Teaching 1898: America’s Imperial Legacy in Oceania
Aliiolani Hale, 1913 Courtroom
Friday, September 6, 2024
6:00 to 8:00 PM

This two-part civic education discussion—”Teaching 1898: America’s Imperial Legacy in Oceania”—brings together esteemed educators to explore the historical context of America’s military and political expansion into Hawaii, the Philippines, and island nations across the Pacific. The panelists—Jonathan Osorio (Moderator), Dean Saranillio, Alexander Mawyer, and Noah Dolim—highlight the impacts and legacy of US Imperialism, share how they incorporate this history into their teachings, and express why civic education is crucial for an informed, empowered, and united society.

Mahalo to our program partners and cosponsors: Hawaii Ponoi Coalition, The 1898 Project, Hawaii Council for the Humanities, and Hawaiinuiakea School of Hawaiian Knowledge. The program was live-streamed and recorded by Oiwi TV.

Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwoole Osorio, a Kanaka Maoli Professor of Hawaiian studies and currently dean of Hawaiinuiakea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, is a historian of 19th and 20th century Hawaii and has authored a history of the Hawaiian Kingdom and co-edited two volumes of collected essays on contemporary Hawaiian society, known as The Value of Hawaii (2010 and 2020).

Noah Hanohano Dolim is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Hawaii: Manoa. He primarily focuses on 19th-century Hawaii, with emphasis on the histories, experiences, and lifeways of Kanaka Oiwi. Noah is from Kunia, Oahu and has ancestral ties to Puna, Hawaii.

Professor Alexander Mawyer is Director of the Center for Pacific Islands Studies and Acting Chair of the Department of Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Hawaii: Manoa. His recent research interests include language and space in Oceanic linguistics, biocultural indicators, conservation and sovereignty, and Indigenous stewardship and marine resource governance in the Pacific. He served as editor for The Contemporary Pacific: A Journal of Island Affairs from 2016 to 2021, sits on the Board of the University of Hawaii Press, and is a member of the scientific committee of the Maison des sciences de l’Homme du Pacifique and The Rāhui Center, among other board memberships.

Dean Itsuji Saranillio is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Hawaii: Manoa. He is from Kahului, Maui and is the author of Unsustainable Empire: Alternative Histories of Hawaii Statehood (Duke University Press, 2018).

Disclaimer: While the Hawaii State Judiciary provides a venue for diverse discussion, speakers’ remarks do not represent opinions of the Judiciary.