Making Sense of Micronesia: Cultural Changes Facing Migrant Communities

March 14, 3:30pm - 5:00pm
Mānoa Campus, UH Mānoa, Crawford Hall 115

Talk by Francis X. Hezel:
Making Sense of Micronesia: Cultural Changes Facing Migrant Communities

As more and more people from the Micronesian culture move to the United States, there is a need to understand world views and values. This talk will focus on the guts of island culture: the importance of the social map, the tension between the individual and social identity, the ways in which wealth and knowledge are used, the huge importance of respect, emotional expression and its restraints, island ways of handling both conflict and intimacy, the real but indirect power of women. Far from a purely theoretical exposition, the talk will address the lived realities of immigrant groups in Hawai‘i.

Francis Hezel, SJ, has more than 50 years of experience living and working in Micronesia. His books include The First Taint of Civilization, Strangers in their Own Land, and The New Shape of Old Island Cultures. He served as principal of Xavier High School in Chuuk and is the founder of the Micronesian Seminar (MicSem). His most recent book, Making Sense of Micronesia: The Logic of Pacific Island Culture, was published last year by the University of Hawai‘i Press. He is currently in residence at New York’s Fordham University, from where he blogs regularly about regional issues (http://www.wheresfran.org/).


Ticket Information
Free and open to the public

Event Sponsor
Department of Ethnic Studies, Center for Pacific Islands Studies, Pacific Islands Development Program, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Dr. Ulla Hasager, (808) 956-4218, ulla@hawaii.edu, http://www.ethnicstudies.hawaii.edu/pages/events.html#3-141-14, Making Sense of Micronesia (PDF)

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