“Guardians” of Signatures? Future Directions in Pacific History from a Pacific Early Career Academic in Aotearoa

Abstract

As a Pacific early career academic sitting between history and Pacific studies, I see unresolved tension concerning the lack of prioritisation of Pacific voices in Pacific history. In this article I explore how Pacific voices are included in the writing and teaching of Pacific history to establish that this is a continuing and unresolved issue. To do this, I survey articles in the Journal of Pacific History between 2015 and 2020 to trace the inclusion and prevalence of Pacific voices through authorship and prioritisation of historical evidence, alongside analysis of the teaching of Pacific history in universities in Aotearoa.