HETEROTOPIC POSTMEMORIES OF AN ACTUAL HOMELAND

154 Pages·2015·5.57 MB·English

HETEROTOPIC POSTMEMORIES OF AN ACTUAL HOMELAND:
RECOLLECTIONS AND RECLAMATIONS OF HAWAI’I

AILEEN LEDOUX
Bachelor of Arts, University of Lethbridge, 2013

A Thesis
Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies
of the University of Lethbridge
in Partial Fulfilment of the
Requirements for the Degree

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Sociology
University of Lethbridge
LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA, CANADA

© Aileen Ledoux, 2015
HETEROTOPIC POSTMEMORIES OF AN ACTUAL HOMELAND:
RECOLLECTIONS AND RECLAMATIONS OF HAWAII

AILEEN LEDOUX

Date of Defence: August 13, 2015

Dr. Kimberly Mair Assistant Professor Ph.D.
Supervisor

Dr. William Ramp Associate Professor Ph.D.
Thesis Examination Committee Member

Dr. Kara Granzow Assistant Professor Ph.D.
Thesis Examination Committee Member

Dr. Steve Ferzacca Associate Professor Ph.D.
Chair, Thesis Examination Committee
Abstract

In this study, I propose the concept of heterotopic postmemory as a theoretical
reworking of Michel Foucault’s method of heterotopology and Tonya K. Davidson’s
elaboration of postmemories of lost or virtual spaces. Although postmemory is often used
in conjunction with lost or virtual spaces of diasporic populations, Hawaiians encounter
postmemories of an actual space while residing within it. My thesis formulates the
theoretical-methodological device of heterotopic postmemory by considering the program
of Kamehameha Schools as well as their Annual Song Contest, the Royal Hawaiian
Center, hula, place names, and photographic renderings of Hawai’i as motivated by
heterotopic postmemory; such postmemory attempts to contest and reverse colonial
understandings of Hawai’i as an American, Anglophone, and tourist site. The concept of
heterotopic postmemory contributes to memory studies by spatializing postmemory and it
enables the study of colonial and post-colonial spaces where memory is a crucial site of
social struggle.

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Acknowledgements

First and foremost, thank you to my wonderful parents for supporting me
throughout my undergraduate and graduate years. I truly appreciate your patience!
Thank you to Dr. Laurendeau and Dr. Malacrida for encouraging me to apply to
graduate school and taking the time to meet with me to discuss the possibilities.
Dr. Ferzacca, I sincerely appreciate your interest in my thesis and taking the time
to be the Examination Chair of my defence.
To my committee members Dr. Granzow and Dr. Ramp – thank you so much for
your support, constructive criticism, and thoughtful comments.
Thank you to my fellow graduate students. I appreciate the support, friendship,
and entertainment – I don’t think I’ve ever laughed as much as I have during these past
two years!
A special thank you to Jenny Oseen, the all-knowing life force of the Sociology
and Anthropology departments. Where would we be without you? I truly appreciate your
kindness and support.
And finally, my sincerest gratitude to Dr. Kimberly Mair. You saw potential in
me that I never realized, continually encouraged me although I lacked confidence, and
always offered support and invaluable advice. I am grateful and incredibly lucky to have
a supervisor who is patient, selfless, and supportive. It is because of your enthusiasm and
guidance that this thesis exists today.

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Table of Contents

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1
Memory ........................................................................................................................................ 4
Postmemory ............................................................................................................................... 14
Postmemories: From the Virtual to the Heterotopic .................................................................. 17
The Heterotopic Postmemory of Native Hawaiians .................................................................. 22
Chapter 1: Nalowale (Lost, Forgotten) .......................................................................................... 27
Ancient Hawaiian History .......................................................................................................... 27
Hawai’i ....................................................................................................................................... 29
Discovery and the Kingdom of Hawai’i .................................................................................... 30
Overthrow, Annexation, and Statehood ..................................................................................... 36
Sovereignty ................................................................................................................................ 38
Kamehameha Schools ................................................................................................................ 41
Heterotopology of Kamehameha Schools.................................................................................. 47
One Voice: Annual Song Contest .............................................................................................. 52
Place Names ............................................................................................................................... 57
Chapter 2: Aloha Means “Hello” and “Goodbye” ......................................................................... 67
The Royal Hawaiian Center/Helumoa ....................................................................................... 67
Simulacra and Representation .................................................................................................... 72
Commodified Aloha................................................................................................................... 77
Chapter 3: The Eternal Space, or the Here and the Now, of Heterotopic Postmemory ................. 82
The "Five-0 Effect" .................................................................................................................... 82
Tourist Maps .............................................................................................................................. 83
Photographs ............................................................................................................................... 91
The Here and the Now ............................................................................................................... 95
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 138
References .................................................................................................................................... 145

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Introduction

Drawing on Marianne Hirsch’s (2012b) concept of postmemory, Tonya K.
Davidson (2011) questions whether or not it is possible to have memories of a place
never visited, or a place that has become lost and unknown. Her own virtual homeland is
Kapetanovo, Croatia. She has never visited, yet experiences it; did not grow up there, yet
remembers it; and knows little more than her family members, yet recognizes the faces of
many townsfolk. Kapetanovo has become accessible to Davidson through her
grandfather’s stories, memories from her family members’ vacations, and the residual
culture of the Kapetanovers who, like Davidson’s grandparents, fled to Canada due to
World War II. Davidson’s memories of her virtual homeland are postmemories produced
from instruction and relationships, rather than geographically situated ones.
In Different Spaces, Foucault (2004) explains that there is a tendency to
understand history in terms of time, but emphasizes the significance of spatial analysis.
He coins the term heterotopology, the study of heterotopias, sites that are heterogeneous
and not reducible to a singular space.
I argue that Foucault’s heterotopology and Davidson’s reworking of postmemory
to explore the notion of a virtual homeland can provide insight into Hawai’i while
inviting the extension of these theoretical concepts to posit the theoretical formulation of
“heterotopic postmemory.” Heterotopic postmemory is thus a theoretical concept that
brings together Foucault’s method of heterotopology and Tonya K. Davidson’s
elaboration of postmemories of lost or virtual places.
It is important to note that although Davidson was influenced by places that are
lost or uninhabitable, Hawaiians actually encounter postmemories of an actual,
1
geographical1 space while residing within it, rather than experiencing postmemories of a
lost or virtual homeland from which they or their families were displaced. Combining
Davidson’s theory of postmemories of a virtual homeland and Foucault’s concept of
heterotopia, my thesis will formulate the theoretical-methodological device of heterotopic
postmemory by considering the program of Kamehameha Schools as well as their Annual
Song Contest, the Royal Hawaiian Center, hula, place names, and photographic
renderings of Hawai’i as motivated by heterotopic postmemory; such postmemory
attempts to contest and reverse colonial understandings of Hawai’i as an American,
Anglophone, and tourist site. With this study, which spatializes postmemory within a
geographical location, I propose that heterotopic postmemory enables the study of
colonial and post-colonial spaces where memory is a crucial site of social struggle.
After reviewing relevant contributions to memory studies, I will begin by
addressing the history of Hawai’i, starting from ancient Hawai’i, Euro-American contact,
and the creation of and movement through the Kingdom of Hawai’i into the overthrow of
the Hawaiian monarchy, and the resulting shift from the Territory of Hawai’i to the
Republic of Hawai’i through annexation to the United States. As a result, a number of
sovereignty groups protesting the overthrow and annexation currently exist. One of the
most prominent groups is Ka Lahui Hawai’i, led by Mililani B. Trask, an attorney and
former trustee member of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) and Haunani Kay Trask,
a former Hawaiian Studies professor through the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian
Studies at the University of Hawai’i-Mānoa. I will then examine Kamehameha Schools, a
private school system in Hawai’i established by a descendant of the Kamehameha royal

1 Aspects of a geographical space can still be lost, even when there are attempts to construct the space as
historically undisrupted or continuous.
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family. The Schools integrate Hawaiian history, culture, tradition, and language in its
curriculum, including an application process that prefers children of Native Hawaiian
ancestry. Since 1921, Kamehameha Schools has held an Annual Song Contest, with each
grade led by student-voted student directors. The Annual Song Contest was highlighted
in the 2010 PBS documentary One Voice, directed by Lisette Marie Flanary. One Voice
follows the student directors and fellow students as they prepare for the 88th annual song
contest, which was held on March 12, 2008. Also of significance are place names within
the Kamehameha Schools Kapālama campus as well as how various places in Hawai’i
were (re)named and the difference between Westernized and Hawaiian place names.
In the next chapter, I explore the Royal Hawaiian Center, formerly known as the
Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. The Center boasts over 110 shops and restaurants over
310,000 square feet spread across three blocks of Waikiki, the central tourist hub of
O’ahu. I will contrast its current space with Helumoa, its historical site. For
entertainment, the Royal Hawaiian Center often displays music and hula performances
both in the style of kahiko (traditional Hawaiian) and ‘auana (Western-influenced). The
Center also offers Mo’omeheu Hawai’i, complimentary classes such as how to create a
lei, or the garland of flowers worn around the neck. Also of interest is the tourism and
hospitality culture of Hawai’i and its influence within Hawaiian history taught in public
schools.
The final chapter will be an analysis of various photos taken of Hawai’i through
the use of digital archives and social media sites such as Flickr, Instagram, and Reddit. I
will compare how Hawai’i is viewed through a tourist lens (postcards, brochures,
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advertisements, tourists’ images) compared to how Hawai’i is viewed within everyday
life, through photos that were taken by residents of Hawai’i.

Memory

First termed by Maurice Halbwachs, collective memory refers to the memories
that are reminisced and recollected by a group. These memories are often (re)constructed
through traditions, customs, or narratives and help foster a sense of identity and cohesion
within social groups. In The Collective Memory, Halbwachs (2001) begins by describing
the misconception people make when considering their thoughts, ideas, and feelings. He
questions how often you feel that someone, through the media, has so accurately
described a thought you had, or a feeling you wanted to express. They perfectly
encapsulate your ideas or feelings because they are merely echoes of the collective: “in
one way or another, each social group endeavours to maintain a similar persuasion over
its members” (p. 140). We do not easily realize these social influences because they are a
part of us, or more accurately, what we think or feel is a reflection of collective thought.
Halbwachs critiques history by posing a distinction between collective memory
and history. In history, time is separated into segments, which “gives the impression that
everything—the interplay of interests, general orientations, modes of studying men and
events, traditions, and perspectives of the future—is transformed from one period to
another” (p. 143). According to Halbwachs, history is thus a succession of events that are
independent from each other. Viewed as a whole, history is arranged into “successive and
distinct configurations, each period having a beginning, middle, and an end” (p. 144). Not
all historians would agree with Halbwachs, as there are struggles and tensions within
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practices of historiography. Halbwachs describes these periods as simple demarcations,
ones that historians are not able to take seriously because these events are often viewed
from afar as distinct “facts” instead of instances influenced by or relative to each other.
Unlike history, collective memories do not have clearly marked boundaries
because “the memory of society extends as far as the memory of the groups composing
it” (p. 144). As time moves ahead and people begin to pass away, social memory begins
to fade at the fringes because it is created, lived, and transformed within that group.
Halbwachs explains that there are numerous collective memories rather than a single
history. For example, he describes European history as without differing national
viewpoints because historians synthesize occurrences as face-value facts as they are
rather than include those varying viewpoints in order to be impartial. Thus, history is a
universal memory of humanity, although a universal memory does not exist. Halbwachs
writes, “every collective memory requires the support of a group delimited in space and
time” (p. 145). By condensing a certain group into a single event in history, much is lost
since this will merely record the collective memory through a chronological and spatial
context that is presented as one-dimensional. In doing so, this will end up “separating
them from the memory of the groups that preserved them and by severing the bonds that
held them close to the psychological life of the social milieus where they occurred” (p.
145).
In Between Memory and History: Les Lieux de Mémoire, Pierre Nora (1989) takes
a very nostalgic approach when making a distinction between memory and history,
terming lieux de mémoire as “sites of memory” and milieux de mémoire as “real
environments of memory” (p. 7). Modernity, or the acceleration of history, creates the
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