Archives of Past Events

The Summer 2022 Scholarship winners will present their completed works at an in-person reception at Hamilton Library on Friday, September 16, 2022.

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Library Treasures Summer 2022 Winners

Perry Arrasmith (MA in Urban and Regional Planning), “Compounded Frustrations and Generational Shifts: Land, Power, the Constitutional Convention of 1978, and Planning for the Next Hawai‘i”

This project will examine the state of Hawai‘i’s politics in the period surrounding the 1978 Constitutional Convention of the State of Hawai‘i. In accordance with this goal, the project will search among folders in the University of Hawai’i Archives & Manuscripts Collection (most directly within the Hawai‘i Congressional Papers Collection) and survey identified works in both the Hawaiian and Pacific Collection and general collection of Hamilton library. Through the summer of 2022, this research will support a prospective thesis documenting the influence of the 1978 Constitutional Convention on such topics as water, agriculture, urban land use regulation, and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL). In charting the influence of the 1978 Constitutional Convention on the history of planning in the State of Hawai‘i, this project can reframe our comprehension of Hawai‘i’s unique political position within the United States.

Update: The outcomes of research include the publication of “A Warning On Hawaii’s Housing Crisis — From 1970,” Honolulu Civil Beat (July 14, 2022), and “Josh Green Can Find Inspiration In Past Inaugural Addresses,” Honolulu Civil Beat (December 4, 2022), co-authored with Colin Moore

Clarice Handoko (MA in Sociology), “Pemuda Activism’s Adaptive Mechanisms in an Authoritarian Regime: Evidence from Pro-Democracy Newspapers in Indonesia”

Since 1928, when the ‘youth pledge’ was instituted at Indonesia’s Second Youth Congress, nationalist youth activists – colloquially known as Pemuda – have continued to take to the streets during the country’s most pivotal moments. Noticeable both by their school uniforms and youthful vigor, they have been celebrated as an external regulatory force against abuses of power inside Indonesia’s government. Pemuda’s triumph in ending the authoritarian New Order era has been regarded as their biggest achievement to date, especially considering the extreme repression initially faced by the movement under President Suharto. This research project contributes to existing studies on how the youth movement overcame their transitional depoliticization by the Suharto regime: through content analyses of Indonesian newspapers (from Hamilton’s Asia collection) in circulation from 1966-1998, this project attempts to show how the democratic-leaning press sought to augment local disapproval of the Suharto administration. In turn, I highlight pro-democracy journalism’s power to rally the nation behind the youths’ contentious take down of President Suharto. The study hopes to offer a comparative example to Indonesia’s increasingly oligarchic media landscape today, and to the weakening of public debates in the country’s present politics.

Update: The outcome of research will be a part of her thesis and a journal article for Annali (Serie Orientale).

Carissa Chew (PhD in History), “From ‘Hybrid’ to Hapa: A Mixed-Race History of Hawaiʻi”

Using materials from the Romanzo Adams Social Research Laboratory (RASRL) collection, this project explores the self-identities and lived experiences of interracial couples and their mixed-race children in early- to mid-twentieth century Hawaiʻi. The studies conducted by haole social scientists in the 1920s and 1930s on the topic of interracial sex in Hawai’i and its wider consequences for the U.S. continent have been well-documented from a history of science perspective. There has, however, been remarkably little historical inquiry into the degree of agency that mixed-race Native Hawaiians exhibited when negotiating and formulating their own identities – whether by adopting or rejecting the “Part Hawaiian” typology or reappropriating it through the notion of hapa. Moreover, whereas haole sociologists and anthropologists portrayed the high degree of interracial marriage in Hawaiʻi as an indicator of racial harmony, unpublished essays and interviews from the RASRL collection reveal that interracial unions in this period were often complicated, contested, and painful.

Update: The outcome of research, “Miscegenation and Mixed-Race Identity in Early to Mid-Twentieth Century Hawaiʻi,” was presented at the Phi Alpha Theta Biennial Convention in Albuquerque in January 2023.

Maggie Ivanova (MFA in Theatre, Asian Performance – Directing), “Visual Dramaturgy Research on Adapting Haruki Murakami’s Dance, Dance, Dance for the Stage”

My M.F.A. thesis comprises a stage adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s 1988 novel Dance, Dance, Dance (English trans. by Alfred Birnbaum, 1994), which I will also direct. Part of Kennedy Theater’s Primetime Series, the production is scheduled for January 25-29, 2023. Murakami’s novel is an example of magical realism; it is set in three geographical locations – Sapporo in Hokkaido, Shibuya in Tokyo, and Honolulu in Hawai‘i. The hybrid, mixed-method practice-led research methodology which grounds the thesis, includes archival research into Murakami’s formative influences (historical and socio-cultural) and the history of Honolulu’s Downtown area; dramaturgical analysis of works by representative Japanese playwrights and directors, which resonate with Murakami’s approaches to characterization and critique of social realities; field work in Hawai‘i that explores lived experiences of members of the Ainu diaspora in Hawai‘i; and collaborations with the composer, cast, and design team. Integral to the whole project is the dramaturgical archival research which I’ll conduct at Hamilton Library using the Asian Collection (The Takazawa Collection and its Hirai Yoshio Subcollection), the Russian Collection (materials pertaining to Russia’s relationship with Hokkaido and the Ainu), the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections (The Mānoa Valley Papers; audiovisual materials related to Honolulu’s history), and the Wong Audiovisual Collection.

Update: The final product of this project, Dance Dance Dance, was premiered at Kennedy Theatre at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in January 25-29, 2023.

Library Treasures AY 2021-2022 Winners

Meagan Harden (PhD in Geography and Environment), “Beyond Sea to Shining Sea: Reconfiguring American Empire in ‘Micronesia’”

In 1832, French explorer Dumont D’Urville labeled thousands of islands in the western Pacific Ocean “Micronesia,” projecting his assumption of smallness onto an expansive and culturally diverse seascape (Hanlon, 2009). The persisting perception of Micronesia as marginal reproduces the racial logics of colonialism by dismissing the Indigenous knowledges that underpin islander life-worlds. Using the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands archives, my dissertation research investigates imperial permutations in what are today the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau. I center the political engagement of islander women during the period of independence negotiations during 1969-1985. Using the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands archives, I aim to disrupt conventional representations of Micronesia as peripheral to world systems and instead prioritize the ways in which islanders, and islander women in particular, have positioned the islands and themselves as key actors within global geopolitics. 

Update: A paper resulting from this research, “Codifying Oceanic Sovereignty: Micronesian Participation in the Conference on the Law of the Sea,” was presented at the 2022 meeting of the American Association of Geographers. Another article, entitled, “Affinity, Appropriation, and Annexation: The 1965 Pacific State Proposal,” will be presented at another venue in April 2023 with the view to subsequent journal submission.

Perry Arrasmith (Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning), “A Fraught Obligation: The Hawaiian Homes Commission and the State of Hawai’i, 1950-1993”

The project will employ the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s library system’s physical and digital resources to research how the Territory and State of Hawai‘i have administered the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) and the Hawaiian Homes Commission in a quasi-public manner between the nine years preceding Hawai‘i’s admission into the American Union (1950) and the one-hundredth anniversary of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i’s overthrow by the Committee of Safety and its allies in the U.S. military and diplomatic service (1993). With the aid of those resources available in the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections, the University Archives & Manuscript Collections, and the digital collections of UH Mānoa’s library (evols), this project will identify existing reports issued by local, state, and federal actors on the administration of DHHL. In turn, the identification of these reports will entail a cursory review of those existing reports located in such collections with the intention of crafting a research paper as a final product. A review of this period in the history of DHHL and the Hawaiian Homes Commission is critical to comprehending the past, present, and future of a program fundamentally foundational to the existence of the State of Hawai‘i.

Janine Midori Fujioka (PhD in English), “Japanese Poems, Inscriptions and Messages at Angel Island, 1910-1945; Hawaiian Royalty Pass Through Angel Island, 1910-1945”
From 1910 to 1945 the Angel Island Immigration Station and Detention Center at Fort McDowell in the San Francisco Bay served as the Pacific gateway and entry point to Northern California. The center held Japanese and Japanese Americans as prisoners. They were legal immigrants, picture brides, U.S. citizens and POWs that arrived by ship. The residents left poems, inscriptions and messages on the wooden walls of the barracks which can still be seen today. While the Chinese poems are well documented and translated, the Japanese writings are not. During the same time period (approximately thirty-five years), Hawaiian royalty also traveled to the U.S. mainland passing through Angel Island. For my research, I am tracing the ali‘i journeys and documenting/digitizing the Japanese writings with resources from the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections at Hamilton Library to showcase their experiences, including census data interpretations, maps, genealogy, government documents, Thrum’s and other archival materials.

Library Treasures Scholarships Fall 2020 Winners

On April 30, 2021, virtual presentations were given by the winners of the Fall 2020 Library Treasures Scholarships.

Susy Tekunan (PhD, Political Science), “Indonesian Chinese: Place and Identity”
Indonesia is the fourth largest country in the world, with more than 270 million people. Among many of its interesting political ups and downs, race relations is one of a lasting issue that determines political stability in the country. Indonesian Chinese are the largest minority with fragile relations with the majority of indigenous people. Indonesian nationals with Chinese ancestry continue to struggle to be recognized as contributing citizens and to have a place in the Indonesian society.  Using  resources from  Hamilton Library’s Southeast Asia Collection, this paper investigates the effort that Indonesian Chinese have made over the generations to have the sense of space and place. There is a recent interesting development that members of non-Chinese civil society joined in the effort to bring Indonesian Chinese to have a better position in Indonesia. I found that the movements initiated by the indigenous majority are more effective than the efforts by the Chinese themselves.

Adrian E. Alarilla (PhD, History), “Situating Power: Kapangyarihan and Kagamhanan in twentieth century Filipino migrant epistolary documents in the Quezonian Papers”

Looking at the “Quezonian Papers on Filipinos in Hawaiʻi, 1914 to 1943” housed in Hamilton Library’s Hawaiian Collection, this research looks at how Filipino migrants positioned themselves vis-à-vis the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association and the Philippine colonial government and its most prominent statesman at the time, Manuel L. Quezon.  By looking at their letters and writings, it is possible to see how these early Filipino migrants were refiguring kinship and redefining power, nation and national authority.

Update: The outcome of research is being incorporated into his dissertation. 

Video Shorts Competition

Competition Winners in Academic Year 2018-2019

1st Place – MAGIS: A True Treasure

Jonas Gutzat, Yudai Kojima, Jacob Hensley

2nd Place – Kajadifu

Sophia Whalen

3rd Place – Jean Charlot

Dezmond Applin, Keahi Delovio, Nicole Huber

Organizers & Contributors

This competition has been co-conceptualized and co-organized by the following faculty and librarians: Assistant Professor Brittany Biggs at the Academy for Creative Media; Assistant Professor Jose Ferreira at the Department of Art and Art History; Russian Bibilographer Patricia Polansky at Hamilton Library; Assistant Professor Scott E. Schimmel at the School of Communications; Access Services Librarian Jean Thoulag at Hamilton Library; and Professor Yuma Totani at the Department of History. Special credit goes to Professor Schimmel, whose expertise in filmmaking, know-hows in film competitions, student mentoring and judging, and handling of a multitude of ongoing backend management tasks, have been of critical importance for the success of this competition. Special thanks go also to Professor Biggs, who takes charge of designing the competition posters and student mentoring as well as judging; Jean Thoulag and Patricia Polansky, who help the students navigate the vast library collections; Lyn Nagoshi, Fiscal Specialist at Hamilton Library, who processes the awards; Daniel Ishimitsu, Web Developer at Hamilton Library, who manages the competition information on the Library’s website; and a number of other librarians, archivists, and staff at Hamilton Library, who have provided generous assistance. The following librarians have provided substantial help to the student competitors in the academic year of 2018-2019: Sachiko Iwabuchi, Okinawan Studies librarian; Margaret Joyce, cataloger with rare book background; Theodore Kwok, geospatial librarian; Jean Thoulag, on the filming of rare and miniature books; and Malia Van Heukelem, librarian of the Jean Charlot Collection.

Library Colloquia

AY 2019-2020

• “A Glimpse into Everyday Life of Postwar North Korea”
  Presented by Ellie Kim, Korean Studies Librarian
  C. Harrison Kim, Assistant Professor in Korean History. Flyer
  

• “A Treasury of Prints in an Artist Archive: Jean Charlot Collection”
  Presented by Malia Van Heukelem, Art Archivist and Curator of the Charlot Collection. November 5, 2019. Flyer
  
• “Periodic Encounters. Everyday Treasures. Critical Reflections.”
  Presented by Kapena Shim, Hawaiʻi Specialist Librarian. September 10, 2019. Flyer
  

AY 2018-2019

• “Journey Through the Natural Sciences in Hamilton Library’s Rare Book Collection”

  Presented by Jan Sung, Chair of Hamilton Library Science and Technology Department and Patricia Brandes, Science Librarian for CTHAR. Guest Speaker: Sharon Harwood, President of the Windward Orchid Society. April 24, 2019. Flyer

  
  

• “What’s it worth to you? Treasuring Pacific Ephemera”

  Stu Dawrs, Senior Librarian for the Pacific Collection, discussed the value of preserving elusive materials. February 20, 2019. Flyer

  
  

• “Borobudur: Paths to Enlightenment”

  Presented by Paul Lavy, Associate Professor of Southeast & South Asian Art History and Southeast Asia Studies Librarian Rohayati Paseng. November 7, 2018. Flyer
  “Borobudur: Path to Enlightenment” (3 videodiscs) is available at Hamilton Asia Reference, and can be also viewed as streaming video in three installments.
  Streaming video of disc 1
  Streaming video of disc 2
  Streaming video of disc 3
  

• “Mapping of Asia: the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India and Beyond”

  Presented by Karen Kadohiro Lauer, South Asia Studies Librarian and Geospatial Librarian Ted Kwok. September 26, 2018. Flyer
  Visit the Maps, Aerial Photographs, and GIS (MAGIS) website to learn more.
  

AY 2017-2018

• “Hawley and Sakamaki: The Founding of UHM Ryukuan Studies”

  Presented by Sachiko Iwabuchi, Okinawan Studies Librarian. Guest Speaker: Professor Manabu Yokoyama, a research fellow at the Ryusaku Tsunoda Center for Japanese Culture, Research Institute for Letters and Sciences, Waseda University. April 25, 2018. Flyer
  For an overview of the collection, visit the Okinawa Special Collection website. To access the digitized items, go to the University of the Ryukyus Library Rykyu/Okinawa Special Collection Digital Archives.

  

• “For Boys and Girls Comrade! Children’s Books: For Fun And/or Politics.”

  Presented by Jude Yang, Korean Studies Librarian, in partnership with the Asia Collection Department Librarians. March 7, 2018. Flyer

  
  

• “Orchids, Surgery, Astronomy and Poetry: A Peek into General Rare Collections at Hamilton Library.”

  Presented by Deborah Dunn, Preservation Department Book Conservation Lab. December 6, 2017. Flyer
  

• “War, Languages, and Un/intended Consequences: From Diderot to after World War II.”

  Presented by Tokiko Bazzell, Japan Studies Librarian, in partnership with Asia Collection Department librarians. November 1, 2017. Flyer
  

• “Spider and the Fly Pamphlet: The Role of Political Pamphlets and Posters in China and the Soviet Union in the 1920s to 1930s.”

  Presented by Patricia Polansky, Russian Bibliographer, and Dongyun Ni, Chinese Studies Librarian, in partnership with the Asia Collection Department librarians. September 27, 2017. Flyer
  
  

Guest Lecture Series

AY 2018-2019

• “Collecting in a Constrained Environment” by Richard Sousa, formerly Director of the Hoover Institution Library and Archives (2007-2012). November 9, 2018. Flyer