Deirdre de la Cruz reads from her latest book, followed by a conversation with Christi-Ann Castro and Q & A.

About the book: "In Mother Figured, historical anthropologist Deirdre de la Cruz offers a detailed examination of several appearances and miracles of the Virgin Mary in the Philippines from materials and sites ranging from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. By analyzing the effects of the mass media on the perception and proliferation of apparition phenomena, de la Cruz charts the intriguing emergence of new voices in the Philippines that are broadcasting Marian discourse globally. Based on two years of ethnographic fieldwork and hitherto unexplored archives in the Philippines, the United States, and Spain, Mother Figured documents the conditions of Marian devotion’s modern development and tracks how it has transformed Filipinos’ social and political role within the greater Catholic world."

Deirdre de la Cruz is associate professor of Southeast Asian studies and history at the University of Michigan.

Christi-Ann Castro is associate professor of musicology at the University of Michigan.