The University of Hawaiʻi School of Law Library cordially invites you to attend the tenth installment of the Law Library Talk Story Series with Dr. J. Susan Corley, PhD on her publication, “Leveraging Sovereignty: Kauikeaouli’s Global Strategy for the Hawaiian Nation, 1825-1854.”

Dr. Corley will talk about an overview of the kingdom’s administrative structure in the 1840s based on the origination, implementation, and effectiveness of key statecraft tactics and King’s struggles to regain ruling control over key governance functions when foreign merchants and traders increasingly dominated Hawai‘i’s economic activity.  Kauikeaouli’s policies and tactical negotiations will be introduced with his own words and in his own language along with his own administrative documents to regain and maintain full functional control.

This Law Library Talk Story is co-sponsored by Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law.  Mahalo!

Please join us for a stimulating discussion on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 at 12 noon (offered in hybrid format)

When: March 1, 2023 12:00 p.m. – 1 p.m.

Where: University of Hawaiʻi School of Law Library Lobby

Speaker: Dr. J. Susan Corley, PhD, Historian

Your RSVP  by February 23, would be greatly appreciated.  https://forms.gle/U14jNfwu5VEWCmhW8 

* Light refreshments (chili) will be served on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Bio of Dr. J. Susan Corley

J. Susan Corley, PhD, was born and raised in Koʻolaupoko, Oʻahu and holds a doctoral degree in history from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Her scholarly emphasis is in Hawaiian history, and she has researched extensively in Hawaiian-and English-language newspapers, letters, manuscript collections, and kingdom governance documents contemporary to the period 1820-1860. In this book, Susan’s research conclusions about Kauikeaouli’s struggle for sovereign control further the historical dialog that non-European rulers deliberately molded their states’ responses to governance changes in ways that suited their own cultural and political needs. She has also published several articles about Kamehameha II.

What distinguishes my analysis of Kauikeaouli’s actions is my use of his own words, in his own language, contained in his own administrative documents. Those records show that his actions were deliberate, well-reasoned, and based on his broad understanding of western politics and commerce. Far from being the ineffectual leader as he is so often portrayed, Kauikeaouli emerges as a superb political strategist who succeeded in keeping his kingdom independent during very perilous times.