Sharlaine Hesira
Hi everyone! Thanks for visiting my capstone page. Here's a little bit about my project and about me:
My pronouns are she/her/hers.
I'm a Sociology and Environmental Studies double major.
I'm currently leading the development of my community center's summer program for elementary school students to accommodate COVID guidelines. After graduation and after this summer program ends, I plan on applying for Kupu Hawaii's Environmental Education Development Leadership Program to engage local Hawaii students with conservation, sustainability, and the environment.
How do individuals manage daily life in commodified locations?
Abstract
Hawaii is unique in that there is a local perspective on what Hawaii is and there is a firm outsider perspective on what Hawaii is. Tourism stages different areas to match what’s shown on the media, creating a staged sense of authenticity for tourists that isn’t reality for locals. Hawaii is commodified--experiences, culture, and the land are bought and sold by visitors. By interviewing ten college students who grew up in Hawaii, I was able to examine how living in a commodified location impacts their daily life. My findings are summed up into three themes: (a) the role language plays in local-tourist interactions, (b) the impact of stereotypes and identity, especially for my Native Hawaiian participants, and (c) the avoidance of popular and upcoming tourist spots. Managing daily life in Hawaii is difficult because of the reliance on tourism for income, the stereotypes imposed on the local people of Hawaii by outsiders, and the increasing number of tourists infiltrating “hidden” parts of the islands. For these reasons, we all need to keep in mind that people from Hawaii have agency and their real identities need to be separated from the stereotypes outsiders have due to Hawaii’s commodification.
What I Love About Sociology
My favorite part of sociology is that it can be applied to anything. I also like thinking about why people do the things they do, how our systems in place impact us, and how I can use this knowledge to create proactive change in my community.
Acknowledgements
I'd like to acknowledge my mom and my sister for supporting me from far away. Lauri and Kate for giving me feedback on this capstone. And friends, family, co-workers, and professors that have helped me throughout these past four years, both in Hawaii and at PLU. Thank you all for being a part of my life.
If interested, here's a pdf of my capstone paper.