Pacific Postcards (S21 midterm essays)
For the midterm essay, students in spring 2021 selected a primary source (textual, visual, aural, material, or in another media) and used the arguments of a scholar we had read together to analyze the source. Why is this source interesting or important? How might you explain the source to someone unfamiliar with the Pacific Ocean?
For example, one student used Joshua Reid's and David Igler's arguments to contextualize a statement supporting Makah whaling rights, showing how cultural heritage informs political aims. Another student used work by Epeli Hauʻofa and Matt Matsuda to analyze a poem about the many meanings of Hawaiʻi/Hawaii. And a third student drew on ideas from David Igler and Dane Morrison to unpack a Southern Pacific Railroad advertisement presenting the Pacific Coast to Eastern audiences.
The essays in this section illuminate a variety of sources, helping us see connections that span Pacific Worlds.
