Today's Lectures

Today’s schedule consisted of several very interesting lectures-all to either help prepare us for our time in Thailand and Vietnam or to help us understand the relationship between Hawaii and Southeast Asia.

I wish I could spend time discussing each lecture in detail, maybe I will in the future, but for now I will simply have to summarize and keep my sharing brief (due to the jetlag am currently fighting).

All of the lectures took place in the beautiful Korean Center at the East West Center.

“Overview of the Program and Expectations,” by Porntip Kanjananiyot, Fulbright Thailand Executive Director

• Program goals: exposure of participants, creation of individual projects, and implementation with students upon completion.
• Themes of program: ASEAN Community, Unity Among Diversity, ASEAN-U.S. Relations.
• Two lenses to view experience: 1) as academics, 2) as tourists.
• Cross cultural understanding. When viewing situations: personality vs. culture? This was wonderfully stated

“The U.S. and Asia: Multinational Organizations in East and Southeast Asia,” by Paul Hooper, Emeritus Professor of American Studies, University of Hawai’ at Manoa

• ASEAN is an organization that was first created in 1967 with five countries: Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. Five additional countries have since joined: Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia.
• Well known in Southeast Asia, but not commonly heard of in other countries.
• Very diverse group of countries. GDP: Brunei: $51,000, Singapore: $52,000 – Myanmar: $1,100, Indonesia: $1,900. Religion: Indonesia: 86% Muslim, Vietnam: 81% none, Thailand: 95% Buddhist, Philippines: 81% Christian.
• Three Main Goals: Political, Economic, and Cultural.
• The biggest goals are probably economic, with a focus on opening trade barriers.

“Lei Sellers in Chinatown: The Hawaii-Southeast Asia Connection,” by Ralph Kam, Dean Humanities College, Honolulu Community College

• Leis are a tradition in Hawaii that is connected to culture.
• The lei makers used to be on Maunakea Street, near where the large boats would come in. Long lines of lei makers would wait for the sale.
• You would assume that after the establishment of air travel in the 1950’s the lei sellers would disappear, but that did not happen. However, many lei sellers (12) are not available at the airport.
• Today, however, as many as half of the flowers are not actually grown in Hawai’i because cheaper land and labor exist in other countries, Thailand in particular. Many flowers are grown in Thailand specifically for the purposes of lei making.

“Asian Migrants and Immigrants: Hawaii’s Own Story,” by Pensri Ho, Associate Professor, Department of Ethnic Studies

• Hawaii’s population is currently about 40% Asian: history?
• Jobs.
• Reciprocity Agreement of 1876: duty free sugar could be imported into the U.S. This meant sugar would be hugely profitable (tariffs had previously been about 40% of the profits earned).
• In 1898 Hawaii was annexed by the United States. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1905 were both problematic for plantations owners looking for laborers. However, with the conclusion of the Spanish American War resulting in the “taking” of the Philippines, plantations had a new place to recruit from.
• During WWII: 40% of Hawaii’s population was of Japanese descent. Japan town was razed, but only 2000 of Hawaii’s significant population of people of Japanese descent were interned in five camps. The whole island, however, was under martial law.
• Today, Hawaii adopts cultural traditions from many different national groups and makes them their own. Very multicultural place, as is the pidgin language spoken by many Islanders. Watch youtube video: Hawaii Pidgin: The Voice of Hawaii” for more information

“Retracing Kalawaua’s Journey,” by Lonny Carlisle, Associate Professor, center for Japanese Studies, University of Hawaii Manoa

• · In 1881, the last Monarch of Hawaii, King Kalakaua, made an around-the-world journey to find out more about other countries and the impact of culture, modernization, and globalization.
• Originally he was going to visit incognito, but was greeted in the first country he visited with a royal reception (the Japanese consulate in San Francisco warned the Japanese King he was coming.
• In1883 the monarch was overthrown by sons of plantation owners and/or missionaries.
• In 2006, Professor Carlisle took a group of ten students to re-trace the Asian portion of King Kalakua’s journey.