(Cross-listed with ES 370)
NOTE: This section has an enrollment maximum of 60. It is designed to interest non-English majors, but it can be applied toward the major or minor as well.
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 foreground the history of Hawai‘i and the differences between indigenous peoples and settler groups. We will first examine the ways that Hawaiian writers trace their genealogies back to the land and continue to use specific forms of oral tradition in their written narratives. By contrast, many other narratives emerged from efforts in the 1970s to define a “local” identity in community struggles over leased lands slated for commercial development. We will then map out the changing historical and political contexts in which the terms “local” and “settler” have emerged, partly out of literary debates over race, power, and representation. Throughout the course, we will be asking ourselves questions about the alternative forms of narrative that Hawai‘i writers use to address their cultural and political concerns.
Requirements:
- Two mid-term exams
- a final exam
- eight scheduled quizzes
- and attendance.
Required Texts
(available at Revolution Books)
- Queen Lili‘uokalani, HAWAII’S STORY BY HAWAII’S QUEEN
- Darrell Lum and Eric Chock, eds., THE BEST OF BAMBOO RIDGE
- R. Zamora Linmark, ROLLING THE R’S
- Nora Okja Keller, FOX GIRL
- Lee Cataluna, FOLKS YOU MEET IN LONGS
- Candace Fujikane and Jonathan Okamura, eds., ASIAN SETTLER COLONIALISM: FROM COLONIAL GOVERNANCE TO THE HABITS OF EVERYDAY LIFE IN HAWAI‘I
- Haunani-Kay Trask, LIGHT IN THE CREVICE NEVER SEEN
- Lilikala Kame‘eleihiwa, A LEGENDARY TRADITION OF KAMAPUA‘A, THE HAWAIIAN PIG-GOD.
A required course reader will include works by Noelani Goodyear-Ka‘opua, Linda Revilla, Keanu Sai, Alice Chai, Eric Yamamoto, Walter Ritte, Ida Yoshinaga and others. The course reader will be available during the second week of classes.