Why Aren't There More Indigenous Voices?

October 6, 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Mānoa Campus, Burns 2118

Fall 2010 Speaker Series
INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL STUDIES CERTIFICATE PROGRAM

“You Tell Me: Why Aren’t There More Indigenous Voices in Western Histories?”

Dr. Rob Borofsky
Dept. Anthropology, HPU

History is not a compilation of "the facts." There are too many facts – or what are claimed to be facts – to present a coherent narrative. History is more of a conversation in which people with different facts and different perspectives converse across their differences seeking, hopefully, for common ground. Many acknowledge that indigenous voices should be a part of such conversations. But they rarely make it into Western historical narratives of the Pacific except in token ways. Why? We might ask two related questions: Do those who claim to speak for indigenous groups actually serve mostly their own self-interests? And do Western historians effectively converse with each other or do they mostly acknowledge their Western colleagues' perspectives in token ways as well? Given such dynamics, what “should” histories of the Pacific look like? And how can we start producing them?

Date: Wednesday, October 6th
Time: 12 pm – 1:20pm
Place: Burns Hall, Room 2118

Sponsored by:
The UHM/EWC International Cultural Studies Program
Telephone: 808-944-7593
Fax: 808-944-7070
Office: Burns Hall #2069
Email:culture@hawaii.edu
Website: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~culture


Event Sponsor
International Cultural Studies, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Program Manager: Patricia Hart, 808-944-7593, culture@hawaii.edu, http://www2.hawaii.edu/~culture

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