In this course, we will be reading
literatures written by a broad range of writers who focus on the importance of
the languages, cultures, and knowledges that shape and are shaped by Hawai‘i as
a place. We will first examine the ways
that Kanaka ‘Ōiwi writers Ho‘olumāhiehie and Queen Lili‘uokalani trace their
genealogies back to the kulāiwi, the ancestral lands, mapping through mo‘olelo
the literary and cultural significance of places that are a part of our daily
lives. Later, many other narratives
emerged from efforts in the 1970s to define a “local” identity in community
struggles to protect leased agricultural lands slated for commercial and urban
development. Visual texts of local
solidarity in newspapers show people linking their arms in a human blockade
across Kamehameha Highway in front of the Waiāhole Poi Factory in protest
against the police-enforced eviction of farmers. Throughout the course, we will sketch the literary,
historical and political contexts that map our knowledge and reading of land
and places in Hawai‘i. We will discuss the complexities of local communities, such as the survival
strategies of a young local Filipino boy growing up gay and working-class in
Kalihi and the sexual trafficking of Korean women to the local bar system on
Ke‘eaumoku Street that is the transnational legacy of Japanese and U.S.
militarism in Korea. As we learn from
these stories, we will be working on a group mapping projects that will help us
to map the stories of different places in Hawai‘i. Through the knowledge we gain from these
mapping these stories and the social relationships they make possible, we will
work toward envisioning a more sustainable future for people in Hawai‘i.
This course has a Hawaiian and Asian or Pacific
Issues (H) Focus designation. Hawaiian
and Asian issues are fully integrated into the main course material and will
constitute at least 2/3 of the course content.
Requirements:
One four-page paper and one six-page place-based paper, 6 short assignments, one
group presentation, a final exam, attendance and participation.
Required Texts (available at Revolution Books): Ho‘oulumāhiehie, The Epic Tale of Hi‘iakaikapoliopele; Queen Lili‘uokalani, Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen; excerpted stories and poems from The Best of Bamboo Ridge and Growing Up Local; R. Zamora Linmark, Rolling the R’s; Nora Okja Keller, Fox Girl; Lee Cataluna, Folks You Meet in Longs. The last section of the course will focus on
place-based stories in the course reader.
A required course reader
will include works by Noelani Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua, Linda Revilla, Noenoe Silva, Tony
Lee, Gizelle Gajelonia, Ann Kapulani Landgraf, Mark Hamasaki, Dennis
Kawaharada, Keanu Sai, John Dominis Holt, Darrell Lum, Ida Yoshinaga, Lois-Ann
Yamanaka, Gary Pak, Rodney Morales, Alice Chai, Richard Hamasaki, Ann Kapulani
Landgraf, Sucheng Chan, Eric Yamamoto, Walter Ritte, and others. The course reader will be available during
the second week of classes.