Mike Pak was born and raised in Kāneʻohe, HI. His research interests include composition pedagogy, rhetoric, literature, critical theory, and popular culture.
Ph.D. University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, English
M.A. University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, English
B.A. University of Washington, Comparative Literature
Associate Professor, English, University of Hawai‘i - West O‘ahu, 2026-present.
Assistant Professor, English, University of Hawai‘i - West O‘ahu, 2020-26.
Lecturer, English, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, 2017-19.
Ph.D. Graduate Teaching Assistant, English, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, 2013-17.
Assistant Director of the Writing Center, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, 2014-16.
Writing Center Tutor, Windward Community College, 2012-13.
M.A. Graduate Teaching Assistant, English, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, 2011-12.
UH West Oʻahu (2020-present)
English 100: Composition I
English 200: Composition II
English 240: Intro to Literary Studies
English 274: Intro to Rhetoric and Composition
English 316: Writing Fellows: Peer Tutoring
English 350: Composition Studies
English 357: Rhetorical Theory
English 380: Multicultural and Postcolonial Literatures
English 476/HPST 476: Contemporary Literature of Hawaiʻi
English 480/HPST 480: Contemporary Literature of the Pacific
*English 490: Senior Practicum
*English 491: Senior Project
Humanities 300: Humanities Seminar
*UHWO Senior Capstones
Malia Makroro, TBA (ENG 491, Fall 2026)
Jhian Kyle Nazareno, TBA (ENG 491, Fall 2026)
Meleana Rita, TBA (ENG 491, Fall 2026)
Melissa Wilkins, TBA (ENG 491, Fall 2026)
Mikiʻala Okuda, Igniting the Flame: A Short Story (ENG 491, Spring 2026)
Kalei Ollero, I ka ʻōlelo no ke ola: Language, Literacy, and Power in the Classroom (ENG 491, Spring 2026)
Nathalie Tamman, The Process of Becoming: Evil as a Master Trope in Anakin Skywalker's Journey (ENG 491, Spring 2026)
Dallas Albao, Literacy as Liberation (ENG 491, Fall 2025)
Quiana Lemmon, Lifting Voices in a Bloodline of Storytellers (ENG 491, Fall 2025)
Lexis Rivera, Rhetoric as Empowerment: A Pedagogy of Voice, Choice, & Growth (ENG 491, Fall 2025)
Nicole Angela Felipe, Behind the Scenes at Kumu Kahua (ENG 490, Spring 2025)
Dara Kauaihilo, Distortion of Local Identity in Hawaiʻi (ENG 491, Spring 2025)
Alfred Tufono, The Real Housewives as a Post-Feminist Phenomenon (ENG 491, Spring 2025)
Abigail Gonzalez, Puppeteering Mexican Culture: How Hollywood Manipulates Our World (ENG 491, Fall 2024)
Sage Marume, Suggestions for Culturally Responsive Teaching to Combat Contemporary Colonialism in Hawaiʻi and Hawaiian Local Poetry as Moʻolelo (ENG 491, Fall 2024)
Grace Sapolu, Local Literature in Hawaiʻi’s Secondary Classrooms (ENG 491, Fall 2024)
Tristen Tuiolemotu, Pidgin in the Classroom: Honoring Hawaiʻi’s History (ENG 491, Fall 2024)
Brittany Ceballos, Emerging Student-Scholars Journal. (ENG 490, Fall 2022)
Remelyn Fagela, Student Feedback for Secondary Teachers. (ENG 491, Fall 2022)
Capri Nakaima, Downfall: A Short Story. (ENG 491, Fall 2021)
UH Mānoa (2013-2019)
English 100: Composition I
English 200: Composition II
English 272: Introduction to Literature: African-American Literature
English 306: Argumentative Writing I
"Productive Failure and GenAI." Double Helix, vol. 12, 2024.
“Circulation Essay: Racial Identities, Visual Representations, and Performative Capacities: Rhetorical Production(s) of/by Asian/Americans in Hawai‘i.” Co-authored with Scott Ka‘alele, Edward Lee, and K. Hyoejin Yoon. Building a Community, Having a Home: A History of the Conference on College Composition and Communication Asian/Asian American Caucus, edited by Jennifer Sano-Franchini, Terese Guinsatao Monberg, and K. Hyoejin Yoon, New City Community Press, 2016, pp. 184-199.
“‘Just Do It and People Will Know’: An Interview with Coach Vincent Goo.” Co-authored with Gary Pak. Amerasia Journal, vol. 41, no. 2, 2015, pp. 132-148.
“Self-Reflective Writing in the FYC Classroom.” Beyond the Frontier: Innovations in First-Year Composition, edited by Jill Dahlman and Piper Selden, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015, pp. 71-78.
Embracing Absurdity: Reimagining Failure in Composition Studies. University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing, 2019.
Composition Studies
Rhetoric
African American Literature
Asian American Literature
Local Literature
Pacific Literature
Chair. GenEd Writing Subcommittee. Fall 2022-Present.
Member. Open Educational Resources Committee. Fall 2021-Present.
Writing Program Coordinator. English Concentration. Spring 2020-Present.
Senator. Faculty Senate for the Humanities Division. Fall 2022-Spring 2024.
Writing Placement Coordinator. English Concentration. Fall 2022-Spring 2023.
Co-Chair. Writing Committee. Spring 2020-Spring 2022.
Member. Academic Affairs Committee. Fall 2020-Spring 2021.