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

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