The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s English Department has selected “resurgence” as the 2023 word of the year.
The inspiration came from the Maui community's resiliency in the wake of the Aug. 8 wildfires and from a return to normalcy after the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the economy and people's livelihoods.
Department Chair John David Zuern said the department is doubling down on its 2022 word, “in-person."
“The wildfires on Maui were also on our minds, and we wanted to uphold the Maui community’s resilience and its determination to come back strong, which should be inspiring for all of us as we face a future that the effects of climate change will shape," he said in a news release last week.
Resurgence means “an increase or revival after a period of little activity, popularity or occurrence,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
The department considered "polarization" for 2023. Zuern noted that resurgence isn’t always a good thing, depending on how the word is used.
He referenced current events worldwide, such as the "resurgence of authoritarian, anti-democratic nationalism, and state-supported racism, sexism and homo- and transphobia."
“In some places, we’re also seeing pushback against those malign trends, with an upsurge in activism and involvement in the political process, and that’s heartening,” Zuern said.
“As educators in the humanities, we aim to help our students develop skills in analysis, interpretation, and communication that will allow them to engage critically with all the ‘surges,’ destructive and constructive alike, that are transforming our world.”
