Please visit our new website for the latest information and news about the Center and the journal Biography: https://manoa.hawaii.edu/cbr/.
This site will be retired on March 1, 2023.
Please visit our new website for the latest information and news about the Center and the journal Biography: https://manoa.hawaii.edu/cbr/.
This site will be retired on March 1, 2023.
We’re excited to announce the schedule for Brown Bag Biography, Spring 2023. Most of our talks will be presented online via Zoom, meaning that anyone, anywhere, can join!
As with last semester, some of our talks will be in hybrid format, with the option to attend the presentations in person in Biomed B-104 (UH Mānoa). We will hold one talk, Shawna Yang Ryan’s “Assisted Memory,” in KUY 410. We look forward to seeing some of you in person again!
We will also record and post many of the talks. You can find some past presentations on our YouTube channel here.
THE CENTER FOR BIOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, UNIVERSITY OF HAWAIʻI AT MĀNOA
PRESENTS
BROWN BAG BIOGRAPHY
DISCUSSIONS OF LIFE WRITING BY & FOR TOWN & GOWN • THURSDAYS, 12:00 NOON–1:15 PM HST • CHECK SCHEDULE FOR FORMAT
All are welcome to attend. For more information, please visit the Center for Biographical Research’s website http://blog.hawaii.edu/cbrhawaii/, contact us at 808-956-3774 or gabiog@hawaii.edu, or sign up for our mailing list at https://forms.gle/Sr9WdvNBD9WdwG7EA.
Spring 2023 SCHEDULE
February 2: “Mālama I Ka Wai”
Ernie Lau, Manager and Chief Engineer, Board of Water Supply
Kathleen M. Pahinui, Public Information Officer, Board of Water Supply
Cosponsored by the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Peace and Justice, Shut Down Red Hill Coalition, Hamilton Library, the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, Hui ʻĀina Pilipili: Native Hawaiian Initiative, the Center for Oral History, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the School of Cinematic Arts, the School of Communication & Information, the Departments of Anthropology, History, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Presentation Format: Zoom
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
Zoom link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/98912195994
Zoom Meeting ID: 989 1219 5994
Password: 385105
February 9: “Flow: Outdoor Counternarratives by Women from Rivers, Rock, and Sky”
Denisa Krásná, Doctoral Candidate and Student Assistant for Central European Association for Canadian Studies (CEACS), Department of English and American Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the School of Cinematic Arts, the School of Communication & Information, the Departments of Anthropology, History, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Presentation Format: Hybrid (Biomed B-104 and Zoom)
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
Zoom link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/97819261096
Zoom Meeting ID: 978 1926 1096
Password: 246138
February 16: “Mai Ka Hunalepo a Kaneikapuahiohio: From a dust mote to Kaneikapuahiohio”
D. Kauwila Mahi, Graduate Research Assistant and Student, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and Instructor, University of Victoria, British Columbia
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, Hui ʻĀina Pilipili: Native Hawaiian Initiative, the Center for Oral History, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the School of Cinematic Arts, the School of Communication & Information, the Departments of Anthropology, History, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Presentation Format: Hybrid (Biomed B-104 and Zoom)
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
Zoom link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/95116865752
Zoom Meeting ID: 951 1686 5752
Password: 287490
February 23: “Radical Wāhine of Honolulu, 1945”
Mari Matsuda, Professor of Law, Retired, and MFA Candidate, Department of Art and Art History, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, Hui ʻĀina Pilipili: Native Hawaiian Initiative, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the School of Cinematic Arts, the School of Communication & Information, the Departments of Anthropology, History, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Presentation Format: Zoom
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
Zoom link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/93726513101
Zoom Meeting ID: 937 2651 3101
Password: 146708
March 2: “The Unsaid”
Yasmine Romero, Associate Professor of English, University of Hawai‘i-West O‘ahu
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, the Center for Oral History, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the School of Cinematic Arts, the School of Communication & Information, the Departments of Anthropology, History, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Presentation Format: Zoom
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
Zoom link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/91920749515
Zoom Meeting ID: 919 2074 9515
Password: 064093
March 9: “Damu, color concepts, and chief in Fijian”
Apolonia Tamata, Fulbright Scholar-In-Residence (2022-2023), Hawaiian Theatre and Performance Studies, Department of Theatre and Dance, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and Senior Lecturer in Fijian Language Studies, School of Pacific Arts Communication and Education, University of the South Pacific
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, Hui ʻĀina Pilipili: Native Hawaiian Initiative, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the School of Cinematic Arts, the School of Communication & Information, the Departments of Anthropology, History, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Presentation Format: Hybrid (Biomed B-104 and Zoom)
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
Zoom link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/92903661186
Zoom Meeting ID: 929 0366 1186
Password: 421816
March 16: Spring Break
March 23: “Assisted Memory”
Shawna Yang Ryan, Associate Professor, Department of English, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the School of Cinematic Arts, the School of Communication & Information, the Departments of Anthropology, Asian Studies, History, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Presentation Format: In Person (KUY 410)
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
March 30: “Dog Years: A Life in Dance”
Dr. Betsy Fisher, Professor Emerita, Former Professor of Dance, Department of Theatre and Dance, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, the Center for Oral History, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the School of Cinematic Arts, the School of Communication & Information, the Departments of Anthropology, History, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Presentation Format: Hybrid (Biomed B-104 and Zoom)
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
Zoom link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/98409463023
Zoom Meeting ID: 984 0946 3023
Password: 082889
April 6: “The Zone of Pure Doubt: A Poetics of Line Crossing”
Judd Morrissey, Associate Professor, Art & Technology Studies & Writing, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the School of Cinematic Arts, the School of Communication & Information, the Departments of Anthropology, History, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Presentation Format: Hybrid (Biomed B-104 and Zoom)
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
Zoom link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/92427319905
Zoom Meeting ID: 924 2731 9905
Password: 503699
April 13: Break
April 20: “Moʻolelo, the Foundation of Hawaiian Knowledge: Retaining Our Heritage”
Moderated by Tammy Haili‘ōpua Baker, Associate Professor, Department of Theatre and Dance, and C. M. Kaliko Baker, Associate Professor, Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, Hui ʻĀina Pilipili: Native Hawaiian Initiative, the Center for Oral History, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the School of Cinematic Arts, the School of Communication & Information, the Departments of Anthropology, History, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Presentation Format: Hybrid (Biomed B-104 and Zoom)
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
Zoom link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/97701653194
Zoom Meeting ID: 977 0165 3194
Password: 058294
April 27: “Moʻolelo: ke kīpaipai e kūkulu ai ka hale kanaka”
Moderated by Kaipulaumakaniolono Baker, PhD Student, Department of English, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, Hui ʻĀina Pilipili: Native Hawaiian Initiative, the Center for Oral History, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the School of Cinematic Arts, the School of Communication & Information, the Departments of Anthropology, History, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Presentation Format: Hybrid (Biomed B-104 and Zoom)
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
Zoom link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/97258007876
Zoom Meeting ID: 972 5800 7876
Password: 519166
We are pleased to announce the publication of Biography 45.2, which which includes a tribute to Miriam Fuchs and our annual bibliography of works on life writing. Find it on Project Muse: https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/49784.
Biography 45.2, Table of Contents
Editor’s Note
Remembering Miriam Fuchs
Miriam Fuchs, Life Writing, and Life
Craig Howes
A Voyage Beyond the Text as Self: Remembering Miriam Fuchs Holzman
Cynthia G. Franklin
Miriam: The Text Is Herself
Ellen G. Friedman
Miriam: Friend, Mentor, Scholar, and Teacher
Sarita Rai
Miriam, The Bookies, and I
Joseph H. O’Mealy
In the Warm Waters of Lanikai: Paddling with Miriam
Leinaala Davis
A Tribute to Miriam Fuchs: With Love from Her Student
Amy Carlson
Annual Bibliography of Works about Life Writing, 2021
Compiled by Zoë E. Sprott and Caroline Zuckerman
Books
Edited Collections and Special Issues
Articles and Essays
Dissertations
We are pleased to announce the publication of Biography 45.1, which includes open-forum articles and reviews. Find it on Project Muse: https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/49084
Biography 45.1, Table of Contents
Editor’s Note
Open-Forum Articles
Screening Clara Schumann: Biomythography, Gender, and the Relational Biopic
Julia Novak
This article examines four biopics about nineteenth-century musicians Clara Schumann and Robert Schumann as gendered manifestations of the “Schumann biomyth.” It traces the development of the figure of Clara in relation to the films’ historical and political contexts, changing genre conventions, and the demands of (inter)national film industries.
Textile Auto/biography: Protest, Testimony, and Solidarity in the Chilean Arpillerista Movement
Lisa Ortiz-Vilarelle
Beginning in 1975, arpillera workshops allowed women to work collectively to document the acts of violence committed against their loved ones under Augusto Pinochet’s regime in Chile. Arpilleras, burlap embroidered with patchwork depictions of people and landscapes, are made from garments of the dead and disappeared. This essay focuses on the clandestine nature of this artwork and features images of arpilleras from one of the largest known collections.
Identity Work, Sexuality, and the Reception of Testimony:
On Identification with Anne Frank
Hannah Jakobsen
In a group of online personal essays, readers of Anne Frank’s Diary narrativize their identification with Frank as the turning point in a coming-out story. Pointing to one Diary passage in particular, these reader-essayists describe relating to a sexuality that they perceive in Frank. I first ask how identification functions in life writing, examining its role in the negotiation and articulation of sexual identity in these cases. I then ask how and why—particularly given their focus on sexuality—these reader-essayists identify with the author of a canonical testimony to atrocity.
Autobiographical Convergences: A Cultural Analysis of Books by Swedish Digital Media Influencers
Gabriella Nilsson
Through a close reading of autobiographical books written by Swedish digital media influencers, individuals who live and make a living from their daily online life narratives, this article analyzes how the life narratives are plotted and framed to fit the autobiographical format. Two interwoven but contradictory narrative themes are found. One is the depiction of digital media as a positively charged, colorful sanctuary, a cyborg world appearing to the authors in a time of need. The other theme is the individual life histories of the authors, who strive to create chronologies and seek causal explanations for the various events and experiences of their lives. While the depiction of digital media appears to be a way to justify their current lifestyle, the life history stands out as a way to counter the fragmentation of digital media.
Reviews
Research Methodologies for Auto/biography Studies, edited by Kate Douglas and Ashley Barnwell
Reviewed by Desirée Henderson
The Oxford History of Life-Writing: Volume 1, The Middle Ages, by Karen A. Winstead
Reviewed by Derrick Higginbotham
Romanticism and the Letter, edited by Madeleine Callaghan and Anthony Howe
Reviewed by Mary A. Waters
Prison Life Writing: Conversion and the Literary Roots of the U.S. Prison System, by Simon Rolston
Reviewed by D. Quentin Miller
The Territorialities of U.S. Imperialism(s): Conflicting Discourses of Sovereignty, Jurisdiction and Territory in Nineteenth-Century U.S. Legal Texts and Indigenous Life Writing, by Jens Temmen
Reviewed by Katrina Phillips
Americánas, Autocracy, and Autobiographical Innovation: Overwriting the Dictator, by Lisa Ortiz-Vilarelle
Reviewed by Renata Lucena Dalmaso
Indian Travel Writing in the Age of Empire, 1830–1940,
by Pramod K. Nayar
Reviewed by Shaswat Panda
Sports Journalism and Women Athletes: Coverage of Coming Out Stories, by William P. Cassidy
Reviewed by Michael Tsai
Templates for Authorship: American Women’s Literary Autobiography of the 1930s, by Windy Counsell Petrie
Reviewed by Pamela L. Caughie
Contemporary Feminist Life-Writing: The New Audacity,
by Jennifer Cooke
Reviewed by Kate Drabinski
Charlotte Salomon and the Theatre of Memory, by Griselda Pollock
Reviewed by Julia Watson
We’re thrilled to announce the schedule for Brown Bag Biography, Fall 2022. As with the last few semesters, all of our talks will be presented online via Zoom, meaning that anyone, anywhere, can join!
This semester, however, some of our talks will be in hybrid format, with the option to attend the presentations in person in Biomed B-104 (UH Mānoa). We look forward to seeing some of you at the Center again!
We will also record and post some of the talks. You can find some past presentations on our YouTube channel here.
THE CENTER FOR BIOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, UNIVERSITY OF HAWAIʻI AT MĀNOA
PRESENTS
BROWN BAG BIOGRAPHY
DISCUSSIONS OF LIFE WRITING BY & FOR TOWN & GOWN
THURSDAYS, 12:00 NOON–1:15 PM HST
ALL SESSIONS ON ZOOM; SOME ALSO IN PERSON IN BIOMED B-104 (UH MĀNOA)
Fall 2022 SCHEDULE
September 21: “History in Crisis, History in Focus—What History does Hawaiʻi need, and Why does it Matter?”
Shannon Cristobal, Director of Hawaiʻi History Day and K-12 Humanities Programs, Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities
Noelani Goodyear-Kaʻōpua, Professor of Political Science, Indigenous Politics Program
Amy Perruso, Hawaiʻi State House Representative, District 46, DOE Social Studies and Civics Teacher, former secretary-treasurer, HSTA
Moderated by Davianna Pōmaikaʻi McGregor, Professor of Ethnic Studies and Director, Center for Oral History, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Sponsored by Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī Coalition
NB: Time: 6:00–7:30 pm HST
Website: http://hawaiianhistorymonth.org
Zoom registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3IhskxUTTIa1EhxL4kl_Vg
September 23: “Hawaiian History and Culture K-12 and Beyond—Across the Curriculum, Across the Pae ʻĀina”
Whitney Aragaki, Science Teacher, Waiakea High School, State Teacher of the Year 2022
Patricia Espiritu Halagao, Professor and Chair, Curriculum Studies, College of Education, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Cheryl Kaʻuhane Lupenui, President and CEO, Kohala Center, and Founder, The Leader Project
Christopher Pike, Fifth Grade Teacher, Chiefess Kapiʻolani Elementary School
Lyz Soto, Communications Officer, Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities
Moderated by Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio, Dean, Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Sponsored by Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī Coalition
NB: Time: 6:00–7:30 pm HST
Website: http://hawaiianhistorymonth.org
Zoom registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hMROuc-QSyKf8ebqQSmVlw
September 29: “Peeking Behind the Curtains at Catherine the Great: Celebrity in the Eighteenth Century”
Ruth Dawson, Prof. Emerita, Dept. of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, UH Mānoa; Honorary Fellow, Institute of Modern Languages Research, University of London
Presentation Format: Hybrid (Biomed B-104 and Zoom)
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
Zoom link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/98160195964
Zoom Meeting ID: 981 6019 5964, Password: 651017
October 6: “The Unimagined Journey: Nova Scotia to Hawai‘i”
Dr. Clem Guthro, University Librarian UH Manoa and Interim Director and Publisher, University of Hawai‘i Press
Presentation Format: Hybrid (Biomed B-104 and Zoom)
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
Zoom link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/94535100181
Zoom Meeting ID: 945 3510 0181, Password: 779100
October 13: “The Representation of Space in Edward Said’s Out of Place”
Lili Chen, PhD Student in Institute of World Literature, Peking University, specializing in American Immigrant Autobiography
Presentation Format: Hybrid (Biomed B-104 and Zoom)
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
Zoom link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/94072405841
Zoom Meeting ID: 940 7240 5841, Password: 438940
October 20: “Crafting a Life: Writing the Biography of a 20th-Century Woman Artist Born and Raised in Hawai‘i”
Dr. Sharon Weiner, Department of English, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
Presentation Format: Hybrid (Biomed B-104 and Zoom)
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
Zoom link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/98547221272
Zoom Meeting ID: 985 4722 1272, Password: 591805
October 27: “From Masking to Masquerade: Autofictional Forms and Effects in Diachronic Perspective”
Dr. Alexandra Effe, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Oslo.
Presentation Format: Hybrid (Biomed B-104 and Zoom)
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
Zoom link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/96172869118
Zoom Meeting ID: 961 7286 9118, Password: 336906
November 3: “Graphic Medicine: Stories Drawn from Illness, Health, and Caregiving”
Suzy Becker, Author/Illustrator and New Yorker Cartoonist
Jared Gardner, Professor of English and Director of Popular Culture Studies, The Ohio State University
Crystal Yin Lie, Assistant Professor of Comparative World Literature, Cal State University, Long Beach
JoAnn Purcell, Faculty and Program Coordinator, Illustration, Seneca College
Susan Squier, Brill Professor Emeritus of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and English, Penn State University and Board Member Graphic Medicine Collective
Julia Watson, Professor Emerita of Comparative Studies, The Ohio State University
Presentation Format: Zoom
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
Zoom link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/97632020673
Zoom Meeting ID: 976 3202 0673, Password: 813967
November 10: “Atoll Depth: The Case of the Funafuti Expedition, 1896–98”
Dr. Carla Manfredi, Assistant Professor, Department of English, The University of Winnipeg
Presentation Format: Hybrid (Biomed B-104 and Zoom)
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
Zoom link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/97793395796
Zoom Meeting ID: 977 9339 5796, Password: 921205
November 17: “In Community with Our Shared Place: A Teacher’s Journey”
Whitney Aragaki (she/they), 2022 Hawaiʻi State Teacher of the Year, 2022 National Teacher of the Year Finalist
Presentation Format: Zoom
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
Zoom link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/98769665844
Zoom Meeting ID: 987 6966 5844, Password: 774603
November 24: Thanksgiving
December 1: “He Aloha No Kaualilinoe: The Nūpepa Writings of a Kanaka from Mānoa”
J. Hauʻoli Lorenzo-Elarco, Instructor of Hawaiian Language, Honolulu Community College; PhD Student, Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo
Presentation Format: Zoom
Time: 12:00–1:15 pm HST
Zoom link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/97463593162
Zoom Meeting ID: 974 6359 3162, Password: 606520
We are pleased to announce the release of Graphic Medicine as both a special issue of Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly on Project Muse and as a book available through the University of Hawai‘i Press.
Edited by Erin La Cour and Anna Poletti, Graphic Medicine brings together scholars and comics artists to consider how life narratives in the medium of comics open up new channels of communication between medical staff, patients, their loved ones, and the community. These include creating alternative sites for community building among patients and their loved ones with regard to specific conditions and their related treatments, and educating medical practitioners about patient experiences within healthcare systems. By treating illness and disability as experiences of fundamentally changed living, rather than as separate narrative episodes organized by treatment, recovery, and a return to “normal life,” Graphic Medicine asks what it means to give and receive care.
Through autobiographical comics and illustrated essays, Safdar Ahmed, John Miers, Suzy Becker, Nancy K. Miller, and Jared Gardner offer alternative modes of understanding illness and disability, caring relationships, and temporality. Crystal Yin Lie and Julia Watson demonstrate how use of the page through panels, collages, and borderless images can draw the reader, as a “mute witness,” into contact with the body as a site where intergenerational trauma is registered and expressed. Kiene Brillenburg Wurth examines how microscripts productively extend graphic medicine beyond comics to “outsider art.” JoAnn Purcell and Susan M. Squier display how comics artists respond to and reflect upon their caring relationships with those diagnosed with an intellectual disability. And Erin La Cour interrogates especially difficult representations of relationality and care.
During the past decade, graphic medicine comics have proliferated—an outpouring accelerated recently by the greatest health crisis in a century. Graphic Medicine helps us recognize that however unpleasant or complicated it may be, interacting with such stories offers fresh insights, suggests new forms of acceptance, and enhances our abilities to speak to others about the experience of illness and disability.
Table of Contents
Erin La Cour and Anna Poletti, “Graphic Medicine’s Possible Futures: Reconsidering Poetics and Reading”
John Miers, “Conflict or Compromise?: An Imagined Conversation with John Hicklenton and Lindsay Cooper about Living with Multiple Sclerosis”
Jared Gardner, “Out of Sync: Chronic Illness, Time, and Comics Memoir”
Nancy K. Miller, “‘Is this recovery?’: Chronicity and Closure in Graphic Illness Memoir”
Erin La Cour, “Face as Landscape: Refiguring Illness, Disability, and Disorders in David B.’s Epileptic”
JoAnn Purcell, with Simone Purcell Randmaa. “Disability Daily Drawn: A Comics Collaboration”
Susan M. Squier, “Reframing ‘Nothing About Us Without Us’: Comics and Intellectual Disability”
Safdar Ahmed, “Graphic Confessions and the Vulnerability Hangover from Hell”
Julia Watson, “Drawing Is the Best Medicine: Somatic Dis-ease and Graphic Revenge in Miriam Katin’s Letting It Go”
Suzy Becker, “If That’s What You Want to Call It: An Illustrated Rx-Ray for Graphic Medicine”
Crystal Yin Lie, “Drawn to History: Healing, Dementia, and the Armenian Genocide in the Intertextual Collage of Aliceheimer’s”
Kiene Brillenburg Wurth, “Outsider Writing: The Healing Art of Robert Walser”
The Center for Biographical Research is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Biography Prize for outstanding creative, critical, or theoretical work in the field of life writing by University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa graduate students.
This year’s awardees produced outstanding research on Hawaiʻi subjects. The doctoral award goes to a full biography of a 20th century Hawaiʻi artist. The masters award this year is especially notable, as it honors the first prize-winning submission composed entirely in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. More detailed descriptions of the projects, and the judges’ comments appear below.
“Juliette May Fraser: A Kamaʻāina Life in Art” by Sharon Weiner
The judges appreciated how detailed, well researched, and clearly written your chapter was. We found the details about camouflage work particularly interesting. We also admired how you put the chapter’s details, many of them seemingly mundane, together in a compelling way to tell a rich narrative about Fraser and her expanding circle of influence. As well, we appreciated the diversity of your sources, and your skill in providing contexts for those featured in the chapter.
“Heleleʻi Ka Ua Lilinoe, Ola Ka Honua” by Jacob Hauʻoli Lorenzo-Elarco
The evaluator described how you used an arresting framework to address how we come up with pen names; your extensive research in the Hawaiian-language newspapers along with pertinent secondary/English-language sources; and your success in combining intellectual biography and using clues in that work to write a speculative biography on limited information. He also appreciated your discussion of kapu, and your writing style, which he found reminiscent of the nineteenth century author you are writing about. He praised your use of sustained metaphors of mist, rain and water that he noted would be particularly valued by those who read traditional moʻolelo. Our committee reached clear consensus based on these strengths that your thesis is deserving of the prize.
Criteria for Nomination:
The project should be 3,000 to 10,000 words in length. Longer projects can be submitted in their entirety, with a particular chapter or section highlighted for consideration. The work should demonstrate knowledge or awareness of central debates and theorizing in the field and study of life writing.
Please send nominations (graduate student’s name and subject or title of project) and contact information to Paige Rasmussen (biograph@hawaii.edu) by Thursday, April 14.
Once you send your nomination, the Center for Biographical Research will notify the student to arrange for submission of the project. Candidates may also nominate their own work for the award. The deadline for submissions is Monday, April 25.
The winner of the Biography Prize receives a monetary award and is invited to give a presentation in the Brown Bag Biography lecture series.
We are delighted to announce the schedule for Brown Bag Biography, Spring 2022. This semester, as with the last few semesters, all of our talks will be presented online via Zoom, meaning that anyone, anywhere, can join in! We will also record and post some of the talks. You can find some from Fall 2020, Spring 2021, and Fall 2021 on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWW2zPhLyvpDGVpFPUmHHLw.
THE CENTER FOR BIOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, UNIVERSITY OF HAWAIʻI AT MĀNOA
PRESENTS
BROWN BAG BIOGRAPHY
DISCUSSIONS OF LIFE WRITING BY & FOR TOWN & GOWN
THURSDAYS, 12:00 NOON–1:15 PM HST • ONLINE VIA ZOOM
SPRING 2022 SCHEDULE
February 3: “The Making of Reel Wahine of Hawai‘i”
Vera Zambonelli and Shirley Thompson, series co-producers and directors
Meleanna Meyer, visual artist and filmmaker, season III cast member
Joy Chong-Stannard, live television and documentary director, season III cast member
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the Academy for Creative Media, Hui ʻĀina Pilipili: Native Hawaiian Initiative, the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, the School of Communications, the Center for Oral History, the Departments of Ethnic Studies, Political Science, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and the University of Hawai‘i West Oʻahu Academy for Creative Media
Zoom Meeting ID: 936 7791 2215
Password: 184444
February 10: “Constructing the Ghoul Boys: Queerying Ethics and Identity in Buzzfeed Unsolved and Its Real-Person Fiction (RPF)”
Zoë E. Sprott, MA Candidate, English; Reviews Editor and Editorial Assistant at the Center for Biographical Research, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the Academy for Creative Media, the School of Communications, and the Departments of Political Science and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Zoom Meeting ID: 920 0132 6880
Password: 589979
February 17: “Hawaiʻiloa and the End of the Kanaka Diaspora”
Michael David Kaulana Ing, Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Indiana University
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Hui ʻĀina Pilipili: Native Hawaiian Initiative, the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, and the Departments of Religion, Ethnic Studies, and Political Science
Zoom Meeting ID: 967 2316 5685
Password: 493614
February 24: “Memorializing Dr. Haunani-Kay Trask”
M. Healani Sonoda-Pale, Kanaka Maoli and Citizen of Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Hui ʻĀina Pilipili: Native Hawaiian Initiative, the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, and the Departments of Ethnic Studies, Political Science, History, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Zoom Meeting ID: 953 4618 1006
Password: 421123
March 3: “Inclusion: How Hawaii Protected Japanese Americans from Mass Internment, Transformed Itself, and Changed America”
Tom Coffman, Political Journalist, Author, Filmmaker
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Hui ʻĀina Pilipili: Native Hawaiian Initiative, the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, and the Departments of History, Ethnic Studies, and Political Science
Zoom Meeting ID: 969 7952 5765
Password: 697708
March 10: “Sharing Stories of Pain on Social Media”
L. Ayu Saraswati, Associate Professor, Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the Academy for Creative Media, and the School of Communications, and the Departments of Political Science and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Zoom Meeting ID: 942 1123 1535
Password: 700655
March 24: “Indigenizing the Writing Center”
Georganne Nordstrom, Associate Professor, Department of English, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa; Vice President, International Writing Center Association
Kalilinoe Detwiler, MA Candidate, English; Center Coordinator, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Writing Center
Kayla Watabu, MA Candidate, English; Research/Workshop Coordinator, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Writing Center
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Hui ʻĀina Pilipili: Native Hawaiian Initiative, the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, the School of Communications, and the Departments of Ethnic Studies, Political Science, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Zoom Meeting ID: 954 9657 0215
Password: 975259
March 31: “Sweat and Salt Water: Generating a Testament to the Legacy of Teresia Kieuea Teaiwa”
Dr. April K. Henderson, Director of Va’aomanū Pasifika—Programmes in Pacific Studies and Samoan Studies, Te Herenga Waka/Victoria University of Wellington
Terence Wesley-Smith, Professor (retired), Center for Pacific Islands Studies, UHM
Katerina Teaiwa, Professor of Pacific Studies and Deputy Director – Higher Degree Research Training in the School of Culture, History and Language, and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Australian National University
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Hui ʻĀina Pilipili: Native Hawaiian Initiative, the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, and the Departments of Ethnic Studies, Political Science, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Zoom Meeting ID: 964 6893 6495
Password: 765773
April 7: “‘Trouble Enough’: Enslaved Women’s Testimony as an Ethics of Care”
Elizabeth Colwill, Associate Professor, Department of American Studies, and Affiliate Faculty for the Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, and the Departments of History, Ethnic Studies, Political Science, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Zoom Meeting ID: 919 2757 7192
Password: 208236
April 14: “From Research to Curriculum: Grassroots Strategies for Getting Your Life Stories into Classrooms”
Ron Williams Jr., PhD, Archivist at the Hawaiʻi State Archives, and Owner of Ka ʻElele Research and Writing and For Goodness Sake, a community education non-profit
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Hui ʻĀina Pilipili: Native Hawaiian Initiative, the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, and the Departments of Ethnic Studies and Political Science
Zoom Meeting ID: 991 1226 0590
Password: 345501
April 21: “Talking Story: A Panel on the Bamboo Ridge Oral History Project”
Eric Chock and Darrell Lum, founding editors
Juliet Kono, current editor-in-chief
Jean Toyama, past guest editor, lead on the Bamboo Ridge preservation project
Moderated by Donald Carriera Ching and Ken Tokuno
Cosponsored by Hamilton Library, the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Hui ʻĀina Pilipili: Native Hawaiian Initiative, the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, the School of Communications, the Center for Oral History, and the Department of Ethnic Studies
Zoom Meeting ID: 981 9620 8507
Password: 980287
The latest issue of Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, vol. 44, no. 1, 2021, can be accessed on Project Muse here: https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/46786
Remembering Lauren Berlant
More Flailing in Public
Anna Poletti
National Fantasies about the Self
Rebecca Wanzo
An excerpt from Riva Lehrer’s Golem Girl: A Memoir
International Year in Review
From Individual to Collective Memories: The Year in Aruba
Rose Mary Allen and Jeroen Heuvel
Burning Shame, Decolonizing (His)tory, and Writing Illness
and Disability: The Year in Australia
Kylie Cardell
Viennese Modernism and No End: The Year in Austria
Wilhelm Hemecker and David Österle
COVID-19 Emergency Diaries: The Year in Brazil
Sergio da Silva Barcellos
Lives Interrupted: The Year in Canada
Alana Bell
“Diaries in the Lockdown City”: The Year in China
Chen Shen
To Belong—or Not to Belong: The Year in Denmark
Marianne Høyen
“Is the World Still There?”: Estonian Lockdown Diaries:
The Year in Estonia
Leena Kurvet-Käosaar and Maarja Hollo
Stories of Secrets, Wounds, and Healing: The Year in Finland
Kirsi Tuohela
“Ways of Worldmaking”: The Year in France
Joanny Moulin
Complicit Filmmakers, Self-Made Women, and the Weltgeist
on Horseback: The Year in Germany
Tobias Heinrich
Parallel Pathways: The Year in Hungary
Ágnes Major and Zoltán Z. Varga
Eyes Wide Open with Paper in Hand: The Year in Italy
Ilaria Serra
Prison Narratives: The Year in South Korea
Heui-Yung Park
Illness Writing and Revolution, Converging Narratives:
The Year in Lebanon
Sleiman El Hajj
“A Place on the Banknote”: The Year in Malawi
Nick Mdika Tembo
Periodismo, crimen, misoginia: El año en México
Gerardo Necoechea Gracia
A Profusion of Perspectives: The Year in Netherlands
Hans Renders and David Veltman
Pandemic Diaries: The Year in Poland
Paweł Rodak
Fighting Against Traditions of Silence: The Year in Portugal
Cláudia Maria Ferreira Faria
Documenting Lives: The Year in Romania
Ioana Luca
Narratives of a Pandemic: The Year in Spain
Ana Belén Martínez García
Imagining Gender+ Justice amid the Pandemic:
The Year in Turkey
Hülya Adak
Necrography: The Year in the United Kingdom
Tom Overton
Pandemic Reading: The Year in the United States
Leigh Gilmore
Annual Bibliography of Works about Life Writing, 2020
Compiled by Zoë E. Sprott
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