UHM Center for Pacific Islands Studies | CPIS

Thesis, Plan B Papers and Portfolios

 

The following is a list of recent theses, Plan B papers, and portfolios that were accepted for the MA in Pacific Islands Studies.
Note: in 2004–2005, the Plan B option was phased out and replaced by the MA Portfolio option. (See MA admission and degree requirements.)

Click here for a link to the searchable list of all CPIS theses in UH Mānoa’s Hamilton Library.

  • Mapping Ma‘ohi Communities in Diaspora: History, Identity, and Heiva in Hawai‘i—Terava Hutia Iolana Casey, 2016, Thesis
  • The Sexualization of the Polynesian on American Film—Matthew Byron Locey, 2016, Portfolio Project
  • Car(ry)ing Tongan: Ideologies from Tongan Punake on Language, Land, and Tauhi Vā—Brian Patrick Dawson, 2016, Thesis
  • Where are the Crown Lands of Kaua‘i: Re-Mapping and Identifying Crown Lands—Dominique Leu Cordy, 2016, Portfolio Project
  • Documenting Naia‘i: Abadi Pinu Oral and Performed Traditions in Papua New Guinea—Rarai Aku Jr, 2016, Portfolio Project
  • Cultivator: Pacific Tongues Educators’ Guide to Cultivating an Active Artistic Oceanic Community of Writers, Spoken Word Performers, Leaders, Educators, and Students of All Ages—Melvin Won Pat-Borja and Jason Mateo, 2015, Portfolio Project
  • In Our Own Verse: Tongan Music and Poetry-Writing as Decolonial Praxis—Leora Kalandra Kava, 2015, Portfolio Project
  • Ke Mau Ke Pale O Tokelau: Hold Fast the Treasures of Tokelau; Navigating Tokelauan Agency in the Homeland and Diaspora—Lesley Iaukea, 2014, Portfolio Project
  • Noho Ana Ke Akua I Ka Nāhelehele: The Hula Practitioner as Kahu-Environmental Steward—Chai Blair-Stahn, 2014, Thesis
  • Iep Jeltok: A History of Marshallese Literature—Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, 2014, Portfolio Project
  • Head & Shoulders: Representations of Polynesian Men in the NFL, Christine Manarpaac, 2014, Thesis
  • Reggae & Hawaiʻi—Jesse Yonover, 2014, Portfolio Project
  • Na’la’la’ I Hila’-ta, Na’matatnga I Taotao-ta: Chamorro Language as Liberation from Colonization—Kenneth Gofigan Kuper, 2014, Thesis
  • Apmam Tiemp Ti Uli’e Hit (Long Time No See): Chamorro Diaspora and the Transpacific Home—Jesi Lujan Bennett, 2013, Thesis
  • Faʻafofoga Sāmoa: ʻUa Sāunoa Mai Tuaʻā I Tiasā / The Ancestors Are Speaking: A Comparison of Four Tuimanuʻa Chronologies with a Focus on the ʻApi or Genealogical Writings of the Young Family of the Anoalo Line of the Tuimanuʻa—Susan Eve (Lefanoga) Hannemann, 2013, Thesis
  • Making a Case for Palauans: An Analysis of Public Lands Cases in Palau—Ebil Matsutaro, 2012, Thesis
  • Rethinking Sovereignty in the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission—Kara Miller, 2012, MS in Natural Resource and Environmental Management, Certificates in Ocean Policy and Pacific Island Studies
  • Island Brothers / Island Blood: The Story of Vietnam Veterans of Sāmoa—Peter L Akuna Sr, 2012, Portfolio Project
  • Basic Health Hawaii: Broken Spirits, Healing Souls—Keola Kim Diaz, 2012, Portfolio Project
  • The Compact of Free Association (COFA): A History of Failures—Keola Diaz, 2012, Portfolio Project
  • Te Kauhiva Tokelau: Composing and Choreographing Cultural Sustainability—Candice Steiner, 2012, MA in Music (ethnomusicology) and Certificate in Pacific Islands Studies
  • Sapon riki ba kain toromon [We have become Solomon Islanders]: A Study of the Construction and Reconstruction of the I-Kiribati Community in Solomon Islands—Tammy Tabe, 2011, Portfolio Project
  • Language Development Curriculum within the Samoan Congregational Churches in the Diaspora—Brian T Alofaituli, 2011, Thesis
  • Rising Waves of Change: Sociocultural Impacts of Climate Change in the Village of Tafitoala, Sāmoa, in the Face of Globalization—Asuka Hirabe, 2011, Thesis
  • Vete: The Emerging Movement on Efate, Vanuatu; Politics and Indigenous Alternatives—Dorah Lee Wilson, 2011, Portfolio Project
  • Rethinking Youth Bulge Theory and Threat Discourse in Melanesia: Listening In and Connecting with Young People in Papua New Guinea—Patrick Kaiku, 2011, Thesis
  • Unwriting “Easter Island”—Forrest Wade Young, 2011, PhD in Anthropology and Certificate in Pacific Islands Studies
  • Disassembling School in Micronesia: Genealogy, Subjectivity, Possibility—David W Kupferman, 2011, PhD in Education and Certificate in Pacific Islands Studies
  • Kanu o ka ‘Āina: Navigating between Two Worlds—Ann Dugdale Hansen, 2011, Thesis
  • I Kareran I Palåbran Måmi: The Journey of Our Words—Anghet Hoppe-Cruz and Kisha Borja-Kicho’cho’, 2010, Portfolio Project
  • Pacified Perceptions: Multiple Subjectivities and Community Management Projects; A Case Study Naikorokoro Village Levuka, Fiji—Louisa Anthony, 2010, Plan B
  • Lei Stories: Experiences and Practices behind Lei Production in Hawaii—Junko Nishida, 2010, Portfolio Project
  • Maunalua: Fishing with a Digital Net—Ann Marie Nālani Kirk, 2010, Portfolio Project
  • Hua Ka Nalu: Hawaiian Surf Literature—Ian ‘Akahi Masterson, 2010, Thesis
  • Wa Kuk Wa Jimor: Outrigger Canoes, Social Change, and Modern Life in the Marshall Islands—Rachel Leah Miller, 2010, Thesis
  • Omesubel A Klechibelau: The Rise of a New Program at the Palau Community College—Edelene O Uriarte, 2010, Thesis
  • Contract Archaeology, the Law, and Indigenous Epistemologies in Hawai‘i—Jesse D Yorck, 2009, Thesis
  • Investing in Success: A Case Study of Rural Development Efforts in Mavana, Fiji—Wainikiti N Bogidrau, 2009, Thesis
  • The Perpetuation of the Chamorro Language in Guam: An Examination of Government Policies and Guam’s Media—Madonna Lea Castro-Perez, 2009. Plan B
  • A Mango on the Madrone Tree: Stories and Scribbles from a So-Called Afakasi—Tafea Polamalu, 2009, Plan B
  • Making Myth, Making Nation: Māori Symbols and the Construction of Bicultural Identity in Aotearoa/New Zealand—A Marata Tamaira, 2009, Thesis
  • Se Tala Mai Hawai‘i: Reflections on Being Samoan in Hawai‘i—Lucille Fuamatala (Sia) Achica, 2009, Portfolio Project
  • Oceans of Knowing: Rainbows in the Mist of Transformation and Education. A Woman’s Pilgrimage through Aotearoa/New Zealand and the United States—Judith Humbert, 2009, Portfolio Project
  • No in Alikin Bar (Waves that Come after the Reef): Navigating Currents of Displacement to and from Kwajalein Atoll—Suzanne Mayo Mulitalo, 2009, Portfolio Project
  • Law as a Tool of Oppression and Liberation: Institutional Histories and Perspectives on Political Independence in Hawai‘i, Tahiti Nui/French Polynesia, and Rapa Nui—Lorenz Gonschor, 2008, Thesis
  • Merdeka Papua: Integration, Independence, or Something Else?—James Stiefvater, 2008, Thesis
  • Fanhasso i Taotao Sumay: Displacement, Dispossession, and Survival in Guam—James Perez Viernes, 2008, Thesis
  • Onipa‘a Ka ‘Oia‘i‘o Hearing Voices: Long Ignored Indigenous-Language Testimony Challenges the Current Historiography of Hawai‘i Nei—Ronald Williams, 2008, Thesis
  • Wanem We Mifala I Wantem [What We Want]: A Community Perspective of Vernacular Education in Vanuatu—Trisha Shipman, 2008, Thesis
  • Warriors, at What Cost?—Siniva Bennet, 2008, Plan B
  • A Reference Guide to “Maika‘i Nā Kuahiwi,” a Chant by William Kualu—Janet “Kaeo” Bradford, 2008, Paper
  • Combatting “Dreaded Hogoleu”: Re-Centering Local Histories and Stories of Chuukese Warfare—Myjolynne Marie Kim, 2007, Thesis
  • Paths toward Creation of an Independent Hawaiian Nation: Ethnographies of Four Hawaiian Independence Leaders—M Noe Noe Wong-Wilson, 2007, Thesis
  • Swept around the Sphere: Inside and Outside Pacific Islands Studies—Chikako Yamauchi, 2007, Portfolio Project
  • For the Health of a People: The Recruitment and Retention of Native Hawaiian Medical Students at the University of Hawai‘i’s John A Burns School of Medicine, A Genealogical Approach—Nicole Kau‘i Baumhofer, 2007, Thesis
  • My Mwoakilloa: Self-Concept of the People of Mwoakilloa—Mariana Ben, 2007, Plan B
  • Beliliou, Beluu el Omechelel a Tekoi / Peleliu, the Place Where Things Begin: Possibilities for the Re/use of Traditional Marine Conservation Practices in the Republic of Palau—Teresa A Brugh, 2007, Thesis
  • Biau Kula: Space, Process, and Creativity at the Oceania Centre for Arts and Culture, with DVD (A Tour of the Oceania Centre for Arts and Culture)—Katherine Higgins, 2007, Portfolio Project
  • Ples Blong Olgeta Sista: Ni-Vanuatu Catholic Sisters Navigating Places and Spaces—Sara B Lightner, 2007, Thesis
  • Iien Ippan Doon (This Time Together): Celebrating Survival in an “Atypical Marshallese Community”—Monica LaBriola, 2006, Thesis
  • Nā Pā‘ani Keiki Ma Hawai‘i Nei: Children’s Plays, Pastimes, Amusements, Recreations in Hawai‘i—Yasuko Chiba, 2006, Plan B
  • Noho ā Kupa: Developing a Hawaiian Sense of Place—Clayton Godbolt, 2006, Thesis
  • The Pulenu‘u in Sāmoa: The Transformation of an Office—Kevin Riddle, 2006, Thesis
  • Atina‘eina o tupe mai fafo i le Fa‘asāmoa/Cultivating remittances in Fa‘asāmoa—Laura M Fepulea‘i, 2005, Thesis
  • Indigenous Language Immersion Education: An Annotated Bibliography of Resources for Te Kohanga Reo and Pūnana Leo—Krissy Kahikina, 2005, Plan B
  • Narrative Survival in the Tongan Diaspora: The Case of the American Deportees—Lea Lani Kinikini, 2005, Thesis
  • Silences and Burdens: Kavenga in the Hawai‘i-Tongan Diaspora—‘Amelia M Pasi, 2005, Plan B
  • Living the Dance: The March 5th Celebration (with DVD)—Aurelia A Kinslow, 2005, Plan B
  • Ku‘u Mo‘olelo Ke Ahupua‘a O Kahana Ame Eminent Domain/My Story of the Kahana Ahupua‘a and Eminent Domain—Barbara Patria, 2005, Plan B
  • Correcting Burial Wrongs Because the Dead Have Rights: An Analysis of Native Hawaiian Burial Issues and the Associated Burial Preservation Laws in Hawai‘i—Kimberlee Alana Gaylord, 2005, Thesis
  • Consequences of Good Intentions: Exploring Land Rights in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands—Brooke Nevitt, 2005, Thesis
  • Duke Kahanamoku: Cultural Icon—Katie Wright, 2005, Plan B
  • The Original People of Lana‘i—Pualani E Kauila, 2005, Plan B
  • Connecting Back to Dis Place: Music and Identity of the Cultural Renaissance of Hawai‘i—Andrea Suzuki, 2005, Thesis
  • Displacement and Population Decline in Rural Valleys: A History of Hālawa Valley, Moloka‘i—Kaleialoha Lum-Ho, 2005, Thesis
  • Remapping Home: Touring the Betweenness of Kwajalein—Gregory E Dvorak, 2004, Thesis
  • Nā‘au Poi: Spiritual Food for Cultural Enlightenment—Aloha Keko‘olani, 2004, Plan B
  • Nā Wāhine Piko o Moloka‘i: Pacific Women’s Connections to Place— Kathryn L K Wilson (Nalani), 2004, Plan B
  • Hawaiian Sovereignty and Nationalism: History, Perspectives and Movements—Tracie Ku‘uipo Cummings, 2004, Thesis
  • The Waiwai of Waiāhole and Waikāne: The Construction and Operation of the Waiāhole/Waikāne Water Ditch and Tunnel System 1900 to 2000—Dale Hood, 2004, Plan B
  • Written in the Sky—Matthew Ka‘opio, 2004, Plan B
  • Connections between Pacific Islands People Who Have Used Tapa (Kapa) in Ritual—Donald A Bunnell, 2004, Plan B
  • Never the Twain Shall Meet? Causal Factors in Fijian-Indian Intermarriage—Portia Richmond, 2003, Thesis
  • Stolen Identity: Defining ‘Aihue from a Hawaiian Perspective—Susan Kapulani Antonio, 2003, Thesis
  • I Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike: Environmental Field Studies in Hawai‘i—Kerry Crouch, 2003, Thesis
  • Mai Home Hawai‘i: Hawaiian Diaspora and the Return of Hawaiians from the Diaspora—Noelani K Lee, 2003, Thesis
  • KATWON: Caught in the Currents of Change, Youth and Education in a Changing Society—Beverly Lyne Chutaro, 2002, Plan B
  • Domestic Violence in the Pacific—Joanna Jacob, 2002, Plan B
  • Becoming a Factory Girl: Young Samoan Woman and a Japanese Factory—Masami Tsujita, 2002, Thesis
  • The Reinstitution of a Traditional Hawaiian Practice: A Native Perspective of Ritualistism through the Performance of He‘eholua—Thomas Stone, 2002, Thesis
  • Marshall Islands Women: A Study of First-Generation University Graduates—Enid Louise McKay, 2002, Plan B
  • Tutu’s Hawaiian and the Emergence of a Neo-Hawaiian Language—Richard “Keao” Nesmith, 2002, Plan B
  • Time is the Space I-We Keep: Samoana Time Consciousness through the Samoan Language—Duchess Saili Steffany, 2002, Plan B
  • The Meanings of Independence in Post-Colonial Papua New Guinea—Robert Baraka, 2001, Plan B
  • Aumua Mata‘itusi Simanu: The Lifestory of a Samoan Educator and Orator in Diaspora—M Luafata Simanu-Klutz, 2001, Thesis
  • The Use and Treatment of Micronesian Labor under the Japanese Empire, 1922-1945—Heather Stanton, 2001, Thesis
  • Japan’s Development Assistance in the Republic of Palau: Community Impacts and Effects—Takashi Mita, 2001, Thesis
  • The Role of ʻIolani Palace: Contemporary Perspectives—Audrey Vance, 2000, Plan B
  • The Importance of Subsistence and the Need for a Community-Based Subsistence Management at Mo‘omomi Bay, Moloka‘i, Hawai‘i—Sarah Ili, 2000, Plan B
  • Ho‘okumu A Ho‘okele E Ho‘omana: Aia Ka Mana I Ka Leo ‘Opio Maoli: Acquiring Energy and Sustenance through Building a Foundation and Crossing Seas: It can be found within the voices of Hawaiian youth—Daniel Keola Nakanishi, 2000, Thesis
  • One Person, Two Worlds? Two Persons, One World? Cultural Identity through the Eyes of New Zealand–Born Samoans—Mary K Chun, 2000, Plan B
  • Hawai‘i in the Japanese Tourist Gaze: A Reflection on Imaginary Hawai‘i—Junko Obayashi, 2000, Thesis
  • Ke ho‘i a‘ela ka‘opua I Awalau: The rain clouds are returning to Awalau. Said of a return to the source—Gina Kanani Taliaferro, 2000, Plan B
  • “Pacific Voices” through Film: Film as a Vehicle in Uniting Oral and Written Traditions in Polynesia—Michelle Tupou, 2000, Thesis
  • Gifted Flows: Netting the Imagery of Hip Hop Across the Samoan Diaspora—April K Henderson, 1999, Thesis
  • Sechou or Deroech: Local Impacts and Social Responses to Globalization in the Republic of Palau—Scott A Kroeker, 1999, Thesis
  • Ho‘ola Hou Ka Moko A Me Ka Uhi: The Revival of Cultural Tattooing in Aotearoa and Hawai‘i—Kealalokahi C Losch, 1999, Thesis
  • Out of the Shadow of the American Empire: Music and Resistance in Hawai‘i—Irene Calis, 1999, Plan B
  • Tirawata Irouia: Re-Presenting Banaban Histories—Katerina Teaiwa, 1999, Thesis
  • Enframing I Taotao Tano’: Colonialism, Militarism, and Tourism in 20th Century Guam—Keith Camacho, 1998, Thesis
  • Pro-Annexationist Propaganda in the Pacific Commercial Advertiser 1898—Rhiyyih Spock, 1998, Plan B
  • Politics of Faith: Investigating Ethnographies about Modekngei—Kazumi Nishihara, 1998, Thesis
  • Signs of Being: A Chamoru Spiritual Journey—Cecelia C T Perez, 1997, Plan B
  • The Legacy of the 1848 Mahele and Kuleana Act of 1850: A Case System of the Lā‘ie Malo‘o Ahupua‘a, 1846-1930—Jeffrey Stover, 1997, Thesis
  • All Aflutter (OR) A Tale of Two Worlds: The Cultural Safety Component in New Zealand Nursing and Midwifery Education—Sarah G Kenney, 1997, Thesis
  • Waste Not, Want Not: A History and Analysis of the Proposals to Import Nuclear Waste into the Marshall Islands—Brandon Breckenridge, 1997, Plan B
  • From Pō to Ao: A Historical Analysis of Filmmaking in the Pacific—Alexander D Mawyer, 1997, Thesis
  • Ho‘okena, South Kona: A Hawaiian Community—N Barney-Campbell, 1997, Plan B
  • New Environmental Policy and the Federated States of Micronesia: International Instruments and State Obligations—Jamie Kalani English, 1995, Plan B
  • “Winds of Change”: A High School Curriculum in Pacific Islands Studies—Kathryn Czar, 1995, Plan B
  • Righting Civil Wrongs: The Guam Congress Walkout of 1949—Anne Perez Hattori, 1995, Plan B
  • The Women’s Mau: Female Peace Warriors in Western Sāmoa—Lisa P MacQuoid, 1995, Plan B
  • Pacific Island Nations: The Wave of the Future—Ursula Miller-Eisenpress, 1995, Plan B
  • Through Khaki-Tinted Lenses: An Analysis of New Zealanders’ Impressions of the Pacific during World War II—Jennifer L Pethig, 1995, Thesis
  • The Empire Has No Clothes! The Experience of Fiji’s Garment Workers in Global Context—Christy E Harrington, 1994, Thesis
  • Land Alienation in the New Hebrides: Colonial Policies of France and Great Britain—Palauni M Tuiasosopo, 1994, Plan B
  • Ho‘okipa: A History of Hawaiian Greeting Practices and Hospitality—Randie Fong, 1994, Thesis
  • The Bougainville Crisis: A View from the Solomon Islands—John Moffat Fugui, 1994, Plan B
  • Polynesian Folk Tales of Supernatural Creatures and Animal Kupuna—Susan T Lenci, 1994, Plan B
  • Eram’s Church Bell: Religious Conversion on a Micronesian Atoll—Joakim Peter, 1994, Plan B