Historiography

 

I. Searching for Objectivity

         A. Standards

                  1. Intellectual traditions

                           a) Enlightenment (1700s)

                           b) Romanticism (1800s)

                           c) Post-Modernism (1900s)

                  2. Shared standards of ÒIslandersÓ & ÒOutlandersÓ

         B. Objectivity as a Process

                  1. philosophical arguments

                  2. context shapes content

                  3. public negotiation

II. The Politics of Representation

         A. Cultural blocking tendency

                  1. identity & nationalism

                           a) ÒborderlandsÓ

                           b) classification

                  2. counting (authors & pages)

         B. Stepping on Silences

                  1. Òscholarly salesmanshipÓ

                  2. Islander ÒhybridsÓ

                  3. liberal tokenism

         C. Moving Beyond Polarizations

                  1. recognize strategic silences

                  2. Òthe pastÓ is personal, participatory, empowering

                  3. shared conversations

III. Narratives

         A. Human condition -- storytellers, thinkers, participants

         B. Broad Pacific histories

                  1. Douglas Oliver (1951)

                  2. K.R. Howe (1984)

                  3. Donald Denoon (1997)

IV. ÒPacific HistoriesÓ

         A. What is ÒPacificÓ?

                  1. not Philippines & Indonesia

                  2. sometimes Australia

                  3. HawaiiÕs cultural perspective

                  4. U.S. West Coast includes ÒPacific RimÓ

                  5. until mid-19th c. = ÒSouth SeaÓ

         B. pre-Davidson = imperial history

                  1. political

                  2. Eurocentric

                  3. written sources

         C. Davidson school (1950s) = island centered

                  1. economic & social

                           a) theme oriented

                           b) culture contact

                  2. indigenous forces

                  3. fieldwork

         D. Collaboration with Anthropology (1980s)

                  1. Historical Anthropology

                           -- Marshall Sahlins (Islander ritual structures)

                  2. Ethnohistory

                           -- Greg Dening (Islander metaphors)

         E. Since the 1990s

                  1. island-specific

                  2. fieldÕs strengths

                           a) documentary materials

                           b) active agency

                           c) West-Rest interactions

V. Islander Histories

         A. Oral Traditions

                  1. benefits

                  2. problems

         B. Indigenous Knowledge (e.g. Rotuman History)

                  1. Vilsoni HerenikoÕs experiences

á      fictional

á      stories

á      gossip

á      dance & song

á      theatrical enactments

á      proverbs

á      family labels

á      ceremonies & rituals

á      poetry

á      dreams

                  2. colonization of the mind

         C. Academic Imperialism

                  1. value the written word

                           a) mode of teaching & testing

                           b) lack of debate & negotiation

                  2. Òone truthÓ

                           a) marginalizes emotional truth

                           b) critical of identity politics

                  3. the ÒrightÓ to speak = a Western idea

                  4. conventions of academia

                           a) theory

                           b) ÒownershipÓ

                           c) written sources

                           d) jargonistic

                           e) outsiders

  

  

Think/Write Question

Where do you think you ÒfitÓ in Pacific historiography? What practices and values do you tend to agree with and why?