The Contemporary Pacific
Encyclopedia
The Contemporary Pacific: A Journal of Island Affairs is an academic journal covering a wide range of disciplines with the aim of providing comprehensive coverage of contemporary developments in the entire Pacific Islands region, including Melanesia
, Micronesia
, and Polynesia
. It features refereed, readable articles that examine social, economic, political, ecological, and cultural topics, along with political reviews, book and media reviews, resource reviews, and a dialogue section with interviews and short essays. Each recent issue highlights the work of a Pacific Islander
artist.
The journal was founded at the University of Hawaii
Center for Pacific Islands Studies under the directorship of Robert C. Kiste, with then-CPIS faculty member Brij Lal
serving as editor of volumes 1-4. The historian David Hanlon edited volumes 5-10, the anthropologist Geoffrey M. White edited volumes 11-13, the playwright Vilsoni Hereniko
edited volumes 14-20, and the political scientist Terence Wesley-Smith edits current volumes. The journal continues to be edited at the UH Center for Pacific Islands Studies and published by the University of Hawaii Press
. CPIS also edits and UH Press publishes the related Pacific Islands Monograph Series.
From volume 15 (2003), the journal began featuring the work of a different Pacific Islander artist on the cover and inside each issue. Among the artists featured so far are John Pule
of Niue
, Kapulani Landgraf of Hawaii, Rongotai Lomas of New Zealand
, Ake Lianga
of the Solomon Islands
, Meleanna Aluli Meyer of Hawaii, Ric R Castro of Guam
, Albert Wendt
of Samoa
, Larry Santana
of Papua New Guinea
, Shigeyuki Kihara
of New Zealand
, Ralph Regenvanu
of Vanuatu
, Carl Franklin Kaailāau Pao of Hawaii, Jewel Castro of Samoa
, Lingikoni Vaka‘uta of Tonga
, Daniel Waswas of Papua New Guinea, Sue Pearson of Norfolk Island
, and Michael Tuffery of New Zealand.
The Contemporary Pacific appears semiannually. Its first electronic edition appeared in 2000 on Project MUSE
. Back issues are being added to an open-access archive in the University of Hawaii at Mānoa's ScholarSpace
institutional repository
.
Melanesia
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
, Micronesia
Micronesia
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
, and Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
. It features refereed, readable articles that examine social, economic, political, ecological, and cultural topics, along with political reviews, book and media reviews, resource reviews, and a dialogue section with interviews and short essays. Each recent issue highlights the work of a Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander , is a geographic term to describe the indigenous inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these three regions, together with their islands consist of:Polynesia:...
artist.
The journal was founded at the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
Center for Pacific Islands Studies under the directorship of Robert C. Kiste, with then-CPIS faculty member Brij Lal
Brij Lal
Brij V. Lal is a Indo-Fijian historian . He was born in Labasa, on the northern island of Vanua Levu. He was educated at the University of South Pacific, the University of British Columbia and the Australian National University.- Academic career :...
serving as editor of volumes 1-4. The historian David Hanlon edited volumes 5-10, the anthropologist Geoffrey M. White edited volumes 11-13, the playwright Vilsoni Hereniko
Vilsoni Hereniko
Vilsoni Hereniko is a Fiji Islander playwright, film director and academic. He was the writer and director of Fiji's first ever feature film, The Land Has Eyes .-Biography:...
edited volumes 14-20, and the political scientist Terence Wesley-Smith edits current volumes. The journal continues to be edited at the UH Center for Pacific Islands Studies and published by the University of Hawaii Press
University of Hawaii Press
The University of Hawaii Press is a university press that is part of the University of Hawaii.The University of Hawaii Press was founded in 1947, with the mission of advancing and disseminating scholarship by publishing current research in all disciplines of the humanities and natural and social...
. CPIS also edits and UH Press publishes the related Pacific Islands Monograph Series.
From volume 15 (2003), the journal began featuring the work of a different Pacific Islander artist on the cover and inside each issue. Among the artists featured so far are John Pule
John Pule
John Puhiatau Pule, born in Liku, Niue in 1962, is a Niuean artist, novelist and poet. He has lived in Auckland, New Zealand since the age of 3. The Queensland Art Gallery describes him as "one of the Pacific's most significant artists".-Literature:...
of Niue
Niue
Niue , is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the "Rock of Polynesia", and inhabitants of the island call it "the Rock" for short. Niue is northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga to the southwest, the Samoas to the northwest, and the Cook Islands to...
, Kapulani Landgraf of Hawaii, Rongotai Lomas of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Ake Lianga
Ake Lianga
Ake Lianga is a Solomon Islands screen printer and painter, who has "gained recognition for paintings and murals throughout Oceania".After schooling, Lianga became self-employed as a sign painter and mural artist...
of the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, Meleanna Aluli Meyer of Hawaii, Ric R Castro of Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, Albert Wendt
Albert Wendt
Albert Wendt, CNZM is a Samoan poet and writer who also lives in New Zealand. Among his works is Leaves of the Banyan Tree .-Biography:...
of Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, Larry Santana
Larry Santana
Larry Santana, born in Ramu Valley, Papua New Guinea, in 1962, is a Papua New Guinean painter.Larry's original surname was 'Mike' i.e. Larry Mike and he studied under that name at the Goroka School of Art and Design in 1979. One of his painting tutors at that time was New Zealander Roger Smith...
of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, Shigeyuki Kihara
Shigeyuki Kihara
Shigeyuki Kihara is a contemporary artist and the first New Zealander to hold a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Titled Shigeyuki Kihara: Living Photographs, the exhibition opened from 7 October 2008 to 1 February 2009...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Ralph Regenvanu
Ralph Regenvanu
Ralph John Regenvanu is a ni-Vanuatu anthropologist, artist and politician. He has been a Member of Parliament since September 2008, a member of Cabinet for most of the period since December 2010, and was the Director of the Vanuatu National Cultural Council from 1995 until December 2010.He has...
of Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
, Carl Franklin Kaailāau Pao of Hawaii, Jewel Castro of Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, Lingikoni Vaka‘uta of Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
, Daniel Waswas of Papua New Guinea, Sue Pearson of Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
, and Michael Tuffery of New Zealand.
The Contemporary Pacific appears semiannually. Its first electronic edition appeared in 2000 on Project MUSE
Project MUSE
Project MUSE is an online database of current and back issues of peer-reviewed humanities and social sciences journals. It was founded in 1993 by Todd Kelley and Susan Lewis and is a project of the Johns Hopkins University Press and the Milton S. Eisenhower Library. It had support from the Mellon...
. Back issues are being added to an open-access archive in the University of Hawaii at Mānoa's ScholarSpace
ScholarSpace
ScholarSpace is an institutional repository for the digital scholarly output for the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa community. Contributors include researchers, faculty, and students who maintain copyright to their submissions and can control access to their collections. ScholarSpace is an attempt...
institutional repository
Institutional repository
An Institutional repository is an online locus for collecting, preserving, and disseminating - in digital form - the intellectual output of an institution, particularly a research institution....
.