Course Description
Welina mai kākou. Welcome to Native Hawaiian Literature in English. He aha kēia mea kupaianaha? How do we talk about Native Hawaiian Literature? How have others called it, shaped it, analyzed it, and incorporated its wisdom into daily life? In 1825, the Mōʻī of Hawaiʻi, Kauikeaouli Kamehameha III, declared: “ʻO koʻu aupuni, he aupuni palapala koʻu [My kingdom shall be a kingdom of literacy].” By 1861, Hawaiʻi was considered to be one of the most literate nations in the world. Between 1834 and 1948, more than 100 newspapers were published in the Hawaiian Kingdom – some 125,000 pages. How have centuries of colonialism, militarization, resistance, and resurgence affected ʻŌiwi literary expression?
In this course, we will read, discuss, and explore connections between key authors and works of Native Hawaiian Literature as well as their literary, cultural, and political contexts. As an overview of Native Hawaiian Literature, this course explores a range of works, including traditional Hawaiian genres, like moʻokūʻauhau (Kumulipo) and kanikau (“He Hapa o ke Mele no ka Make ana o Keeaumoku o ke Alii o Maui” and “Kanikau no Kaahumanu”), and Western genres, like life writing (Hawaii’s Story by Liliʻuokalani and The True Story of Kaluaikoʻolau translated by Frances Frazier), short stories (excerpts from This is Paradise by Kristiana Kahakauwila and Islands Linked By Ocean by Lisa Linn Kanae) and poetry (Wayne Westlake, Joe Balaz, Jamaica Osorio, Brandy Nālani McDougall, Sage Takehiro, and more).
Course Texts
In addition to readings posted on Laulima, the following texts (available through the campus bookstore) are required:
- Frazier, Frances, tr. The True Story of Kaluaikoʻolau
- Liliʻuokalani, Hawaii’s Story
- Haleʻole, S.N. Lāʻieikawai. Trans. Martha Warren Beckwith. Eds. Dennis Kawaharada, Richard Hamasaki, and Esther Mookini