Seeing is Believing

Written by Amber Manini

As an elementary school child we were taught history through text books that are read and given to us. By the time we were in high school history split into different individualized segments where we cover more in depth topics featuring video’s, discussions, and long tests. In many of our history classes, no matter how many video’s or different authors we read describing first hand accounts of what happened, there is always that little feeling inside of us saying “did this really happen?” They say, “seeing is believing” and as children we are allowed to use our five senses to learn. What if history were taught this way. Allowing students to use their own sight as well as prior knowledge about an area to connect the history dots telling them what exactly happened.

UH Hilo’s History 390, Public History in Hawaii is a hybrid class that allows students to facilitate learning through experience and using their five senses. This course is administered online however, there is a mandatory weekly meeting assigned to students. Most times this meeting takes place on Saturdays when students are taken to various wahi pana, significant places, on Hawaii island to examine the representation of Hawaiian history in “public” spaces. Students in this course take part in three major projects one of which will be hosted on campus at the Edwin Mookini Library. In November, this Wahi Pana of Hawaiʻi Island involves a students research, production of their own exhibit pieces and installation of the actual exhibit. History 390 students will also take part in assisting with the initial organization of the Helen Hale Collection and with the “Go For Broke exhibit at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hilo.

“Public history is a growing and popular new field within the larger discipline of History and is an approach to history that promotes the collaborative study of the past. It generally takes place in settings beyond the traditional classroom, bridging the gap between academia and the various interests of the local community. One of our main objectives in visiting these significant places on Hawai'i Island is to see and experience how history is being presented to the public -- as we further our knowledge of the history of that place, but also examine the form and content of its presentation,” said Professor Kerri Inglis teacher and creator of History 390. “Public history is all about telling the story of a place -- so we strive to make connections and learn the mo'olelo of every place that we visit throughout the semester,” said Inglis.

History 390 is also a part of the Kīpuka Native Hawaiian student Center Uluākea project. This project has a goal of creating UH Hilo into a Hawaiian place of learning. Offering students a diverse learning experience. Students in the course will go to places such as Mokuola, Lyman Museum, Waiānuenue, Tsunami Museum, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Japanese Cultural Center, Mokupāpapa Discovery Center, ʻImiloa, and Puʻukoholā Heiau. Students will also have the opportunity to go on a service learning project to Kalaupapa. In this week long project, students have the opportunity to work with a historic preservationist, cultural anthropologist, and archeologist helping to restore some of Kalaupapaʻs natural beauty. Kalaupapa, a National Historical Park established in 1980 lies on Molokaʻi’s northern shore. From 1865 to 1969 the peninsula was a place of quarantine for those identified as having leprosy. Less than ten former patients live on the settlement today.

As a student chosen to go on the Kalaupapa service learning project, I am both honored and blessed to be given an opportunity to learn and give back to the ʻāina. As a senior here at UH Hilo and Native Hawaiian this trip is my opportunity to give back and take advantage of all the learning experience I have had at UH Hilo. Taking them with me as I graduate and contribute as a professional in the community of Hawaii and prospective graduate student.

At times it is the simple essence of being there at the right place and the right time that sparks a little light bulb in our minds. No matter how many times we have learned about the history of Maunoa o Wākea or Waipiʻo valley there is nothing like being there, taking in a whiff of the morning breeze and listening to the wind glisten through the trees. There is nothing like experiencing history and taking part in learning the history of a place all of us as college students call home.