Category: Pacific

Resistance in Early Colonial Fiji

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Disturbing HistoryIn Disturbing History: Resistance in Early Colonial Fiji, 1874-1914, Robert Nicole focuses on Fiji’s people and their agency in responding to and engaging the multifarious forms of authority and power that were manifest in the colony from 1874 to 1914. By concentrating on the lives of ordinary Fijians, the book presents alternate ways of reconstructing the island’s past. Couched in the traditions of social, subaltern, and people’s histories, the study is an excavation of a large mass of material that tells the often moving stories of lives that have largely been overlooked by historians. These challenge conventional historical accounts that tend to celebrate the nation, represent Fiji’s colonial experience as ordered and peaceful, or British tutelage as benevolent. In its contribution to postcolonial theory, Disturbing History reveals resistance as a constant but partial and untidy mix of other constituents such as collaboration, consent, appropriation, and opportunism, which together form the colonial landscape. In turn, colonialism in Fiji is shown as a force shaped in struggle, fractured and often fragile, with a presence and application in the daily lives of people that was often chaotic, imperfect, and susceptible to subversion.

“Nicole’s work is original in the sense that no one else has pulled together in one place accounts of popular resistance and agency in the early decades of colonial Fiji. He expands what we know of the Colo War, the Tuka Movement, etc., thanks to his close reading of the archives.” —Lamont Lindstrom, professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Tulsa

October 2010 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3291-9 / $52.00 (CLOTH)

Contemporary Polynesian Poetry in English

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Mauri OlaMauri Ola: Contemporary Polynesian Poems in English, edited by Albert Wendt, Reina Whaitiri, and Robert Sullivan, is a follow-up volume to the highly acclaimed Whetu Moana, the first anthropology of Polynesian poems in English edited by Polynesians. The new book includes poetry written over the last twenty-five years by more than eighty writers from Aotearoa, Hawai‘i, Tonga, Samoa, the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, Tahiti, and Rotuma.

This anthology includes selections from poets including Tusiata Avia, Alistair Te Ariki Campbell, Rangi Faith, Sia Figiel, Imaikalani Kalahele, Brandy Nalani McDougall, Karlo Mila, J. C. Sturm, Robert Sullivan, Apirana Taylor, Konai Helu Thaman, Haunani-Kay Trask, Hone Tuwhare, Albert Wendt, and Wayne Kaumualii Westlake.

Albert Wendt’s most recent book, The Adventures of Vela, was awarded this year’s Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (Southeast Asia/Pacific region).

October 2010 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3541-5 / $26.00 (PAPER)

New Catalog Available: Hawaii & the Pacific 2011

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Hawai‘i & the Pacific 2011
The UH Press Hawai‘i & the Pacific 2011 catalog is now available! To view the 3.4M PDF, click on the catalog cover image to the left. To view and print a 10.2M version, go to our catalogs page: http://uhpress.wordpress.com/latest-catalogs/.

Highlights include:
* A history of surfing compiled by John R. K. Clark and narrated primarily by native Hawaiians who wrote for the Hawaiian-language newspapers of the 1800s (Hawaiian Surfing: Traditions from the Past)
* A illustrated review of environmental concerns in Hawai‘i with an eye toward resolution by focusing on “place-based” management (Living on the Shores of Hawai‘i: Natural Hazards, the Environment, and Our Communities)
* The inaugural volume of the Race and Ethnicity in Hawai`i series (Haoles in Hawai`i)
* An eye-opening look at the relationship between surfing and colonialism in Hawai‘i (Waves of Resistance: Surfing and History in Twentieth-Century Hawai‘i)
* A new anthology of contemporary Polynesian poetry in English, co-edited by Albert Wendt (Mauri Ola: Contemporary Polynesian Poems in English)
* A collection of short stories by Wakako Yamauchi,“ one of the foremothers of Asian American writing” (Rosebud and Other Stories)
* A text that raises key questions about the capacity of pattern across the Pacific to bind and sustain ideas about place, body, and genealogy (Lines That Connect: Rethinking Pattern and Mind in the Pacific)

Gossip and the Everyday Production of Politics Wins the BAAL Book Prize

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GossipGossip and the Everyday Production of Politics, by Niko Besnier, has been awarded the BAAL Book Prize for 2010. BAAL (the British Association for Applied Linguistics) is a professional association based in the United Kingdom, which provides a forum for people interested in language and the applications of linguistics. It offers the annual prize for an outstanding book in any field of applied linguistics.

Save Big on the Atlas of Hawaii

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Atlas:Third EditionGet the hardcover/cloth edition of the award-winning Atlas of Hawai‘i: Third Edition for more than 30% off while supplies last! This essential reference, edited by Sonia P. Juvik, James O. Juvik, and Thomas R. Paradise, is now $51.99.

“‘Bigger’ and ‘better’ are probably the most appropriate terms to describe the third edition of this atlas. . . . Highly recommended.” —Choice

“If you’re an information junkie and a lover of well-designed books, the new edition of the Atlas of Hawai‘i will excite you as much as it did me. . . . This is a very well-done piece of work—a beautifully illustrated encyclopedia of Hawai‘i contained in a single volume.” —Honolulu Advertiser

“[A] monumental effort to compile into one beautiful volume information on basically almost anything you ever wanted to know about Hawai`i. . . . It belongs in every collection as the core source of information on Hawai‘i.” —Western Association of Map Libraries Information Bulletin

“The Atlas of Hawai‘i . . . should be on the shelf of anyone who is interested in the state of Hawai‘i or the human and physical ecology of a north Pacific island group.” —Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers

The Adventures of Vela Wins Commonwealth Writers’ Prize

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The Adventures of VelaThe Adventures of Vela, by Albert Wendt and published last fall by UH Press and Huia Publishers, was awarded the 2010 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for the Southeast Asia/Pacific region.

At the award ceremony in April, Huia’s Robyn Bargh commented: “We were honored to . . . see Albert’s work recognized in this way. [The award] shows he is one of the worlds leading indigenous writers.” Among this year’s finalists were J. M. Coetzee, Peter Carey, and Thomas Keneally.

For more information, go to http://www.huia.co.nz/?sn=31&pg=557&st=1.

Rethinking Pattern and Mind in the Pacific

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Lines That ConnectBuilding on historical and contemporary literature in anthropology and art theory, Lines That Connect: Rethinking Pattern and Mind in the Pacific, by Graeme Were, treats pattern as a material form of thought that provokes connections between disparate things through processes of resemblance, memory, and transformation. Pattern is constantly in a state of motion as it traverses spatial and temporal divides and acts as an endless source for innovation through its inherent transformability. Were argues that it is the ideas carried by pattern’s relational capacity that allows Pacific islanders to express their links to land, genealogy, and resources in the most economic ways. In doing so, his book is a timely and unique contribution to the analysis of pattern and decorative art in the Pacific amid growing debates in anthropology and art history.

August 2010 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3384-8 / $38.00 (CLOTH)

Inaugural Volume in the Race and Ethnicity in Hawai‘i Series

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Haoles in Hawaii Haoles in Hawai‘i, by Judy Rohrer, strives to make sense of haole (white person/whiteness in Hawai‘i) and “the politics of haole” in current debates about race in Hawai‘i. Recognizing it as a form of American whiteness specific to Hawai‘i, the author argues that haole was forged and reforged over two centuries of colonization and needs to be understood in that context.

“Haoles in Hawai‘i is a terrific book. It handles complex and sensitive issues with knowledge, grace, and sophistication, while at the same time making them accessible to the general reader. Judy Rohrer knows this subject from a lifetime of experience and years of scholarly study. Although it is certain to appear on many college and university reading lists, this is a book that everyone should read. It will make Hawai‘i a better place.” —David E. Stannard, professor of American studies, University of Hawai‘i, and author of Honor Killing: How the Infamous “Massie Affair” Transformed Hawai‘i

August 2010 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3405-0 / $14.99 (PAPER)
Race and Ethnicity in Hawai‘i

New in the Pacific Islands Monograph Series

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Repositioning the MissionaryIn the vein of an emergent Native Pacific brand of cultural studies, Repositioning the Missionary: Rewriting the Histories of Colonialism, Native Catholicism, and Indigeneity in Guam, by Vicente M. Diaz, examines the cultural and political stakes of the historic and present-day movement to canonize Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores (1627–1672), the Spanish Jesuit missionary who was martyred by Mata’pang of Guam while establishing the Catholic mission among the Chamorros in the Mariana Islands. The work juxtaposes official, popular, and critical perspectives of the movement to complicate prevailing ideas about colonialism, historiography, and indigenous culture and identity in the Pacific.

July 2010 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3435-7 / $24.00 (PAPER)
Pacific Islands Monograph Series, No. 24
Published in association with the Center for Pacific Islands Studies, University of Hawai‘i

A New Edition of Regulating Paradise

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Regulating ParadisePraise for the revised edition of David L. Callies’ Regulating Paradise: Land Use Controls in Hawaii:

“A masterful analysis of [Hawai‘i’s] land use laws.” —Daniel R. Mandelker, Stamper Professor of Law, Washington University, St. Louis

“Essential reading for all who seek to understand how land use is regulated in Hawai‘i or to apply the lessons learned there to other states.” —Dan Tarlock, Distinguished Professor of Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law

“Callies has vibrantly depicted the complexity, conflicts, and conundrums of navigating land use laws and regulations in Hawai‘i in a clear and entertaining manner.” —Lea Hong, Hawaiian Islands Program Director, The Trust for Public Land

“A clear and comprehensive review of Hawai‘i’s land use regulatory systems. The book effectively covers the broad sweep of State and County laws, ordinances, and processes, and how they interrelate.” —Dan Davidson, land use administrator

“A must-read for both neophyte and veteran legal practitioners. Callies’ in-depth and insightful explanations and commentaries on Hawai‘i’s complex land use and planning laws provide a road map for understanding the state’s multi-layered regulatory scheme.” —Benjamin A. Kudo, Ph.D.

“Callies has a gift of weaving together what on the surface appear to be unrelated laws and court decisions into broader underlying currents in Hawai‘i’s evolving history.” —Melvin Y. Kaneshige, Executive Vice President of Real Estate and Development, Outrigger Enterprises Group.

“An excellent treatise on the thorny issues of unique land tenure, land rights, and land control in Hawai‘i.” —Henry Eng, FAICP

July 2010 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3475-3 / $22.00 (PAPER)

Tahitians, Europeans, and Ecological Exchange

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Trading NatureWhen Captain Samuel Wallis became the first European to land at Tahiti in June 1767, he left not only a British flag on shore but also three guinea hens, a pair of turkeys, a pregnant cat, and a garden planted with peas for the chiefess Purea. Thereafter, a succession of European captains, missionaries, and others planted seeds and introduced livestock from around the world. In turn, the islanders traded away great quantities of important island resources, including valuable and spiritually significant plants and animals. What did these exchanges mean? What was their impact? The answers are often unexpected. They also reveal the ways islanders retained control over their societies and landscapes in an era of increasing European intervention. Jennifer Newell’s Trading Nature: Tahitians, Europeans, and Ecological Exchange explores—from both the European and Tahitian perspective—the effects of “ecological exchange” on one island from the mid-eighteenth century to the present day.

May 2010 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3281-0 / $45.00 (CLOTH)

Surfer’s Praise for Pacific Passages

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Pacific PassagesRead Tim Baker’s Surfing World review of Pacific Passages: An Anthology of Surf Writing, edited by Patrick Moser, here.

“This gem of a book provides just about the best historical overview of surfing, and surf writing, you are likely to find anywhere. . . . This kind of thoughtful, revealing, sensitive contemplation of the surfing life seems like an antidote to the times we live in. I loved this book, if only for the way it helped illustrate that the current buzz and chatter of web silliness is just one very small point on a long, long continuum. Thank goodness for that.”

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