Introduction to Ethnic Studies: Oceanic Connections examines United States and Hawai'i history and contemporary social issues from diverse perspectives to arrive at a plural, multicultural understanding of the U.S. and Oceania. The anthology focuses on issues that affect marginalized groups, highlighting how these groups have acted collectively to change systems, structures, and relations of power. In the first section, students are introduced to core concepts used to student race and relations through the lens of two major processes-colonization and migration. Readers learn why social inequalities persist in the U.S. and how these inequalities are distributed across racial, ethnic, and gender groups. Section two emphasizes the experiences of indigenous people, particularly those of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific peoples and Asian Americans. The readings address the political, cultural, and ecological problems facing a globalized Hawai'i and Pacific, while staking new claims for community alliances and academic interventions. In the final section, students explore the multitude of possibilities of an Oceanic ethnic studies. Introduction to Ethnic Studies is an ideal resource for fundamental course in ethnic studies, especially those with a social justice and community impact focus.

"Empire of Funk: Hip Hop and Representation in Filipina/o America" gives long overdue attention to the most popular cultural art form practiced by recent generations of Filipina/o American youth. A pioneering work, the anthology features the voices of artists, scholars, and activists to begin a dialogue on Filipina/o American youth culture and its relationship to race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class. The text also offers the opportunity to question the future of Hip Hop itself. Chapters in "Empire of Funk" explore Filipina/o American Hip Hop aesthetics, community-building, the geography of Hip Hop in Filipina/o America, sexuality and power, activism and praxis, visual culture, and navigating the Hip Hop industry. This text gives readers a thoughtful introduction to an often-overlooked aspect of American society and culture. It can be used in courses dealing with race and ethnicity, American youth culture, popular culture in America, and immigrant communities.
Mark R. Villegas is a poet, filmmaker, blogger, and Ph.D. candidate in Culture and Theory at the University of California, Irvine. He is a navy brat who grew up in Yokosuka, Japan; Pascagoula, Mississippi; Long Beach, California; and Jacksonville, Florida.
DJ Kuttin Kandi was born and raised in Queens, NY, and is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished female DJs in the world. She is also a writer, spoken word poet, theater performer, educator, Hip Hop Feminist, and community organizer. She is a member of DJ team champions the 5th Platoon, co-founder and DJ for the all female Hip-Hop group Anomolies, co-founder of the famed NY monthly open mic nights "Guerrilla Words" and co-founder of the coalition R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop (Representing Education, Activism & Community through Hip Hop). She currently resides in Chula Vista, CA, where she works at UC San Diego s Women s Center.
Dr. Roderick N. Labrador is an assistant professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of Hawai i at M noa. His research and community work focuses on race, ethnicity, class, culture, language, migration, education, hip hop, and cultural production in Hawai i, the US, and the Philippines."

Drawing on ten years of interviews and ethnographic and archival research, Roderick Labrador delves into the ways Filipinos in Hawai'i have balanced their pursuit of upward mobility and mainstream acceptance with a desire to keep their Filipino identity.
In particular, Labrador speaks to the processes of identity making and the politics of representation among immigrant communities striving to resist marginalization in a globalized, transnational era. Critiquing the popular image of Hawai'i as a postracial paradise, he reveals how Filipino immigrants talk about their relationships to the place(s) they left and the place(s) where they've settled, and how these discourses shape their identities. He also shows how the struggle for community empowerment, identity territorialization, and the process of placing and boundary making continue to affect how minority groups construct the stories they tell about themselves, to themselves and others.