Richard Hamasaki

Insightful Methodologies/Perspectives/Research

Revisado: 06-08-19

Highly recommended! Dr. Richard Cullen Rath is not only an incredibly gifted historian and author, he's a talented avant-garde musician who's played in many bands, from rock to punk to reggae and more. Rath's soundscape consciousness and extensive research on the sonic influences that affect various perceptions / biases are powerfully and wondrously articulated. Most significantly, his analyses and methodologies can be applied to many eras / regions / locales, particularly in Hawaiʻi; one example that comes to mind is the aural presence of birds (see Haleole; Nakuina; Trask; Paul Lyons; et al) re: the manifestation of the endemic in contrast to non-native birds in Hawaiʻi; their presence in 19th and early 20th century Hawaiian literatures; the impact regarding the extinction of these native birds; and pertinent themes related to colonization, resistance, and solidarity). Wonderful news: The University of Hawaiʻiʻs Ethnic Studies Department is welcoming Dr Rath as their newest faculty member — very excited for the ESD faculty, their students and our communities!

While I would have preferred listening to Rich Rath's own reading of the 7+ hour Audible recording, the book is effectively and very crisply narrated by Paul Redford; in fact, if I were still teaching I’d have assigned hefty excerpts of various chapters to my honors and regular Hawaiian, Pacific and world literature classes contrasting Iʻi, Malo, Kamakau, Poepoe, Holt, et al, with Cook, Bingham, and many others, sharing/discussing Rath's incisive frames of reference as he effectively articulates First Peoples, African-American, and settler narratives, experiences, and "sound ways." Rathʻs work is praiseworthy for its readability, fascinating, in-depth research and unique perspectives that fire up the imagination and inspire new ways to significantly examine historical contexts with aural points of view; he very perceptively gleans from soundscapes new strategies for interpreting events, alliances, misunderstanding and conflicts.

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