DESCRIPTION:
This course looks at a selection of films and plays about Hawai’i as a way of
exploring the ways that these texts invent, present, or go against the grain of
some or most of what ‘we’ believe to be the history and current reality of
Hawai’i. In what ways do various filmmakers and playwrights perceive their (and
their audiences’) place in and relationships to Hawaii’s past, peoples, and possible
futures? Do the different Hawaii’s that we’ll encounter in the texts (on the
page, on stage, in film and video) resemble your experiences or do some of them
provoke you to re-examine your memories or experiences of Hawai’i? How have textual
representations of these islands apparently changed over time?
Student Learning Outcomes
(SLO):
- To have an
understanding — appropriate to the course level – of the issues (sense of
place and community, history, and cultural identifications) that inform or motivate
the films and plays;
- To be equipped to
analyze (in written and verbal formats) literary and cultural texts;
- To be equipped to
organize informal and formal papers on films and plays.
Course requirements:
- Biweekly, short reaction
papers;
- One class
presentation (5 to 10 minutes);
- One essay;
- One take home
final.
(A writing intensive
course requires a minimum of 4000 words, which is a minimum of 16
pages.)
Required texts include:
- Alani Apio, Kāmau (1994) and Kāmau A`e (1998);
- Victoria Nalani
Kneubuhl. Hawai’i Nei: Island Plays,
2002;
- Edward Sakamoto.
Aloha Las Vegas And Other Plays,
2000;
- Films on
Hawai’i – to be viewed prior to
class; available online through UHM library, or in DVD format, on Reserve
at UHM, Sinclair Wong AV;
-
(Tentative) Attending a play at Kumu Kahua, Fall
2015 Season.