Department of Ethnic Studies

College of Social Sciences
2560 Campus Road, George Hall 301
Honolulu, HI 96822
Tel: (808) 956-8086
Fax: (808) 956-9494
Email: esdept@hawaii.edu
Web: ethnicstudies.manoa.hawaii.edu

Faculty

*M. Das Gupta, PhD (Chair)—Asian America, race and gender politics, U.S. immigration policies, social movements
*M. Arvin, PhD—Indigeneity, settler colonialism, race, gender and sexuality, indigenous feminisms, U.S. history, incarceration
*E. Caldwell, PhD—African American studies, the Black diaspora in East Asia, comparative Black-Asian relations, mixed race studies, militarism, empire, and visual media culture
*M. K. Y. Danico, PhD—Korean and Asian diasporas, oral history, social justice, culture, identity, and representation (Director of Center for Oral History)
U. Hasager, PhD—anthropology, Hawaiʻi and the Pacific (Director of Civic Engagement for the College of Social Sciences)
*K. Kajihiro, PhD—Japanese and Okinawan diasporas, imperialism, demilitarization, social and political movements
*R. Labrador, PhD—Filipino culture, history and politics in Hawaiʻi and the U.S., culture, race, ethnicity, class, diaspora, hip hop (Director of ACCESS (Advising, Civic, and Community Engagment in the Social Sciences))
R. Moran, PhD—Science, empire power, social domination, race, capitalism, community, Japan, labor, gender, the body
*T. Tengan, PhD—Indigenous theory and methodology, Hawaiʻi and the Pacific, militarism, masculinity studies, gender and oral history

Affiliate Faculty

E-R. Cachola, PhD—information studies (militarism in the Pacific/Asia/U.S., settler colonialism, decolonization)
A. Castanha, PhD—political science (Indigenous cultures)
J. Darrah, PhD—sociology (race and ethnicity, urban sociology)
R. Hsu, PhD—English (Asian American and Asian diaspora literary and cultural studies, race and ethnicity)
S. Ikehara, PhD—American studies (transnational Asian American studies, Indigenous and settler colonial studies, gender and sexuality studies, critical militarization and empire studies, environmental humanities, science and technology studies)
Y. Jung, PhD—American studies (Asian American studies, critical race and gender studies, Korean American history, US imperialism and militarism)
W. Kauai, PhD—political science (race, law, and the political history of Hawaiʻi)
L. Petranek, PhD—political science (political economy)
C. Quemuel, PhD—education administration (Filipina/o Americans, Asian Americans, women, inclusion and diversity in higher education, student affairs in higher education, domestic violence and sexual violence)
J. Rosa, PhD—history (20th-century Hawaiʻi, Asians and Pacific Islanders in the U.S.)

Emeritus Faculty

I. G. Aoude, PhD—Hawaiʻi political economy, Middle East politics, social movements in Hawaiʻi and the South Pacific
N. Kent, PhD—political economy in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific, American ethnic relationships
D. McGregor, PhD—Hawaiians, land, culture, governance, oral history
J. Y. Okamura, PhD—race and ethnicity, minority access to higher education, ethnic relations in Hawaiʻi, Japanese in Hawaiʻi, Filipinos in Hawaiʻi, Asian Americans

*Graduate Faculty

The Academic Program

The Department of Ethnic Studies (ES) is an interdisciplinary program with an emphasis on undergraduate education. Initiated in 1970, the Department of Ethnic Studies advances new knowledge at the intersections of race and ethnicity with indigeneity, class, gender, and sexuality in Hawaiʻi, the U.S., and Oceania. The focus is Hawaiʻi and Oceania with the rich legacy of multiethnic heritages. Our faculty’s research, teaching, and service also involve the U.S. as a whole and comparative studies of ethnicity and race across the globe. We are the globally leading center of Oceanic Ethnic Studies, an intellectual, cultural and activist project for innovative research and social justice initiatives grounded in the indigenous knowledges, compassionate social values, and biocultural perspectives of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.

Ethnic studies provides introductory and advanced courses on theories and practices of ethnicity, race, class, and gender. The program also offers courses on the history and experiences of specific groups, including African Americans and Native Americans. Among groups in Hawaiʻi, Chinese, Filipinos, Hawaiians, and Japanese are subjects of separate courses. There are also courses dealing with critical topics such as ethnic identity, land tenure, sustainability, immigration, social movements, and popular culture.

Students may earn a BA or a Certificate in Ethnic Studies. Graduates have gone on to successful careers in education, social work, law, public service, labor organizing, non-profit work, and other fields that encourage community engagement and transformation through problem-solving.

Programs

Bachelor’s

Ethnic Studies, BA

Undergraduate Certificate

Ethnic Studies, Certificate

Combined