Contact: akiilau@hawaii.edu
Aaron is a graduate assistant and PhD student in the Department of English. He previously served as Editor in Chief for Hawaiʻi Review and has contributed in administrative and editorial capacities to various other student publications including Leeward Community College's Writing Guild, UH West Oʻahu's The Hoot, and ʻŌiwi: a native Hawaiian Journal. Aaron is also a former Assistant Director of The Writing Center and has worked as a writing tutor for Student Athlete Academic Services.
Publications
- “Bowl of Stars.” (Co-contributor) An Ocean of Wonder: the Fantastic in the Pacific. University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2024.
Areas of Interest
My research currently focuses on Hawaiian Comedy and Satire, with a particular interest in the contemporaneous work of late-twentieth century Hawaiian Renaissance comedians. My previous research focused specifically on Pidgin (HCE) literary and orthographic practices, and has since expanded to include its relationship to Hawaiian comedy and satire. Other areas of interest include Hawaiian history, cultural studies, sociolinguistics, music history, science fiction, and TV studies, among others.
I am also a classically trained pianist, violinist, and composer since childhood and continue to perform or produce music.
Awards
- Elizabeth MCutcheon Endowment Scholarship for Literary Studies (2018)
Education
- High School Diploma, Kamehameha Schools Kapālama, 2002.
- Associate of Arts (Liberal Arts), Leeward Community College, 2014.
- Bachelor of Arts in Humanities (English), University of Hawaiʻi - West Oʻahu, 2017.
- Master of Arts (English), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, 2019.
Courses
Spring Semester 2024
- ENG-271: Introduction to Literature: Genre
Fall Semester 2023
- ENG-100: Composition I
- ENG-100: Composition I
Spring Semester 2023
- ENG-100: Composition I