Description: The year 2010 marks the 60th anniversary of Pacific studies at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa (UHM). There are now more than a dozen Pacific studies centers or programs in Oceania, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, as well as several countries in Europe. This conference will bring together Pacific studies practitioners, alumni, students, and community members to identify accomplishments, challenges, and future directions in this dynamic field of study. “Celebrating Connections” will feature presentations by distinguished alumni of UHM’s Center for Pacific Islands Studies and dialogue sessions with individuals engaged in Pacific studies across the region. In exchanging ideas, we hope that participants will learn ways to create collaborative relationships regionally, locally, and within their institutions; identify useful strategies to apply in teaching and program development; increase their awareness of employment and career possibilities for Pacific studies graduates; identify future directions for the field; and celebrate Pacific studies accomplishments over the last 60 years!
Dates: November 4-6, 2010
Location: Campus Center Ballroom, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Keynote speaker(s): Teresia K. Teaiwa, Victoria University of Wellington
Sponsors/Co-sponsors:
Convener: Terence Wesley-Smith
Follow our blog at http://celebratingconnections.blogspot.com/
Conferences & Workshops
2009 Pacific Alternatives: Cultural Heritage and Political Innovation in Oceania
Description: This international conference explores innovative social, cultural, and political responses to global processes in Oceania. Speakers will discuss viable local alternatives to the institutions and practices commonly advocated in development discourse but difficult to implement in Pacific settings. There will be a particular focus on expanding perceptions of cultural heritage in Pacific societies, and how this awareness intersects with local political forms emerging in response to the challenges of global political economy. Pacific Alternatives features situations from many parts of Oceania, with some emphasis on Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
Dates: March 24-27, 2009
Location: Hawaii Imin International Conference Center, East-West Center, Honolulu
Keynote speaker(s): Edvard Hviding, University of Bergen
Sponsors/Co-Sponsors:
Convener: Terence Wesley-Smith
For more information about the Pacific Alternatives project, you can visit http://pacific.b.uib.no/projects/main-projects/pacific-alternatives/.
2008 Micronesian Voices in Hawai‘i
Description: “Micronesian Voices in Hawai‘i” is a unique opportunity to listen to and learn from Micronesian leaders and others in the community about steps they are taking to address some of the challenges faced by new migrants from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. Spurred by the Compacts of Free Association between their countries and the United States, many Micronesians have moved to Hawai‘i. Many are serving our community in professional capacities across the economy. Others, however, are facing challenges in their struggle to achieve economic self-sufficiency. In addition to low wages and a high cost of living, they face new cultural expectations, an unfamiliar language, confusing educational and health bureaucracies, and changes in their family structures. State and local agencies and organization are also facing challenges as they attempt to understand and respond to the needs of this new group of migrants.
Dates: April 3-4, 2008
Location: Imin Conference Center, Honolulu HI.
Keynote speaker(s): The Honorable Linda Lingle, Governor of the State of Hawaii.
Sponsors/Co-Sponsors:
Convener:
2007 Hidden Treasures: Accessing the Riches in Pacific Collections
Description:This conference on Pacific library and archives collections focuses on materials that are not well known but have special value to indigenous peoples and to the general public. In highlighting these materials, speakers will also focus on issues surrounding access to these collections and digitization projects that are underway.
Dates: March 15-16, 2007
Location: Imin Conference Center, Honolulu
Keynote speaker(s):
Sponsors/Co-sponsors: UHM Center for Pacific Island Studies, UHM Library System
Convener:
2005 Culture Moves! Dance in Oceania from Hiva to Hip Hop
Description: Culture Moves! is a Pacific Dance Studies resource that emerged out of a 2005 conference of the same name held in Wellington, New Zealand at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. The site is maintained by the Center for Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Hawai’i and offers information on the 2005 conference and participating dance scholars, choreographers, educators, performers and artists. It also provides a forum for the promotion of Pacific Dance Studies in both academia and the larger Pacific community in both the islands and the diaspora.
Dates: November 9-12, 2005
Location: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarwea
Keynote speaker(s): Professor Epeli Hau’ofa
Convener(s): Dr. Katerina Teaiwa of UHM Center for Pacific Island Studies, April K. Henderson of Victoria University of Wellington
Sponsors/Co-Sponsors: Center for Pacific Island Studies-UHM
2004 Moving Islands: A Celebration of Pacific and Caribbean Literature
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Dates: 2004
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Keynote speaker(s):
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