Ep. 43: Critical Tongan Studies with Ata - Part 2

Building on an earlier episode about Critical Tongan Studies, Ata
and I revisit this idea and discuss the various waves that make
up a rich intellectual tradition based in the regions associated
with Tonga. Acknowledging the social and national construction at
a particular point in time we seek to localise and unpack the
context where different philosophical traditions emerged by
imagining both a pre- and post- Kingdom of Tonga context. We
don’t cover everything, but we spend some time on the
foundational shifts in thinking and questioning based in the era
when Queen Sālote Tupou III reigned. This includes commissioning
research of early Tongan scholars and scholars of Tonga who would
be crucial in capturing a memory of Indigenous cultural practices
and arts as well as further developing a critical intellectual
tradition that asked important yet challenging questions. This
includes scholars like Epeli Hau’ofa, Elizabeth Bott, I. Futa
Helu and more, up through to the contemporary Early Tongan
Scholars and Global Tongan Scholars’ networks of today.


 


References Mentioned:


Women of Power Part 2


Tongan Society: Discussions with Her Majesty Queen Sālote Tupou


Tales of the Tikongs


Songs and Poems of Queen Sālote


Queen Sālote of Tonga