There are many Hawaiian identities currently in effect. This dissertation explores several representative and contested Hawaiian identities, and how these identities develop through key performances, plays, and other representational practices by Hawaiians and by Locals. Due to its unique situation as one of only two U.S. states formerly with its own government, and as one of only two U.S. states not connected to the main land-mass of the United States, Hawaiian identity is complicated by multiple factors: sanitized historical constructions, sovereignty, intermingling ethnic identities, tourism, and reclaimed cultural practices.
Additionally, Hawaiians as a native people hold a unique place in United States history. Unlike Native North Americans in the United States, Hawaiians have never received independent rights within statehood, nor have they been given large amounts of territorial land with which they might operate their own governments and communities. Further, unlike African Americans or other Asian American sub-groups, Hawaiians were not taken to the United States from their homeland and enslaved, nor did Hawaiians move from their homeland in search of the American dream. Hawaiians had their government removed from power by United States representatives, and have been under influence and protection of the United States since 1893.
Hawaiian identity today is a fluid and contested one with multifarious definitions, all of which lay claim to the Hawaiian label. In some contemporary representations, the goal is to expand historical understanding of the Hawaiian label; in others, the goal is to illustrate resistance towards Americanization or to affirm Hawaiian cultural practices. These representations open the possibility for negotiation and for reinscription of Hawaiian history and of Hawaiian identities. An examination of how this unique regional population negotiates its status both as insiders and as outsiders to American identity might offer important insights for theatre practitioners and scholars about the larger fabric of American nationhood, and about the roles that performance and other representational practices play in constructing and in further contesting a definitive American identity.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-06052011-170855 |
| Date | 07 June 2011 |
| Creators | Ogden, Kirsten E. |
| Contributors | Wade, Leslie A., Sosnowsky, Kristin, Peckham, Irvin, Judy, George, Smith, Edward |
| Publisher | LSU |
| Source Sets | Louisiana State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-06052011-170855/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached herein a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below and in appropriate University policies, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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