Voices of Social Justice and Diversity in a Hawai'i Context

This book presents nuanced small-scale studies and reflective essays, and is about voices of contemporary grandparents and grandchildren living in the State of Hawai'i which is rapidly going through economic, social, educational, and cultural transformation ushered in by forces of globalization and McDonaldization of society.

Hawai‘i is generally known as a great tourist destination that is no less than an imagined paradise. Hawai‘i is more than solely a site for tourism; it has a culturally and socially diverse population, and has a contested social history. In this context, in a deeper sense, the book gives the reader glimpses of family members at the level of intimacy among themselves in their place based situated interactions in today’s Hawai‘i. In its real essence, this book is an authentic collection of research papers, short stories, anecdotes, memories and reminiscences; of aloha (love, compassion, kindness) and mahalo (thanks, respect, and praise); of longing and search for legacy by diasporic elders, immigrants, settlers, American citizens, hyphenated Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders; by grandparents and grandchildren of diverse and multiple ethnicities, cultures, and races who have struggled hard through many decades to make Hawai‘i their permanent and beloved home and place, or long-term residence to live and raise their families.

The set of self-narratives in this book may have significant implications for understanding the process of aging in the State of Hawai'i; for social aging is both an individual and a social process in the sense that an individual’s biography is intimately related to her/his society’s biography. For “doing” roles such as being grandparents and grandchildren are heavily defined and structured by prevailing social and cultural processes.

The book may be useful for educators and students who are working and studying in areas such as education, sociology of family, social work, local and global social change, indigenous cultures and societies, alternative modernities and indigenizing social movements, race and ethnic relations, settler societies, social justice, health care, social gerontology, diaspora and immigration studies, and those working with youth in communities.