580 California St., Suite 400
San Francisco, CA, 94104
Key research themes
1. How do transpacific knowledge flows and intercultural exchanges challenge traditional epistemologies and historiographies?
This research area investigates the dynamic and often non-linear movement of knowledge, identities, and narratives across the Pacific, emphasizing the fluidity of epistemologies beyond rigid Eurocentric or national frameworks. It explores how indigenous, colonial, and hybrid practices of knowledge production and dissemination reshape our understanding of history and science, advocating for transdisciplinary and intercultural approaches that recognize multiplicity, temporality, and relationality in knowledge systems.
Key finding: This paper reveals through the 18th-century journey of Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira in the Brazilian Amazon how indigenous geographical knowledge, though not conforming to European scientific categories, constitutes valid... Read more
Key finding: Through literary analysis of Madeleine Thien's novel, this article demonstrates how Asian North American literature can enact a 'worlding' that transcends mere representation by decelerating historical time to foreground... Read more
Key finding: This historical study traces Eric Wittkower's interdisciplinary career from Germany to the UK and Canada, documenting the origins of transcultural psychiatry as a discipline that integrates psychosomatic medicine with social... Read more
2. What methodologies and frameworks best address cultural plurality and global-local dynamics in transpacific and transdisciplinary research?
This theme focuses on developing and critically assessing methodological approaches that effectively encompass the complexity of cultural difference, transcultural bioethics, and the situated nature of sustainability and scientific practices in transpacific studies. It acknowledges the limitations of dichotomous paradigms such as local vs. universal and center vs. periphery, proposing nuanced, flexible, and context-sensitive frameworks that enable equitable and holistic knowledge production across diverse geopolitical and cultural settings.
Key finding: Argues that contemporary global bioethics is hindered by dichotomous thinking separating East and West and local and universal values. The paper introduces a transcultural bioethics methodology that embraces cultural... Read more
Key finding: This empirical study identifies critical contextual dimensions—such as socio-political volatility and infrastructural weaknesses—in Southern research sites that complicate transdisciplinary research (TDR). It demonstrates the... Read more
Key finding: Provides a nuanced historical and theoretical reflection on the mutual influences and tensions between transnational and cultural studies. It advocates for integrating these perspectives to build a critical transnationalism... Read more
3. How do material culture and specific cultural practices shape and reflect neocolonial economic and social relations in the transpacific arena?
This area examines the interplay between material artifacts, cultural identity formation, and neocolonial economic structures across transpacific locales. Studies focus on the political economy, cultural symbolism, and gendered dimensions of consumer goods, knowledge production, and tourism, revealing how transpacific circulation of goods and cultural representations participate in broader processes of identity negotiation, imperial legacies, and economic integration.
Key finding: Analyzes the transformation of the muumuu garment from Native Hawaiian cultural dress to a commodified neocolonial tourist product fueling Hawai'i's tourism economy. The paper illustrates how Japanese textile exports and... Read more
Key finding: Through an ethnographic case study, this research elucidates how Latin American scientific groups navigate global-local dynamics by embedding international scientific dialogue within locally rooted research traditions and... Read more
Key finding: Utilizes cultural pluralism theory to analyze literary representations of Afro-Asian coexistence in 20th-century Cuba, arguing that minoritized groups maintain distinct cultural identities while integrating into a shared... Read more