'Esiteli Hafoka | Angafakafonua as Tongan Religio-Racial Identity

Please join the Blokker Research Workshop: Religion, Politics, and Culture for a hybrid workshop with Dr. 'Esiteli Hafoka on "Angafakafonua as Tongan Religio-Racial Identity." We will discuss a chapter draft from Dr. Hafoka's current book project, which will be circulated before the event.

Lunch will be provided for registered participants. Please list any dietary restrictions or preferences in the RSVP form.

About the Speaker

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Dr. Hafoka received her PhD in Religious Studies from Stanford University and is currently a lecturer in the COLLEGE program. Her research introduces a novel theoretical approach, Angafakafonua as Tongan epistemology, to understand Tongan collective identity in America. In her dissertation, Dr. Hafoka identified religious threads connecting 19th-century Methodist Christianity, Mormonism, Tongan Crip Gang members in Utah, and sacred education spaces to reveal the ways Tongans navigate their racial identity in America through a religious epistemology.