Ke Alahou, Volume I, Number 4, 1 February 1980 — The Etablishment of Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawaii [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]
The Etablishment of Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawaii
On February 24th, the Hawaiian Studies Program at the tfniversity of Hawaii, Manoa Gampus will be officially estāblished.with the installment of Abraham Piianaia as its first director. This will be an important event for our community as this will be the first time such a degree program will be offered under the auspices of a separate program office entitled "Hawaiian Studies." This will give people the opportunity to study the history and traditions of the pas) while pursuing the knowledge of to3ay. It is our hope that those who do graduate in "Hawaiian Studies" will be able to take an active role in the betterment of our community. We are pleased'to be able to share t&ese words from Abraham Piianaia, Director of the Hawaiian Studies Program, University of Hawaii, Manoa campus: On Friday, 12 October 1979, an important action took plaee āt Hilo whieh may very well enhanee the future status of Hawaiian studies in the general ediicātion system of the State of Hawaii. Late that afteriiqon the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii approved unanimously a Hawaii Studies Program for tHe University and simu!taneouslyauthōrized thē granting ōf twōßA degrees, one in Hawaiian Studies the other in Hawaiian Language, eaeh independent of the other. Such action by the Board of Regents heralds recognition by the Stāte , s highest institution of leārning of the worth of these specific areas of study. This news article deals only with the Hawaiian Stūdies Prbgram. Perhāps in a subsequent issue of KE ALAHOU an article on the Hawailan Languāge BA degree program may be possible. During the pāst fifty years the study of Hawaii and its people received little attention as an important and cbntinuing educatiqnāl pursiait. Most of the studies undertaken during this period were sociological. Many of these truly valuable with eaeh passing year, pārticuiarly as reference bases upon whieh social change in Hawaii may be measured. In the natural and physical sciences excel!ent studies were also made but most of these were one shot deals. This is all well and gopd in so far as studies of contemporāry Hawaii are concerned. On the other hand, studies of Hawaii and jtspeople of an earlier time were few. Here, major contributions were.made in archaeology whieh provided valuable data regarding settlement patterns, sufficiently reliable physical evidence upon whieh time sequence associated with human oeeupanee may beYeckoried. and the retrieving of tools and artifacts whieh ādded to our knowledge of the culture of pre-histōry Hawaii. With the Hawaiian Studies~ Program now
Abraham Piianaia established, a definite and planned approach is desirable. Only students who deciare a major in Hawaiian Studies will be accepted in the program simply because we want dedicated and serious students in the program. All declared majors will be required to complete a core of prerequisite courses includirig two years of introductory Hawaiian language, a semester of Hawaiian literature, a science course compatible with Hawaii, and a course in Hawaiian ethnobotany. With the core courses completed the student beginj> concentrated work in one of several areas of concentration, including: Ancient Society, Modern Society, History, Arts, and Natural Environment. During this period of concentration whieh continues until graduation, the student must also complete the third year of Hawaiian language, two Hawaiian Studies seminars, and several other allied courses. The desire is not to produce expei;ts in Hawaiiana but to develop very well informed persons in tlie specific eoncentrations mentioned. ," At the Manoa campus, the Hawaiian Studies Program brings together the shared interests and talents of over 70 faculty members whose courses are now available for the BA in Hawaiian Studies. In addition there are over 90 faculty members who also concentrate to some extent on Hawaii and its people. Twenty five departments and programs are represented in this assemblage of faculty on whom the Hawaiian Studies Program depends for its academic, research and curriculum support. With this support the Program will do all it ean to encourage and to iacilitate quality scholarship, research andperfonnance in Hawaiian Studies. The Program will also encourage and facilitate the development of additional courses in the appropriate academic departments where no such courses presently exist and to provide. all the support it ean to the B.A. degree program in Hawaiian Language.