Types of Materials:
Theses, Dissertations, and Oral Histories
It is an unfortunate economic reality that a great deal of material on Hawai'i goes unpublished because it is felt that there is a limited market for the work. Graduate students who labor for years on research projects seldom have the satisfaction of seeing them into print and mass publication. These materials, however, are not lost to the researcher. Every M.A. thesis or Ph.D. dissertation written by a graduate student at the University of Hawai'i is available at Hamilton Library as a hard copy or on microfilm. Those which pertain to Hawai'i specifically, whether written by UH students or by graduate students at other universities, are available as part of the Hawaiian collection.
Theses and dissertations have the disadvantage of being difficult to use. They are rarely indexed and it can be difficult to judge their relevance based on titles alone. However, Dissertation Abstracts (both the hard copy and the CD-ROM version) provides a precis of the dissertation. Fortunately, their strengths frequently outweigh their weaknesses. At the very least they can contain comprehensive bibliographies of primary and secondary materials. Historical dissertations can lead students to a trail of primary documents long forgotten or not easily accessible. For the student researcher, theses and dissertations can often save valuable time. Special attention should be given to the growing body of work by Native Hawaiian scholars.
Ahlo, Michele Nalani. "Aloha Spirit Past and Present: Two Generations of Native Hawaiians Discuss the Issue of Aloha in the Context of Cultural Crisis." M.A. Thesis UHM, 1996.
Clark, Herman Pi'ikea. "Ho'okumu hou, the Reassertion of Native Hawaiian Culture in Visual Art." M.F.A. Thesis UHM, 1996.
Dudoit, Darlaine Mahealani MuiLan. "Voyages of Return: Essays of Hawaiian Cultural Rediscovery." M.A. UHM, 1996.
Herman, R. Douglas K. "Kalaiaina; Carving the land: Geography, Desire and Possession in the Hawaiian Islands." Ph.D. Dissertation UHM, 1995.
Kealoha-Scullion, Kehaulani K. "The Hawaiian Journey: Out of the Cave of Identity, Images of the Hawaiian and Other." Ph.D. Dissertation UHM, 1995.
Kelly, Marion. "Changes in Land Tenure, 1778-1850." M.A. Thesis UHM, 1956.
Kubo, Louise M. "Reading and Writing Local: Politics of Community." Ph.D. Dissertation UHM, 1997.
McGregor, Davianna Poma'ikai. "Hawaiian Resistance, 1887-1889." M.A. Thesis UHM, 1979.
McGregor, Davianna Poma'ikai. "Kupa'a I Ka Aina: Persistence on the Land." Ph.D. Dissertation UHM, 1989.
Moblo, Pennie. "Defamation by Disease: Leprosy, Myth and Ideology in Nineteenth Century Hawai'i." Ph.D. dissertation UHM, 1996.
Osorio, Jonathan Kamakawiwo'ole. "Determining Self: Identity, Nationhood, and Constitutional Government in Hawai'i, 1842-1887." Ph.D. Dissertation UHM, 1996.
Patrinos, Christine Nahua. "Resistance Narratives in Hawai'i, 1893-1898." Ph.D. Dissertation, 1995.
Silva, Noenoe K. "Ke Ku'e Kupa'a Loa Nei Makou: Kanaka Maoli Resistance to Colonization." Ph.D. Dissertation UHM, 1999.
