Island World - Revision history

Sayf at 23:31, 12 May 2013

2013-05-12T23:31:33Z

Sayf at 23:29, 12 May 2013

2013-05-12T23:29:48Z

Sayf: Created page with "{{Infobox book | name = Island World: A History of Hawai'i and the United States | author = Gary Y. Okihiro | publisher = University of California Pres..."

2013-05-12T23:29:25Z

Created page with "{{Infobox book | name = Island World: A History of Hawai'i and the United States | author = Gary Y. Okihiro | publisher = University of California Pres..."

New page

{{Infobox book
| name = Island World: A History of Hawai'i and the United States

| author = Gary Y. Okihiro
| publisher = University of California Press
| pub_date = 2008
| pages = 328
| isbn = 0520252993
| image = [[File:Island World.jpg|200px|alt=Cover]]

Okihiro’s history of Hawaii makes liberal use of metaphor and symbolism to make his point that the Hawaiian Islands were never in a separated vacuum; rather, their interconnectedness – biologically, geologically, and in a diasporic context, impacted history (he particularly focuses on U.S. history) in a myriad of ways. He makes this argument in a series of chapters that trace the gendered relationship between the islands and continents, and resituates Hawaii from the periphery to the center of elements that cause change throughout the world. Taking a “big history” approach, he examines how the geologic and biologic birth of Hawaii, along with its cultural and social influences, can offer an alternative look at “pieties” of the discipline in its “attempt to dismantle…binaries of space, race, gender and sexuality” (219).

The opening chapters use geology, biology, the metaphor of the Hawaiian creation song, and human/animal migratory patterns to examine a new way to think about the islands and their context – that they were connected to the world, and that the world was connected to them from the beginning. Okihiro argues for this using a gendered lens. Geologically, the islands are connected to the continents via continuous landmasses, a metaphor for Hawaii’s connection to the world. The demarcations between land and sea are blurred, which enhance this linkage; the sea distributes and connects in two directions Hawaii’s biotic community of species. Ancient people traveled to and from Hawaii in canoes, both in pursuit of new land, but also in acting out their connection to the water and the endless opportunities in all directions that water offered. The idea that the islands were in constant movement, along with their biology, peoples, and geologic processes created a mingling and movement without boundaries, engendering a kind of freedom that would be curtailed later by imperialism and colonialism. He explains the Kumulipo creation story as a way to look at Hawaii and life upon earth in general as series of male and female pairings, and the birth of the Islands as compared to human notions of conception and birth. Hawaii is the feminine – birthing and creating a universe, but also on the receiving end of impacts from elsewhere – some violent, some not. He looks at this idea through surfing, a distinctly Hawaiian sport, as a physical embodiment of this all-encompassing mixture of the mutable human-sea-land relationship. The appropriation of the sport by foreigners parallels their imperialistic influences on the islands.

The book examines the Hawaiian diaspora and Hawaiians’ impacts on U.S. history, and vice-versa including missionary work, labor and education. White travelers enacting patriarchal power sought to control Hawaii, master and reshape its “soft”, “feminine” and sexualized culture. Both missionary and educational work in Hawaii was part of the apogee of the American vision for a paternalistic, Christian, democratic world over which they would have dominion. He closely examines Richard Armstrong, as the “father of American education” in the Islands, as well as looks at Hawaiians living in the U.S., to see how this was enacted. He observes Hawaiians working in the U.S. and their impact on the mining and maritime industries, and discusses how they were grouped into traditional racial classifications.

Finally, Okihiro looks at Hawaiian social and cultural impacts in various ways, including film, dance, art, text, and music. He illustrates how foreigners appropriated Hawaiian culture to reinforce traditional stereotypes of a land where whites could seek eternal youth, sex, and live in a virtual Eden.The production and influences by and on Hawaiian music symbolize the transformative and shifting nature of cultural boundaries. He looks particularly at the influence of Hawaiian music on American country and western music.

[[Category:Modern European History]]

[[Category:Wikify]]
[[Category:Book Summaries]]
[[Category:John Merriman]]

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 Finally, Okihiro looks at Hawaiian social and cultural impacts in various ways, including film, dance, art, text, and music. He illustrates how foreigners appropriated Hawaiian culture to reinforce traditional stereotypes of a land where whites could seek eternal youth, sex, and live in a virtual Eden.The production and influences by and on Hawaiian music symbolize the transformative and shifting nature of cultural boundaries. He looks particularly at the influence of Hawaiian music on American country and western music.
-[[Category:Modern European History]]
+[[Category:Global History]]
 [[Category:Wikify]]
 [[Category:Book Summaries]]
-[[Category:John Merriman]]
+[[Category:Gary Y. Okihiro]]

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 | isbn           = 0520252993
 | image          = [[File:Island World.jpg|200px|alt=Cover]]
+}}
 Okihiro’s history of Hawaii makes liberal use of metaphor and symbolism to make his point that the Hawaiian Islands were never in a separated vacuum; rather, their interconnectedness – biologically, geologically, and in a diasporic context, impacted history (he particularly focuses on U.S. history) in a myriad of ways. He makes this argument in a series of chapters that trace the gendered relationship between the islands and continents, and resituates Hawaii from the periphery to the center of elements that cause change throughout the world. Taking a “big history” approach, he examines how the geologic and biologic birth of Hawaii, along with its cultural and social influences, can offer an alternative look at “pieties” of the discipline in its “attempt to dismantle…binaries of space, race, gender and sexuality” (219).