UHM Center for Pacific Islands Studies | CPIS

News

Submit your work to Hawaiʻi Review “Our Sea of Islands” Issue 97!

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Deadline: 27 March 2026
Submit here

Calling all Pacific Island creatives, we are now accepting submissions for our upcoming issue 97! Surrounded by themes of “Our Sea of Islands” this issue will focus on the modern Pasifika experience with themes of homecoming, preserving & cultivating new and old traditions, diaspora & more! 🫂✨🌊

If you have any sort of creative work that reflects these themes, submit it to the link above for a chance to be featured in our upcoming issue.

Hawaiʻi Review is an arts journal with a print, website, local community, and social media presence, published by the Student Media Board at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Its first issue was released in 1973. This journal has the mission and the good fortune to serve as a key publisher for the work of Kānaka Maoli, ʻŌiwi, and Indigenous Pacific Islanders in Hawaiʻi nei and abroad. Our focus includes centering Native Hawaiian, Indigenous Pacific Islander, and local voices, including Pidgin speakers, on a worldwide stage, as well as centering the work of LGBTQIA, māhū, and Two-Spirit writers and artists in a variety of genres and media. Hawaiʻi Review has been honored to provide malumalu for such Indigenous voices as Joe Balaz, Mahealani Dudoit, ku‘ualoha ho‘omanawanui, John Dominis Holt, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, Haunani-Kay Trask, Craig Santos Perez, Wayne Westlake, among many other emerging and established writers of these archipelagos. We have published writers of such local, national, and international renown as Robert Bly, Robert Olen Butler, Maxine Hong Kingston, R. Zamora Linmark, W.S. Merwin, Cathy Song, Michael Ondaatje, Carl Phillips, Naomi Shihab Nye, William Stafford, and Lois-Ann Yamanaka, among others. 

Congratulations to Dr. Tara on his selection as a Transpacific and Asian Dialogue on China Fellow!

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The fellowship brings together scholars from the U.S., Asia and the Pacific, to examine changing geopolitical dynamics due to growing Chinese influence. Associate Professor Tara said he hopes the initiative will lead to actionable policies for governments and other stakeholders to understand the challenges and opportunities presented by China.

“A lot of our discussions take place in academia but never make it into the policy space,”Kabutaulaka said. “This project is about creating mechanisms through which scholarly work can inform decisions made by governments and other institutions as well.”

He added that UH Mānoa’s unique role as an Asia-Pacific–facing institution strengthens the university’s relevance and importance in global conversations.

“My involvement in the project reflects not just my individual participation, it is the involvement of UH Mānoa, which gives the university and the islands we live in more prominence on the global stage,” Kabutaulaka said.

Check out the UH News piece here.

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

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Deadline: 30 September 2024
Submissions: https://pireport.org/submissions/

Calling all Pacific Island storytellers!
Your voice matters. Share your unique perspective in our next issue of Visions & Voices, a celebration of Pacific insights. Be part of the conversation. Submit your work and let your story inspire others!
✍️ 800-1,200 words
🌊 Any Pacific Islands topic

The Contemporary Pacific announces Professor Brij V. Lal Award and first winner, CPIS affiliate Monica C. LaBriola

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Our colleagues at The Contemporary Pacific are pleased to announce the Professor Brij V. Lal Award, in memory of Dr. Brij V. Lal, as well as the award’s first recipient, Dr. Monica C. LaBriola of the UHM History Department for her article “Marshallese Women and Oral Traditions: Navigating a Future for Pacific History” published in the journal’s fall and spring 2023 issue.

Read more about the award and this year’s winner on the TCP website here and the UH News story.

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.