INQ-260AN | Hawaii-Global

Full Title: Hawaii-Global

Topic Description:

Why is Hawaii—the crossroads of the Pacific—our 50th state and how did we acquire it? Why do many Hawaiians wish we had not? These questions require an understanding of Hawaii’s peoples and cultures from pre-contact until today. Using myths, oral histories, language, archaeological remains, material culture, historical sources, and ethnographic studies, we will examine the origins and evolution of ancient Hawaiian society, the arrival of Captain Cook and the rise of King Kamehameha, colonial encounters with missionaries and merchants, the economic impact of the sugar and pineapple industries, as well as the sociocultural, linguistic, and physical transformation of the islands that occurred when Americans overthrew the monarchy and claimed Hawaii first as a territory and later a state. We will also pay attention to current issues of concern among native Hawaiians such as the Hawaiian Renaissance, land reforms, the pressures of tourism and development, and Hawaiian sovereignty claims.

Counts as Global? Yes

Topic Approved: December 2018