Lani Cupchoy
E-mail:
Lani Cupchoy
Cohort Year:
2006
First Field:
U.S. History
Second Field:
World History
Thematic Emphasis:
The Pacific, Public Culture, and Oral History
Advisor:
Vicki Ruiz
Dissertation Title:
Reimagining Paradise: Representations, Public Culture, and Hawaiian Communities in Los Angeles, 1960s-present
Bio Statement:
As a multiethnic native of Los Angeles, I remain fascinated by transnational identity, ethnic diaspora, and community, particularly through social and cultural expressions espoused by people of color. My M.A. thesis Global Kupuna: The Struggles of a Native Hawaiian Elder examined the life of Auntie Mahilani Poepoe and her world views based on extensive oral histories. At UC Irvine, my research interests are diverse: Race and Ethnicity, Immigration, Foodways, Public Culture, Gender, and Oral history research methods. My dissertation looks at the building and maintaining of ethnicity without a neighborhood base in Los Angeles. I explore how a Hawaiian community developed in southern California, not defined geographically, but rather through culture. My study illuminates, from a multigenerational stance, how the Los Angeles Hawaiian community chooses to practice “Hawaiianess” in both public and private spaces.
Awards:
» PAGE Fellow
» UCI Humanities Out There Graduate Student of the Year
» UCI School of Humanities Peggy and Alex Maradudin Fellow
» UCI FMP Fellow
» CSU Chancellor’s Fellow
Selected Publications:
»
“Fragments of Memory: Tales of a Wahine Warrior.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies. Forthcoming, Vol. 31, No. 1, 2010.
»
“Not Just About UH Football: Bypass Road Threatens Hawaii’s Warrior Heritage.” Hawaii Island Journal. Vol. 10, No. 1, (January 2008): 5.
»
“Essay of Honor: Lani Cupchoy.” In Iris Chang and the Forgotten Holocaust: Best Essays from Iris Chang Memorial Essay Contest 2006. Ed. Global Alliance for Preserving the History of WWII in Asia. New York: Cozy House Publisher, 2007: 53-56.
»
“The Chinese Womens’ Experience in Old Los Angeles (1880’s-1930’s).” Gum Saan Journal. Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, 2006.
Degrees:
»
M.A., History - Latin America and United States, California State University at Los Angeles
»
B.A., History - Asian-American Studies and Chicana/o Studies, University of California at Los Angeles
Selected Teaching Experience:
»
World History Instructor for the UCI History Project and GEAR UP Summer Program
»
GSR for UCI’s Humanities Out There (co-partnered with Santa Ana and Orange Unified School Districts)
»
Instructor for Los Angeles Unified School District
