University of Hawai‘i Press will be exhibiting at the Association for Asian American Studies Annual Conference, April 17-20, at the Westin Seattle Hotel in downtown Seattle.
Editor Masako Ikeda will be attending. Please visit us in the exhibit hall, where we will be offering a 20% discount and free shipping in the U.S. (Free shipping applies only to orders placed at the conference.)
See you in Seattle!
Diversity in Diaspora: Hmong Americans in the Twenty-First Century, edited by Mark Edward Pfeifer, Monica Chiu, and Kou Yang, wrestles with Hmong Americans’ inclusion into and contributions to Asian American studies, as well as to American history and culture and refugee, immigrant, and diasporic trajectories. It negotiates both Hmong American political and cultural citizenship, meticulously rewriting the established view of the Hmong as “new” Asian neighbors—an approach articulated, Hollywood style, in Clint Eastwood’s film Gran Torino. The collection boldly moves Hmong American studies away from its usual groove of refugee recapitulation that entrenches Hmong Americans points-of-origin and acculturation studies rather than propelling the field into other exciting academic avenues.
Following a summary of more than three decades’ of Hmong American experience and a demographic overview, chapters investigate the causes of and solutions to socioeconomic immobility in the Hmong American community and political and civic activism, including Hmong American electoral participation and its affects on policymaking. The influence of Hmong culture on young men is examined, followed by profiles of female Hmong leaders who discuss the challenges they face and interviews with aging Hmong Americans. A section on arts and literature looks at the continuing relevance of oral tradition to Hmong Americans’ successful navigation in the diaspora, similarities between rap and kwv txhiaj (unrehearsed, sung poetry), and Kao Kalia Yang’s memoir, The Latehomecomer. The final chapter addresses the lay of the land in Hmong American studies, constituting a comprehensive literature review.
January 2013 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3597-2 / $60.00 (CLOTH)
On Saturday, January 19, 2:00 p.m., SFSU associate dean Amy Sueyoshi will appear at the Japanese American National Museum for a reading, discussion, and signing of her book, Queer Compulsions: Race, Nation, and Sexuality in the Affairs of Yone Noguchi. In advance of her talk, JANM’s Discover Nikkei online network has published an in-depth interview by Andrew Way Leong (Northwestern University), posted in two parts.
Click here to read part 1, then link to part 2 from there (or simply click here).
Dr. Sueyoshi will also give a talk at the San Francisco Public Library on Tuesday, February 26. For more details, see the SFPL calendar.
A review of Queer Compulsions published in this month’s The Gay & Lesbian Review, which calls the book “…an important study. It is also worthwhile as a fascinating portrait of biracial and same-sex relationships at a pivotal time in American history.” An equally positive review appeared earlier in Nichi Bei Weekly.
Unparalleled in its breadth and scope, Sovereignty: Frontiers of Possibility, edited by Julie Evans, Ann Genovese, Alexander Reilly, and and Patrick Wolfe, brings together some of the freshest and most original writing on sovereignty being done today. Sovereignty’s many dimensions are approached from multiple perspectives and experiences. It is viewed globally as an international question; locally as an issue contested between Natives and settlers; and individually as survival in everyday life. Through all this diversity and across the many different national contexts from which the contributors write, the chapters in this collection address each other, staging a running conversation that truly internationalizes this most fundamental of political issues.
November 2012 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3563-7 / $45.00 (CLOTH)
From Thursday, November 8, noon, to Tuesday, November 13, noon (HST), save 40% on these titles at our website:*
*Discounted prices will be visible at website during the sale.
From Thursday, November 8, noon, to Tuesday, November 13, noon (HST), save 40% on these titles at our website:*
*Discounted prices will be visible at website during the sale.
Jim Tranquada, coauthor of The ‘Ukulele: A History, had a minute of fame on the CBS Sunday Morning Show that aired October 14 across the U.S. The entire six-minute segment by reporter Seth Doane and producer Kay Lim featured international uke star Jake Shimabukuro, the Kamaka ‘ukulele factory, and teacher Roy Sakuma (impresario of the annual Ukulele Festival Hawaii). Tranquada shared that the instrument now widely identified as a Hawaiian icon actually was introduced by Portuguese immigrants from the island of Madeira, off the coast of Morocco.
As related news, The ‘Ukulele: A History has received thumbs-up reviews from Library Journal and ForeWord Magazine. The former recommends the book for “any comprehensive music collection (and, really, for any popular music collection),” while the latter calls it “a fascinating musical and social history that not only supports Tranquada and King’s argument for a rehabilitation of the instrument’s image, but also sets the stage for a full-scale ‘ukulele revival.” Read the full reviews:
Library Journal | ForeWord
Roughly half a world away, on another island, the “Uke Ireland & Ukuhooley Blog” has posted a comparative review of Tranquada and King’s history with Ian Whitcomb’s recent Ukulele Heroes (Hal Leonard Books). Embedded within that blog post is a video review by Ukester Brown, a ‘ukulele player in Minnesota, who recommends both books, for different reasons. According to the information on the Uke Ireland site, every Saturday there’s a UkuHooley Meetup at the Dun Laoghaire Club in Dublin—perhaps another example of how the ‘ukulele has become an international cultural phenomenon!
Mary Yu Danico, author of The 1.5 Generation: Becoming Korean American in Hawai‘i and co-editor of the recently published Transforming the Ivory Tower: Challenging Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia in the Academy, participated in a discussion on the 1.5 immigrant experience at the Crawford Family Forum in Pasadena on March 27. The forum was sponsored by Southern California Public Radio.
The 1.5 generation—comprising immigrants who arrive in the U.S. as children and younger teens—holds a unique place within the immigrant diaspora experience. What roles do they play at home or outside it? What languages do they speak in given situations? Does 1.5-ness affect who gets their votes—or their hands in love or marriage?
Listen to the forum here: http://www.scpr.org/events/2012/03/27/being-15-intergenerational-ness-day-day-life/.
People outside and within colleges and universities often view these institutions as fair and reasonable, far removed from the inequalities that afflict society in general. Despite greater numbers of women, working class people, and people of color—as well as increased visibility for LGBTQ students and staff—over the past fifty years, universities remain “ivory towers” that perpetuate institutionalized forms of sexism, classism, racism, and homophobia. Transforming the Ivory Tower: Challenging Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia in the Academy, edited by Brett C. Stockdill and Mary Yu Danico, builds on the rich legacy of historical struggles to open universities to dissenting voices and oppressed groups. Each chapter is guided by a commitment to praxis—the idea that theoretical understandings of inequality must be applied to concrete strategies for change.
March 2012 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3526-2 / $39.00 (CLOTH)
Cultures of Commemoration: The Politics of War, Memory, and History in the Mariana Islands, by Keith L Camacho, is now available in paperback.
“There is no other work that examines the complex interplay and layering of colonialisms in the twentieth-century Marianas with such detail, sensitivity, and intelligence.”—Takashi Fujitani, University of California at San Diego
“Camacho‘s study shows us that the critique of indigenous memory is not only crucial to the field of memory studies but also provides a key framework through which the politics of memory will be rethought.” —Marita Sturken, New York University, author of Tourists of History: Memory, Kitsch, and Consumerism from Oklahoma City to Ground Zero
Pacific Islands Monograph Series #25
Published in association with the Center for Pacific Islands Studies, University of Hawai‘i
December 2011 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3670-2 / $25.00 (PAPER)
“Until now our only look at folk festivals has been through the eyes of visitors or through the insider eyes of folklorists and others who practice ‘public folklore and folklife’ as they have worked on such festivals. Diamond’s fine book places the reader between those two poles of naïve appreciation and heavily-invested, insider commentary.” —The Yearbook for Traditional Music
“A critical, multi-vocal case study that explores tradition, representation, cultural commodification, identity, tourism, sovereignty, and nationalism through the processes and outcomes of culture brokering for public consumption. . . . American Aloha will interest a broad readership interested in Hawaiian culture and history, museums, representation, tourism, and the construction of nationalism. Diamond’s skill at weaving theoretical themes with detailed data and anecdotes makes the book read like a collection of personal memories and characters with whom the reader can identify.” —The Contemporary Pacific
July 2011 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3616-0 / $21.00 (PAPER)
Judy Rohrer, author of Haoles in Hawai‘i, is scheduled to present her book at the following free events and the public is invited to attend:
Book signing
Saturday, January 8, 12:00-1:00 p.m.
Basically Books – Hilo
160 Kamehameha Avenue, phone: 808-961-0144
Author talk and book signing party (refreshments will be provided)
Sunday, January 9, 3:00-5:00 p.m.
Native Books/Nā Mea Hawai‘i, Ward Warehouse
1050 Ala Moana Blvd., phone 596-8885
Author presentation
Thursday, January 13, 5:00-6:30 p.m.
Windward Community College, Hale Alaka‘i, Room 102
Friday, January 14, 12:30-2:00 p.m.
Author talk and discussion
Sponsored by the Center for Biographical Research
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Kuykendall 410
