College of Social Sciences

Welcome

The Ethnic Studies Department is an interdisciplinary unit with emphasis on undergraduate education. Initiated in 1970, Ethnic Studies combines traditional and contemporary methodologies with new perspectives on issues of race, ethnicity, and class. The focus is on Hawaiʻi, with its rich legacy of multiethnic heritages. The research, teaching, and service components, however, also involve the United States and comparative studies of societies around the globe.

The Department was founded in 1970 at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa with a mandate to provide a research, institutional and community service unit which integrated the concerns of race, ethnicity and class. The program was established to develop a new curriculum and faculty expertise in a discipline that was then in its infancy. Permanent status was granted in 1977 and Ethnic Studies became a full-fledged department in 1995.

Ethnic Studies has developed a unique academic presence at Mānoa. It is the only unit whose concentration is wholly upon race and ethnic relations, both in Hawaiʻi and the U.S., as well as comparative studies of groups around the world. The Ethnic Studies Department is also unique in that it maintains a research and teaching philosophy emphasizing praxis: the application of intellectual theories to the complex programs in our local communities.

This includes being committed to an ongoing interaction with local communities on the basis of mutual respect and a two-way exchange of learning and information. We have also continued to engage undergraduates as teaching assistants in our classes to provide peer instruction, a program has produced outstanding "publicly-oriented" citizens in a variety of fields including politics, law, labor, education, business, culture, and human services.

Our faculty has special expertise in the history of Native Hawaiians, Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, African Americans, Native Americans and Caucasians; ethnic and race relations in the United States; political economy and ethnic issues in the Middle East, North America, and the Pacific Islands, and offers courses and conducts research in these areas.

Latest News

March 19, 2013

Congratulations to Dr. Monisha Das Gupta on being chosen as the 2013 recipient of a Chancellorʻs Citation for Meritorious Teaching Award! This award recognizes faculty members who have made significant contributions in teaching and student learning.

 

Dr. Monisha Das Gupta is an Associate Professor in the Ethnic Studies and Women’s Studies Departments. She seeks to create a learning environment in which students can thrive and experience the university as a unique place where the life of the mind and concrete action come together. Highly regarded for mentoring students and teaching assistants into their future as professionals and scholars, Dr. Das Gupta credits students for contributing to creating safe and respectful environments for discussion. One colleague praises Dr. Das Gupta’s skill at talking to students in highly theoretical language that was nonetheless quite understandable and that they gave every indication of grasping, adding, “She mixes complex theory and terminology with plain language and clear examples, a priceless skill.”

 

 

March 5, 2013

Ethnic Studiesʻ own Dr. Ty Tengan moderated the event ʻUnsettling Representations in Kanaka Maoli Filmic and Visual Artsʻ at the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies. This discussion featured Anne Marie Nalani Kirk, Anne Keala Kelly, and Carl Franklin Kaʻailaʻau Pao.