Stds Postcol Lit: Postcol Theory, Settler Colonialism, & Novel

Postcolonial
Theory, Settler Colonialism, and the Novel

Inspired by
settler studies work coming out of New Zealand and other settler colonial
contexts, this course would attempt to contribute to the development of nuanced
models for talking about Kanaka Maoli-Settler relations, primarily as reflected
in literary production, that has recently begun in Hawai’i, and that
foregrounds the material conditions and social relations brought about by U.S.
colonialism. Settler Colonialism has been described as a structure, not an
event – however, without sublimating the underlying and overt dynamics of
imperialism, this course will approach “settler colonialism” in terms of
microhistories and relationships. We will begin by surveying a few theoretical
and historical models for discussing settler colonialism and its legacies,
including work by Candace Fujikane, Alex Calder, Steven Turner, Patrick Woolf,
Haunani-Kay Trask, and John Dominis Holt. We will then move on to consider
texts that, implicitly or explicitly, engage or embody different answers to the
problem of settler colonialism, and that suggest “collaborations” (in
the multiple senses of the word) among Kanaka Maoli and Settlers, not to deny
the priority of indigenous claims to belonging, but to explore issues about
being together and models that extend out of a basic anti-colonial
native/settler binary to articulate a broader model based around friendship,
alliance, and an ethics of dialogue and mutual concern for cultural
preservation/perpetuation. We would explore, as one example, several
relationships that formed around the Bishop Museum, such as that between
Kenneth Emory and Thomas Maunupau (which was written about by both), and those
between Mary Kawena Pukui and various Bishop Museum anthropologists and
University Professors.

One aim of
the course would be to introduce students to archival research in Hawaii.
Students would do reports and semester projects that deal with forms of kanaka
maoli-settler relations/collaborations, drawing on the extensive materials
available at the Hawaiian/Pacific collection at Hamilton, the State Archives,
and the Bishop Museums, the Mission Museum, as well as on the many
knowledgeable resources in the community.

Texts might
include: Piilani Kaluaikoolau, The True
Story of Kaluaikoolau
; Thomas Maunupau, Huakai
Makaikai a Kaupo, Maui
; Fujikane and Okamura, eds. Settler Colonialism in Hawai’i

Alex
Calder, The Settler’s Plot; Armine
Von Tempski, Born in Paradise; Ozzie
Bushnell, Kaaawa;Alex Calder and
Stephen Turner, eds. Settler Studies in
New Zealand
; John Dominis Holt, Waimea
Summer
; Milton Murayama, all i asking
for is my body
; excerpts from Marjorie Sinclair; and a variety of essays
(Saranillo, Kawaharada, hoomanawanui,Woolf), poems, plays.

REQUIREMENTS/GRADING:
This course will involve weekly one page responses to the reading (posted on
the course site), an oral report, a short paper (five pages, 25%), and a longer
paper (10 pages, 50%). A class participation grade (based on the oral report,
in-class discussion, attendance, and weekly writing assignments) will count for
25%.