Disappearing worlds: Anthropology and cultural studies in Hawaii and the Pacific

In this paper we look at relations between anthropology, cultural studies, and native studies on the basis of their practice in the Pacific, focusing particularly on the history of anthropology at the University of Hawai'i. W e draw attention to the absence of Pacific Islanders and, specifically, of Hawaiians as authors, agents, and practitioners of anthropology. Having not ed these absences, we probe disciplinary practices that (re)produce boundar ies of inside-out, native-other, representer-represented in Pacific scholar ship. In particular, we examine ways in which fieldwork as both ideology an d practice enforces separation between anthropology and native studies. Ano ther development calling attention to the boundaries of anthropological dis course is the emergence of significant numbers of native authors and activi sts concerned with issues of culture, history, and politics. In contrast to the relative absence of indigenous practitioners of anthropology in the Pa cific, recent years have seen a virtual renaissance of fiction writing and video production by Pacific Islanders, creating new forms of cultural criti cism akin to interdisciplinary cultural studies in other parts of the world . As anthropology reconceptualizes the objects of its research, devises new approaches to fieldwork, and otherwise engages in dialogue with a range of interlocutors, the discipline is being redefined with as yet indeterminate results.