Annotated Bibliography

Clark, John R.K. Hawaiian Surfing: Traditions from the Past. Honolulu: Unversity of Hawaii,
2011. WorldCat. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. <http://uncc.worldcat.org/title/hawaiian-surfingtraditions-from-the-past/oclc/794925343&referer=brief_results>.
John R.K. Clark is a native Hawaiian who has published more than eleven books about
Hawaiian culture and landscape. In creating his publications, he interviewed hundreds of
people (mostly indigenous Hawaiians), consulted Hawaiian reference books, and studied
Hawaiian history; therefore, he is a relatively credible source and seems to have extensive
knowledge on the topics he writes about. The source describes the history of surfing in
Hawaii, beginning in the early 1800s. It gives a description of surfing itself and also
provides a list of surfing terms and concepts. Additionally, it details a few locations in
Hawaii that are vital to surfings history within the state.
This article will be vital in providing some of the background information on surfing,
especially within the Hawaiian culture. I can use it as a reference if I run across an
unfamiliar term in my research and utilize it as a starting point to determine why surfing
developed and how it may be cathartic to those in Hawaiian culture. However, the
information could be overly elaborate and detailed for my purposes. Many of the chapters
include quotes in Hawaiian that are then translated to English, so some of the meaning
behind the statements could be lost as well.
This source seems highly credible. I found it in the online library database for the
University of North Carolina at Charlotte and it is written by an author who has
performed extensive research on the subject matter. The information provided by the
source dates back to other authors from the nineteenth century, so it will also provide an
accurate overview of the shifts in ideology and of the viewpoints of many surfers over
time.
Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor, 1997. Print.
Jon Krakauer is an American writer who is well known for his works describing outdoor
adventures and mountaineering. He began mountain-climbing at the age of eight and has
reached the summit of Mount Everest. He also written for the Smithsonian, National
Geographic, and the Rolling Stone, so his work is authentic and reputable. This novel is a
nonfiction biography of Chris McCandless, a young man who traveled the United States
after finishing college and eventually died in an extended trip in the untamed brush of
Alaska.
This novel is relevant to my topic because surfing can, in many ways, be related to the
ventures that Chris undertook. McCandless learned many new skills while traveling, and
surfing is a new skill that I would like to learn (and am therefore researching in more
detail). Additionally, surfing can act as a cathartic experience that is done in an unfamiliar

and unpredictable domain, much like Chriss adventures within the Alaskan wilderness. I
will probably only mention this source once or twice in my paper to tie in my topic with
the novel.
Being a biography written by someone who has interviewed many people related to Chris
McCandless, this source is extremely credible. The author also has extensive knowledge
of the subject at hand and can provide an accurate, if slightly biased, perspective on what
happened to Chris McCandless.
Magruder, Melanie. "Surfing as Therapy." Malibu Times. The Malibu Times, 24 July 2013. Web.
19 Mar. 2015. <http://www.malibutimes.com/malibu_life/article_50255c3a-f425-11e2b318-001a4bcf887a.html>.
Melanie Magruder is a journalist and screenwriter that has written for many magazines
and newspapers in Los Angeles; she has also lived and studied in Hawaii. Therefore, she
has been exposed to beach culture and knows a good deal about surfing; however, she
does not have medical training in therapeutic techniques, so the article may lack a certain
degree of insight. The article describes an organization in Malibu called THERAsurf that
aims to provide therapy, attention, and adventure to children with autism or other
disorders. It describes the ways in which surfing can help to reduce certain symptoms and
actually encourage growth.
I believe this article can be very useful to my paper in that it describes the ways surfing
can be cathartic to these young children with autistic-like disorders. It demonstrates a
therapeutic benefit of the sport and can act as an example of why and how surfing can
provide spiritual and physical benefits. However, the article is somewhat weak in that it
does not go into great detail about the anatomical or psychological effects of surfing; I
will need to find this information elsewhere.
This is a relatively credible source because this author has written for multiple magazines
and newspapers and interviewed individuals who were actually performing the acts she
describes. Despite this, though, the story could be somewhat sensationalized since it was
published for the Malibu Times, which no doubt creates articles that will capture the
attention of their readers, not necessary provide accurate information.
Taylor, Bron. "Surfing into Spirituality and a New, Aquatic Nature Religion." Journal of the
American Academy of Religion 75.4 (2007): 923-51. JSTOR. Web. 20 Mar. 2015. <
http://www.jstor.org/stable/40005969?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=su
rfing&searchText=experience&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3D
surfing%2Bexperience%26amp%3Bacc%3Don%26amp%3Bwc%3Don%26amp%3Bfc
%3Doff%26amp%3Bgroup%3Dnone&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents>.
The author, Bron Taylor, is a professor of religion and nature, environmental ethics, and
environmental studies at the University of Florida. His main area of study is the

connection between humans emotional and spiritual state with the workings of nature.
He seems to be reputable in regards to this topic, as he has a Ph.D. in Social and
Religious Ethics and has taught at various universities in the United States. This article
discusses so called soul surfers and how they make surfing into an art, vocation, and
religion rather than just a sport. Taylor explores the psychological and religious bases for
these beliefs in great detail.
This article will be very useful in writing my paper, as it is directly related to that
cathartic nature of surfing that I wish to explore. It provides examples and historical
references of soul surfing and also gives religious backgrounds that might assist in
developing a supernatural view of the sport. This will likely be one of the sources that I
cite most often in my paper.
This is undoubtedly a credible source because it is located in JSTOR, a reputable online
academic database and is written by an author with extensive knowledge and background
with the subject matter. Additionally, the journal in which this article is written has over
sixty eight previous publications and is considered one of the top academic journals for
religious studies. Finally, the content itself cites multiple other reputable individuals and
provides an in depth analysis of soul surfing.
Walker, Isaiah H. Waves of Resistance: Surfing and History in the Twentieth-Century Hawaii.
Honolulu: University of Hawaii, 2011. UNC Charlotte. WorldCat. Web. 20 Mar.
2015. <http://uncc.worldcat.org/title/waves-of-resistance-surfing-and-history-intwentieth-century-hawaii/oclc/794925379&referer=brief_results>.
Isaiah Walker is a professor of history at Brigham Young University in Oahu, Hawaii. He
has conducted much research on the history of surfing and cultural resistance in Hawaii,
so he seems somewhat reputable on the topic (especially since he has written ten other
novels). This novel outlines native Hawaiians struggle in resisting tourist domination and
colonialism. It provides specific surfers and advocacy groups that have fought for
maintaining cultural independence and also describes the mannerisms that male Hawaiian
surfers are expected to have in their daily lives.
This novel is definitely relevant to my paper because it provides specific examples of
how important surfing is to the people and culture of Hawaii. It also demonstrates how
surfing can be used as a tool to change lives and make statements. Additionally, it can
provide background of the surfing history of Hawaii and give reference points for further
research. The article is weak in that it does not address the opposite side of the issue: why
outsiders want to come in and surf in Hawaii and how tourism could be beneficial.
The source is credible because it is located in the database for the University of North
Carolina at Charlottes library. Additionally, the information included in the source itself
is detailed and obtained through much research. It is written by an author who has
extensive knowledge of the subject matter.