Chaminade University of Honolulu's Summer Institutes 2020 will shine a spotlight on the emerging academic field of Surf Studies with two special events.
The four-week Surf Studies in Hawaii Institute will provide the opportunity to participate in the building of a community of experience dedicated to the study of surfing and surf culture.
The Institute will be followed by the one-day Hawaii Surf Studies Symposium, featuring presentations on current topics and debates in the international Surf Studies community.
"Surf Studies is growing quickly amid increased local and global attention on the cultural, technological, and economic influences of the sport," said Cheryl Edelson, Dean of the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts.
"This is especially true with surfing making its long-awaited Olympics debut in 2020, signaling a new chapter in the sport's history."
The Surf Studies in Hawaii Institute will be offered from July 6 to July 31, 2020, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from 9 am to 4 pm.
The Learning Outcomes
Participants will survey the Native Hawaiian origins of surfing, compare surf culture in Hawaii to elsewhere in the world, and analyze the economic, cultural, and other impacts of surfing.
Furthermore, they will contextualize media representations of surfing and surfers and, of course, enjoy great surfing nearby.
Participants in the Institute can earn three college credits, but it is open to anyone wanting to take part in the emerging Surf Studies community.
The cost to participate is $2,000, and the minimum age requirement is 21.
The Hawaii Surf Studies Symposium will take place on August 1, 2020, from 9 am to 5 pm.
This one-day event will offer a venue for a shared academic and creative enterprise related to current research in Surf Studies as an academic field.
The cost to participate is $250.
James Kraus, professor of English at Chaminade University, will serve as a facilitator for both the Surf Studies in Hawaii Institute and the Hawaii Surf Studies Symposium.
Kraus began surfing in Hawaii when he was 15. For a time in the early 1980s, he was publisher, editor, and founder of Hawaii Surf & Sea magazine.
He has been on the Chaminade faculty since 1986.
His academic interests are focused on literature, history, culture, and environment, and he's written extensively on surfing in Hawaii.
Chaminade University's Summer Institutes are open to the public and offer an opportunity to expand one's knowledge and expertise in different topics in a fun, hands-on learning format.
Hawaii is expected to establish a State Surfing Commission to promote the sport locally and globally while highlighting surfing's distinct Native Hawaiian cultural heritage and its connection to the archipelago.