Photo essay: International conference on the humanities hosted by UH Hilo

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The international conference was infused with the university’s values as a multicultural, community-building, and Indigenous-serving academic institution.

Profile photos of four plenary speakers, and the title of the conference: Oceanic Journeys: Multicultural Approaches in the Humanities. Image of shoreline in the background.
Plenary speakers at the international humanities conference, “Oceanic Journeys: Multicultural Approaches in the Humanities,” hosted by UH Hilo June 25-27, 2025, were members of the university’s ʻohana. From left, Professor Emeritus of Drama Jacquelyn Pualani Johnson, Assistant Professor of Education Clint Anderson, former Associate Professor of Education Manu Meyer who is now Director of Indigenous Education at UH West Oʻahu, and Professor of Physics and Astronomy Marianne Takamiya. (Graphics: UH Hilo Stories)

By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo hosted an international conference June 25-27 focusing on multicultural approaches to the humanities with particular attention to the Pacific region. The annual conference was founded in 2003 by the New Directions in the Humanities Research Network, each year attracting scholars and students from around the world through their “common interest in established traditions in the humanities while at the same time developing innovative practices and setting a renewed agenda for their future.”

This is the first time for Hawaiʻi to host the international conference. Previous New Directions conferences have been held at large institutions such as Sapienza University in Rome and the Sorbonne University in Paris; the next will be held at the NOVA School of Social Sciences and Humanities in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Hilo event, “Oceanic Journeys: Multicultural Approaches in the Humanities,” was infused with UH Hilo’s values as a multicultural, community-building, and Indigenous-serving academic institution. Conference attendees included faculty and scholars from across the globe.

Manu takes selfie with Patsy. Manu is wearing lei.
At the conference, plenary speaker Manu Meyer (left) takes a selfie with local conference chair Patsy Iwasaki.

“The conference was a tremendous success,” says Patsy Iwasaki, a UH Hilo associate professor of English and local conference chair of the event. “Everyone was saying what an exceptional conference it was, not just feeding the mind, but the soul, heart and spirit by showcasing our UH Hilo ʻohana, Hawaiʻi island community and Native Hawaiian culture.”

“From the beginning to the end and throughout — the pre-conference tour to Volcano, the kīpaepae welcome, the plenary speakers, the Hawaiian cultural workshops, all of the presentations and sessions, conference dinner, and all the meals by Sodexo showcasing our local fusion mix — it was a phenomenal conference,” she says.

The conference included 300 in-person and online participants representing 25 countries, including 31 UH Hilo and UH System faculty participants and presenters. Also at the conference were 24 Emerging Scholars, a cohort of university students each of whom received a grant to cover registration fees.

Photos by Alfred Evangelista Jr, Patsy Iwasaki, Hayate Moro, and Mariko Takagi-Kitayama.

The UH Hilo Steering Committee

Group poses next to conference banner Oceanic Journey.
Several of the steering committee members gather for photo, from left, Francis Dumanig, Kirsten Møllegaard, Jenni Guillen, Rayna Morel, Patsy Iwasaki, Clint Anderson, and Colby Miyose. Missing: Leanne Day, Malu Dudoit, Rachel Hualani Loo, and Kimberly Russell.

The conference’s steering committee was packed with the expertise of UH Hilo faculty. Along with Iwasaki, members included Assistant Professor of Education Clint Anderson, Associate Professor of English Leanne Day, Lecturer of Hawaiian Studies Dane “Malu” Dudoit, Associate Professor of English Francis Dumanig, Instructor of Biology Jenni Guillen, Director of Kīpuka Native Hawaiian Student Center Rachel Hualani Loo, Associate Professor of Communication Colby Miyose, Professor of English Kirsten Møllegaard, Associate Professor of Communication Rayna Morel, and Lecturer of English Kimberly Russell.

Read more about this amazing crew.

Welcome to UH Hilo: The importance of kīpaepae

The event opened with a kīpaepae ceremony, held at the Campus Center Plaza and presented by the university’s Kīpaepae Executive Committee. Kīpaepae translates to “stepping stones” and are traditional Native Hawaiian ceremonies of welcome.

The kīpaepae was introduced by UH Hilo’s Director of Native Hawaiian Engagement Pelehonuamea Harman. The ceremonies were led by Malu Dudoit, a lecturer in Hawaiian studies and facilitator for UH Hilo’s Uluākea, an Indigenous-based program housed at the university’s Kīpuka Native Hawaiian Student Center. The welcoming group included staff, faculty, students and members of the community, and greeted participants with the sounding of pahu (drums) and pū (conch shells) along with welcoming oli (chants). Kīpaepae grounds attendees with aloha ʻāina, a love and deep respect for and from the land and people of Hawaiʻi.

Later in the schedule, cultural workshops were held for attendees.

Manu at front speaking to group, drummers and dancers in background.
Malu Dudoit leads kīpaepae ceremony, held at the Campus Center Plaza.

Plenary speakers

All four plenary speakers, described as “some of the world’s leading thinkers and innovators in the field,” are also members of the UH Hilo ʻohana: former UH Hilo Associate Professor of Education Manu Meyer (bio) who is now Director of Indigenous Education at UH West Oʻahu; Professor of Physics and Astronomy Marianne Takamiya (bio); Emeritus Professor of Drama Jacquelyn Pualani Johnson (bio); and Assistant Professor of Education Clint Anderson (bio).

Manu stands at podium with PowerPoint slide behind her reading, "We are in an evolutionary moment."
Plenary speaker Manu Meyer, Director of Indigenous Education at UH West Oʻahu, presented, “Indigenous Epistemology: A Radical (K)new World for Humanity.”
Marianne stands with PowerPoint presentation behind her with her name and title in Spanish.
Plenary speaker Marianne Takamiya, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, presented, “El liderazgo de la astrofísica en la diversificación de las ciencias STEM” (in Spanish).
Jackie stands with map of Hawaiʻi up on the slide screen.
Plenary speaker Jacquelyn Pualani Johnson, Emeritus Professor of Drama, presented, “Ola Hou: Living History — Weaving Our Stories, Language, and Culture in Performance.”
Clint stands at podium with PowerPoint slide behind him reading, "Aloha is the primal source of our collective emergence."
Plenary speaker Clint Anderson, Assistant Professor of Education, presented, “Navigating Currents of Change: Educators as Cultural Stewards and Storytellers.”

Emerging scholars

Each New Directions conference includes a cohort of university students, each student the recipient of an Emerging Scholar Award that grants waivers on conference registration and offers network membership and opportunities for publishing. At the conference, the students gain professional development through direct engagement with field experts, interaction with international scholars, and opportunities to build networks and connections.

Two students stand near white board with the words, "Welcome to our Circle."
Emerging Scholars, from left, UH Hilo students Xailea Anderson-Iopa and Kealiʻi Rapozo.
Students line up, each holding their certificate.
Students with their Emerging Scholars certificates.

Several UH Hilo students were in-person recipients of the award this year and participated in the conference:

  • Xailea Anderson-Iopa (English and Administrative Justice, certificate in Creative Writing)
  • Alfred Evangelista, Jr (Business Administration)
  • Hoolaokealoha Higuchi-Simmons (English)
  • Hayate Moro (Finance)
  • Kealiʻi Rapozo (Communication)
  • Jun Reyes (English, certificate in Creative Writing)
  • Sharmin Zaman (Computer Science, minor in English)
  • (See bios for each student in the list.)

“These Emerging Scholars play a vital role in the conference, moderating conference sessions, leading stimulating discussions and chairing parallel sessions, and are further supported with a dedicated publication pathway for their research,” says Iwasaki.

UH Hilo communication professor Miyose worked with and coached the Emerging Scholars with public speaking opportunities during the conference. “This conference offers an immersive and expansive experience for our emerging scholars in helping to develop their professionalism and robust scholarship,” he says.

Let’s eat!

Group lines up at buffet table.
Attendees enjoy a meal together.

Four women, indoor setting, one holding her coffee. In the background is the buffet.

Cultural exhibition and workshops

In tandem with the conference, UH Hilo hosted a special alohawear exhibition featuring items from UH Mānoa’s Historic Fashion Collection. The collection was curated by Andrew Reilly, a professor of family and consumer sciences at UH Mānoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience who also presented his research at the conference in a session titled, “Sustaining Kānaka Maoli Values in Fashion.”

The exhibition was set up in UH Hilo’s Mookini Library and took visitors through the major fashion moments in alohawear from the 1930s onward. See story on the exhibition with more info and photos.

Exhibitors sit at information desk. Clothes on display hanging from ceiling and on manikins on the side of the info desk.
Curator Andrew Reilly (at right) and his assistant, graduate student Terri-Lee Bixby, sit at information desk set up at the UH Hilo exhibition. (Courtesy photo)

“We are thrilled to be able to showcase vintage Hawaiʻi fashion as part of the conference,” says English professor and member of the conference planning committee Day, whose literature courses often cover the same reckoning. “I am excited how the exhibit indexes Hawaiʻi’s history and helps center how fashion is a critical site of reckoning with settler colonialism, immigration, and tourism.”

The fashion collection — featuring iconic aloha shirts, elegant holoku (seamed dress with a yoke and usually with a train, patterned after the Mother Hubbards of the missionaries), and comfortable muʻumuʻu (loose gown originally without a yoke) — offered conference participants a rich cultural and visual experience to enhance their time on campus.

Attendees also took part in arts and crafts workshops. Below, attendees make their own stamps out of natural media.

Communication professor and member of the planning committee Morel notes the workshops provided unique, hands-on opportunities to immerse conference participants in Native Hawaiian cultural practices. “Rooted in tradition and history, they offer deep engagement and direct facilitation with Hawaiian cultural practitioners,” she says.

From the planning committee: Aloha, come back soon!

Five faculty stand in front of banners for conference.
Several members of the conference planning committee stand with the chair of the UH Hilo humanities division, from left, Patsy Iwasaki, Kirsten Møllegaard, Rayna Morel, Division of Humanities Chair Rodney Jubilado, and Colby Miyose.

Story by Susan Enright, public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.

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