Hawai'i and the United States

3 credits · Undergraduate

(3 hrs Lecture/Seminar) This lecture/seminar course on Hawai'i history focuses on Kanaka Maoli (Indigenous Hawaiian) perspectives and U.S. settler colonial critique. We analyze and discuss historical scholarship and theoretical readings alongside cultural texts (film, music, visual art, print media, and more) to learn the importance of non-traditional sources for critical historical inquiry. Topics include Kanaka Maoli epistemologies and cultural practice. Western encounter, the Hawaiian Kingdom, U.S. annexation and territorialization, tourism and consumerism, U.S. popular culture and cultural appropriation, World War II, Asian Americans in Hawai'i, Hawai'i statehood, the Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement, Indigenous cultural resurgence, and the ongoing fight for decolonization. Experimental Course - This course is offered on a trial basis to gauge interest in the topic. Students who successfully complete this course receive credit as indicated.