Travel Writing in Hawaii

Based in Waikīkī, on the south shore of Honolulu, the Travel Writing in Hawaii program will challenge you to be journalists and explorers as you gain the skills you need to share with others what you experience in the only U.S. state that was once a kingdom. You’ll grow as storytellers and travelers and ultimately be able to appreciate the wide differences in perspectives and values found among different cultures. You’ll see the importance of place and history in even the most routine stories you report. And you’ll have the opportunity to pursue personal passions—art, science, politics, business—in a new context.

This program will also offer you the chance to meet local journalists, government officials, and residents, including some of the tens of thousands who identify as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. You’ll learn from them and about them in ways that most tourists never can. The island itself will be our classroom, and the unfamiliar environment will push you to sharpen your skills in interviewing, observation, and writing.

Through discussions and reporting assignments, we’ll explore Hawaii’s history and culture, the way of life of the Polynesian seafarers who first settled the islands, the impact of the arrival of American missionaries, the eventual melding of North American and East Asian cultures, the events at Pearl Harbor during World War II, the unique local climate and ecology, the regional cuisine, and the modern challenges and opportunities created by ever-expanding Hawaii tourism.