Hello World! I’m excited to welcome you to the inaugural post of Rhetorical Review. Keolanani (Keola), here—editor, writer, founder, and CEO (😅😉) behind the website and operations. I’d like to introduce myself and my new website to you. If you already know me, you know I’ve been acting, directing, and music-directing shows and musical theatre for a while. I think I was ten when I landed my first role. If you follow me on social media, you probably also know I’ve been writing reviews since 2022. I am a Big Island girl (from Hawaiʻi) who recently started a PhD in Writing and Rhetoric at the University of Utah, and I’ve been trying to figure out a way to bridge my love of academic writing and theatre into one. This website is where I want to start to do that.
I strongly believe in the power of well-researched knowledge. I have always believed knowledge is power; however, I also think there is so much knowledge outside of academia that has yet to be discovered or shared, especially from Indigenous populations. I study Decolonial theory: what does that mean? I seek to unsettle narratives that tell us certain races or genders must act a certain way (or can or cannot say or do certain things). My dissertation will, hopefully, center around theatre, in some form or fashion, and around unconventional forms of theatre and/or Indigenous authors and playwrights. I hope this page and website offer insight(s) to you about the complicated nature of knowledge power structures and how you can better understand and support BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color) artists.
Thank you for being here,
Keolanani Kinghorn
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