Contact: akiilau@hawaii.edu
Aaron is a lecturer and PhD candidate in the Department of English at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. His research centers on Hawaiian comedy and satire, with particular attention to Hawaiian comic performance and the sociopolitical work of humor. He teaches writing and literature courses, including classes that foreground comedy, rhetoric, and Local contexts.
Aaron previously served as Editor in Chief of Hawaiʻi Review and has contributed in administrative and editorial capacities to other student publications, including Leeward Community College’s Writing Guild, UH West Oʻahu’s The Hoot, and ʻŌiwi: A Native Hawaiian Journal. He is also a former Assistant Director of the Writing Center and has worked as a writing tutor for Student Athlete Academic Services. Aaron also teaches for the Student Diplomacy Corps Experimental College.
Publications
- “A Queer(ed) ʻŌiwi Manifesto” (Co-author, forthcoming). “No ka Pono o ka Māhūi,” Hūlili (Editors: Ākea Kahikina and Jamaica Heolimaikalani Osorio). Honolulu, HI.
- “Bowl of Stars.” (Co-contributor) An Ocean of Wonder: the Fantastic in the Pacific (Editors: kuʻualoha hoʻomanawanui, Joyce Pualani Warren, and Cristina Bacchilega). University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2024.
Areas of Interest
Aaron's research currently focuses on Hawaiian comedy and satire, with a particular interest in the contemporaneous work of late-twentieth century Hawaiian Renaissance comedians. His 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.
Aaron is also a classically trained pianist, violinist, and composer since childhood and continues to perform and produce music.
Awards
- Elizabeth MCutcheon Endowment Scholarship for Literary Studies (2018)
Education
- Master of Arts (English), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
- Bachelor of Arts in Humanities (English), University of Hawaiʻi - West Oʻahu
- Associate of Arts (Liberal Arts), Leeward Community College
- High School Diploma, Kamehameha Schools Kapālama
Courses
Spring Semester 2024
- ENG-271: Introduction to Literature: Genre