UHM Center for Pacific Islands Studies | CPIS

News

Peter J. Rappa Resilient and Sustainable Coasts Fellowship

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Deadline: 29 March 2024, 5PM HST
Informational webinar: March 15, 2024, 12 pm HST (register here)

Applications are now being accepted for the 2024 Peter J. Rappa Resilient and Sustainable Coasts Fellowship at the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program. This is a paid (stipend of $7,000) 8-week fellowship opportunity during summer 2024 for full-time students (both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to apply).

Please share this announcement and the attached fellowship description with your networks, and in particular any undergraduate or graduate students who might be interested in applying. Any questions on the fellowship or application process can be directed to Hawaiʻi Sea Grant Assistant Director for Research and Fellowships, Maya Walton (waltonm@hawaii.edu, 808-956-6992).

  • Interested students can join us on Zoom for an informational webinar on Friday, March 15 2024, at 12:00 PM (HST)
  • Our webinar will feature alumni of the Rappa Fellowship program who will share what Rappa Fellows do day to day, some of the amazing professional development opportunities that come with the fellowship, and what kinds of projects Rappa Fellows work on!

Annually, Rappa Fellows engage in projects that look into natural, social, and built environments in Hawaiʻi and how to better manage issues that affect coastal community livability, sustainability and resilience. Rappa Fellows further their knowledge and understanding of sustainable coastal communities through research, extension, and community-based education in topics of coastal smart growth and community planning and their integration with hazard mitigation and climate change adaptation as well as cultural and traditional knowledge of Hawai‘i.

The Paul Lyons Scholarship

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Deadline: 26 March 2024

In memory of a beloved teacher and scholar in the UHM Department of English, the Paul Lyons Scholarship benefits MA students at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa whose scholarship and research interests focus on the Literature and Languages of Oceania. No preference will be given to which degree program as long as the scholar’s academic focus is related to this purpose. Funds shall be used for costs associated with attendance. Past recipients are welcome to apply again; the award is renewable twice. The selection committee will make 1 award of $2,000 for AY2023-24.

To apply: submit a letter of application of no more than 2 pages, a brief CV, and the names of two references. In your cover letter, please describe your research interest in the Literature and Languages of Ocean, and how you are pursuing it in your MA program. Your CV should list your academic history and relevant activities, course work in the MA program, TA Assignments, if any, and presentations, awards, publications or other achievements.

Please send application materials to Derrick Higginbotham, Graduate Director, Department of English at enggrad@hawaii.edu. You may also contact Dr. Higginbotham with questions about the scholarship.

Visions & Voices- EWC Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP)

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Deadline: 31 March 2024

Visions & Voices seeks articles, commentary, essays, or short manuscripts addressing issues relevant to the Pacific Islands. The deadline for submissions for the inaugural issue is 31 March 2024.

Submissions should be between 800 and 1,200 words and written for a general audience. Please email submissions to pireport@eastwestcenter.org.

For detailed submission guidelines and additional information about the publication, visit www.pireport.org/submissions. Thank you for considering this opportunity to contribute to the dialogue on Pacific island matters.

Oceania Currents – Listen now!

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We are excited to share that CPIS’ podcast, Oceania Currents, is now available for streaming! Listen on RSS or on Spotify.

Episodes one and two of Oceania Currents takes you on a journey of stories about our home: the Center for Pacific Islands Studies. We speak with three people who have worked and studied at CPIS and discuss what Pacific Studies means to each of them: Emeritus Professor Terence Wesley-Smith, Professor Katerina Teaiwa (Australian National University), and CPIS Director Alexander Mawyer.

About Oceania Currents

Voices, stories and conversations with criss-crossing currents between the past, present and future that flow deep and across Oceania, and beyond. This podcast is brought to you by the Center for Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Pacific Studies: A Transformational Movement **CALL FOR PAPERS**

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The 10th annual Center for Pacific Islands Studies (CPIS) student conference “Pacific Studies: A Transformational Movement” is scheduled for 11 April 2022 and will be held entirely online. It will feature student work focused on the Pacific from across academic disciplines as well as an exciting roundtable bringing into view a timely conversation about the nexus of Pacific Studies and community activism.

While the horrors of inequity and injustice under colonialism and neocolonialism have been made grossly apparent in recent years, we are also reminded of the many social justice movements that have sought and won our liberation. In Oceania, these transformational movements have been demanding decolonization for decades, and have also shaped the academic field we now know as Pacific Studies. This year’s conference engages, critically examines, and celebrates social justice movements and organizing, as well as all the ways our work within and beyond the academy has been transformational in the Pacific. We invite submissions that explore this theme in any way, but are especially interested in those that speak to the following topics:

  • Social justice movements in Oceania
  • Decolonization, demilitarization, and sovereignty
  • Transformational Pacific leadership
  • Transboundary relations and Oceanic solidarities
  • Indigenous resistance and resilience
  • Activism within and beyond the disciplines

Students of all disciplines and at all degree levels are encouraged to submit proposals for a range of presentation formats from research paper presentations to creative/performative presentations or panels. Proposals should include a presentation title, a 250-word abstract, and a short biography of the author.

Please submit proposals to http://go.hawaii.edu/nuV by 15 March 2022 at 10p Hawai‘i Standard Time (HST).

Send all inquiries directly to cpiscon@hawaii.edu and please share this call with your networks. We look forward to your submissions!

10th-Annual-CPIS-Student-Conference-2022Download

Sympathy and Support for Tonga

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The Center for Pacific Islands Studies (CPIS) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa wishes the people of the Kingdom of Tonga a speedy recovery from the devastating impacts of the volcano eruption. As communications are re-established, we are learning more about the destructive impacts of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano eruption on 15 January 2022. The CPIS community expresses its sympathy for the loss of lives and properties, and the debilitating impacts of the volcanic ashfall. This is an unprecedented disaster for Tonga and the Pacific Islands region. Our thoughts and aloha go out to the people of Tonga.

CPIS understands there are various efforts in and around Honolulu aimed at raising funds and collecting goods to assist the people of Tonga. The Center will support and share information about these efforts and will keep our community informed, so please watch out for further information or feel free to contact us at cpis@hawaii.edu.