inquiring into the central role of technology in colonization and its contestation. By revisiting Joaquin and McLuhan’s theories on technology, this essay delves into the challenge of understanding colonial history and the opportunities they offer for theorizing technology and society.