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Kim Davis
Kim Davis

Instructor of History

TEACHING AREA

History

EDUCATION

  • MA, History, University of Hawai‘i
  • BA, East Asian Studies, MIddlebury College

CONTACT

Davis’s areas of expertise include 19th century U.S. history, 19th century Hawai’i,  and modern China. She is particularly interested in the intersection of race and the U.S. memorial landscape; the impact of indigenous movements on U.S. visual culture; and transnational histories in general.

“Our histories haven’t always included the perspectives of all who shaped the past and contributed to the world we share today. This impacts our clarity about who we have been, affecting our collective memories, our worldviews, and thus our possible futures. I find it exciting to take part in the work to recover and amplify these previously marginalized, hidden, or ignored stories and perspectives in service of truth.” 

SCHOLARLY INTERESTS

  • 19th and 20th c United States
  • U.S. Public History
  • Visual Culture
  • Race and Ethnicity
  • 19th and 20th c. Hawai‘i
  • Decoloniality
  • Transnational history
  • China

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FIELD

In April 2021, Davis had an op-ed published in The Berkshire Eagle as a counterpoint to New York Times' columnist Ross Douthat's piece titled "How Does a Baby Bust End" (March 27, 2021). While pursuing her graduate studies, she supported quality public history and literary programs in the Hawaiian Islands as the Hawaii Council for the Humanities' Director of Grants and Special Projects. Davis has presented papers at the American Historical Association's Pacific Branch Conference, at the Annual American Studies Forum, and as a Panelist for the Teaching American History Grant.

MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS

  • American Historical Association
  • National Council on Public History
  • Association for Asian Studies

AWARDS

  • Best Master’s Thesis, 2009, History Department, University of Hawai‘i-Mānoa.
  • Best Graduate Paper, 2009, “(Re)Vision of the Nation: The King Kamehameha I Monument.” Phi Alpha Theta Regional Committee, Honolulu.
  • Herbert F Margulies Award for Best Paper in American History, 2003, “Recarving History: The Crazy Horse Monument.” Phi Alpha Theta Regional Committee, Honolulu.

PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

  • “Our Future Children, and Our Children’s Future,” The Berkshire Eagle, April 5, 2021.
  • “The American National Memorial Landscape: Conflicts, Controversies and the American Self,” August 2010, The 30th Annual American Studies Forum, sponsored by The Center for Asia-Pacific Exchange, Honolulu, HI.
  • “Controversies Surrounding American Monuments and Native Histories,” September 2009, Teaching American History Grant Session 1, Honolulu, HI.
  • “(Re)Vision of the Nation: The King Kamehameha I Monument,” March 2009, Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference, Honolulu, HI.
  • “Arrival of a King: Kamehameha Goes to Washington”, 2003, American Historical Association, Pacific Branch Conference.
     

Kim Davis CV