Department of History at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

08/13/2026

Graduate students! Still looking for a seminar this fall?

Consider taking HIST/PACS 675: Women in Oceania with Prof. Monica LaBriola! This in-person, TXT0 course will be offered on Fridays from 2:30-5pm in Sakamaki D103.

HIST 675 CRN: 76841
PACS 675 CRN: 76913

Tell a friend to tell a friend!

UHM WiPS

08/11/2026

The UH Mānoa History Department is excited to announce the upcoming Organization of American Historians’ “History in Place Symposium”!

Hosted by UH Mānoa’s College of Education, the inaugural theme is “Coasts, Currents, and Islands: Exploring the interwoven histories of the United States & the Pacific.” This symposium is a two-day event (October 10-11, 2026) at the College of Education at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa that blends foundational experiential learning through mandatory huakaʻi (learning experience) with collaborative, participant-driven discussions to foster a deeper understanding of place as history.

To learn more about the symposium and to register for the event, please visit oah.org/conferences/hip26. Registration includes tours, breakfast, and lunches.

Space is limited so register today!

UH Mānoa College of Education Organization of American Historians

07/24/2026

07/03/2026

Prof. Cheehyung Harrison delivered a distinguished lecture at Sogang University on “A Story of Constant Struggle: The Comfort Women Movement in the DPRK.”

Following the lecture, Prof. Kim joined a roundtable discussion with Sogang University undergraduate students, sharing insights on graduate study, academic careers, and research in US institutions.

Congratulations to Prof. Kim on a successful lecture and thank you to the Department of History at Sogang University for hosting such a meaningful event!

07/03/2026

Our Department of History was proudly represented at this year’s (WHA) Conference in Songdo, Incheon.

Presentations from UHM students and alum included:
- Dr. Wonkeun Lee: “Modernizing and Masculinizing the Nation through Cold War Technological Aid and Appropriation: KIST, KAIS, and Technological Elites in South Korea (1960s-70s)” as part of the panel, “Cold War Mobilities: Reconfiguring People, Technology, and Capital in the Making of South Korea”

- Jaehyung Kim: “Smuggling on the Margins: Refugee Crossings to China during the Korean War” as part of the panel, “Reframing Korea’s Cold War: Environmentalism, Migration, and Knowledge-Exchange across Borders,” chaired by Dr. Cheehyung Harrison Kim

- Yejun Kweon: “Gender, Care, and Environmental Activism in the Two Koreas” as part of the panel, “Reframing Korea’s Cold War: Environmentalism, Migration, and Knowledge-Exchange across Borders,” chaired by Dr. Cheehyung Harrison Kim

- Aisheedyuti Roy: “‘Provincializing’ Pan-Asianism: Rethinking India-Japan relations”
SeungHyeon Pyo: “Lines of Sound, Lines of Nation: Ueda Kazutoshi, the Neogrammarians, and the Transnational Grammar of Modernity”

The conference provided a valuable opportunity to engage with scholars from diverse backgrounds, attend a wide range of presentations, and exchange ideas across different fields of history.

Congratulations to everyone who presented!

07/01/2026

Join us this Thursday, July 2, 2026, from 2-5 PM HST for doctoral candidate Ami Mālie Fernandez’s dissertation defense!

Ami’s dissertation is titled “E Mahalo ʻIa Ka Mare: No Nā Mea A Pau [Marriage will be praised by all]: Marriage, Moʻokūʻauhau and Hawaiian Conceptions of Kinship, 1795-1891” and is under the direction of Dr. Noelani Arista.

The defense will take place in Sakamaki A-201 and online via Zoom. To request the Zoom information, please contact [email protected].

This event is free and open to the public.

06/25/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Monica LaBriola for her tenure and promotion to Associate Professor!

Dr. LaBriola has received several accolades as an instructor for the UH system. She was awarded the UH – West Oʻahu Frances Davis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 2017 and was also a 2023 recipient of the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents Medal for Excellence in Teaching.

Dr. LaBriola’s contributions to the field of Pacific/Oceania history and the UHM History Department are greatly appreciated.

Congratulations on this momentous occasion!

06/25/2026

Hoʻomaikaʻi to History PhD candidate Kale Kanaeholo for being awarded the John Pine Memorial Scholarship from Phi Alpha Theta!

This highly competitive scholarship is awarded to doctoral candidates in History. Along with funding support, Kale will also be featured in Phi Alpha Theta’s monthly newsletter with a list of this year’s scholarship winners nationwide.

Congratulations, Kale!

05/27/2026

Hoʻomaikaʻi to History PhD candidate Xinli Zhang for his presentation earlier this month at Fudan University in Shanghai, China!

His talk, titled “儒门道者”李俊民：金元易代之际华北文人的多重文化身份 (“Li Junmin, A ‘Daoist Confucian’: The Multicultural Identity of Literati in North China during the Jin-Yuan Transition”) took place on May 8, 2026. The seminar was hosted by Rostislav Berezkin, Senior Professor at Fudan University’s Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies. 

05/22/2026

The History Department announces with sorrow the passing of Professor Emeritus David A. Chappell on May 14, 2026, following a long illness. A deeply thoughtful and generous colleague, scholar, and teacher, Prof. Chappell maintained his academic and creative endeavors right to the end, including publishing both a novel and a journal article in 2025 that explored his favored themes of collective action and resistance, albeit from very different angles. 

Prof. Chappell reflected on his early development and outlook as a scholar in an essay titled “Confessions of a History Addict” for the Journal of Pacific Studies (1996) 20: 213–223.

Following a final trip to New Zealand earlier this year, Prof. Chappell embraced his next adventure, this time into the Great Unknown, with characteristic wit and grace.

Aloha, David. We miss you already.