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Framing the Pacific: Theorising Culture and Society
PASI 301 24 points Victoria University of Welllington Coordinator: Teresia
Teaiwa (teresia.teaiwa@vuw.ac.nz) 6
Kelburn Parade, Room 203 ext
5110 Lectures: Wed,
Thurs 10am-12pm KK
203 For additional information: Diana Felagai, 6 Kelburn Parade,
Room 101, ext 5830 In this paper students will examine a number of critical
issues in the contemporary Pacific through a detailed consideration of the
work, ideas, and writings of Pacific writers, artists, filmmakers, activists
and scholars. They will also discuss established historical and narrative
accounts of a range of Pacific societies. Artists and activists are critical in our region's field of
intellectual production. However, the work of individual artists as cultural
producers often gets displaced in favour of what are accepted as timeless and
authorless collective "traditions", while activists' work for
political change or historical redress often gets overshadowed by national and
state leaders' domination of official memories and the archives. This paper puts artists and activists at the centre of our
investigation as a way of both broadening and deepening our understanding of
the Pacific; we gain new perspectives on the region that provide alternatives
to those more easily accessible through mainstream media, information channels
authorized by the nation-state, or dominant academic historiography. As they engage in the work of representing and/or
transforming Pacific cultures and society, we can see artists and activists as
agents of both theory and praxis. Furthermore, attention to their work gives us
a keener understanding of the kinds of rhetorical devices and tropes that are
being used to "frame" the Pacific, highlighting the fraught processes
and politics of representation. Our questions throughout the course of this paper will
include: What kinds of frames for understanding the Pacific have we inherited?
How are artists/activists framing the Pacific? How are they reproducing and/or
deconstructing inherited frames? How do artists and activists negotiate the
tensions between individualism and communalism in Pacific societies? How is the
work of artists and activists valued by their communities in relation to that
of scholars/professionals/civil servants/religious leaders, etc? This is a reading and writing intensive paper. Course
Aims and Objectives
Students who pass this paper: ·
will keep up with assigned readings; ·
will attend seminars regularly; ·
will bring with them analytical tools and
historical/cultural understanding gained from PASI 101, PASI 201, and other
approved courses for the PASI major; ·
will become "close readers" of texts; ·
will contribute to seminars sincerely and conscientiously,
knowing that they are enjoying the privilege of both creating and revising the
field of Pacific Studies; ·
will be able to describe the various contributions of
artists and activists to the process of theorizing about the cultures and
societies of the Pacific; ·
will be able to competently research the historical and
cultural milieus of particular artists or activists using a variety of sources
of information; ·
will be able to present their research and original ideas in
a scholarly fashion both in writing and in formal seminars; ·
will develop a strong sense of intellectual community with
other seminar participants and guest speakers. Workloads
The workload for PASI 301 is consistent with other
departments within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences 24 point
courses. You are expected to allow on average 12 hours per week of reading and
engaging with the material for this paper. Required
Texts: v Sean Mallon and Pandora Fulimalo Pereira, Speaking
in Colour: Conversations with artists of Pacific Island heritage.
Wellington: Te Papa Press, 1997; v Zohl de Ishtar (ed), Pacific Women Speak
Out for Independence and Denuclearisation. Christchurch: The Raven Press,
1998; v Multilith of course readings (available for
purchase from Student Notes); v Videos (available for viewing at the 9th
floor audio-visual suite, or see class handout regarding video screenings at 6
Kelburn Parade); v Class handouts. Recommended
Texts: v Vilsoni Hereniko and Rob Wilson (eds.), Inside
Out: Literature, Cultural Politics and Identity in the New Pacific. Lanham,
Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield, 1999. Readings on reserve
at the Library v Pacific News Bulletin, Tok blong
Pasifik newsletters available at 6 Kelburn Parade Assessment
Coursework 100% Course journal 30% Research assignment 40% Class seminar presentation 30% v Course journal (30%) Your entries in this journal will be
comprised of summaries of all required readings
(including videos) and personal responses to each. It is recommended that you
either purchase an exercise book or keep a ring binder in which you may place
hand written or word-processed printouts of journal entries. It is expected
that each week, you will produce a journal entry of at least 300 words.
Journals will be collected in Weeks 5, 9 and 12. NOTE: Your
short seminar presentations will be based on your journal entries. v Research assignment (40%) Your research for this course will help to
build the underdeveloped literature and scholarship on artists and
activists of the Pacific. Your task then, is to select either an individual
artist/activist or a particular art movement/ social movement within the Pacific,
undertake a review of the surrounding literature and provide a) an
annotated bibliography of available sources on the
individual or movement; and b) write an essay discussing how the individual or
movement expresses and acts on certain theories about society and culture, and
how they participate in or resist particular "framings" of the
Pacific. Annotated
bibliography (15%) Your annotated bibliography should contain
no less than ten entries and should provide annotations of at
least 100 words for each entry (which does not include the title or other
bibliographic information). A format for annotating bibliographies will be
handed out and discussed in seminar. Essay (25%) Your essay should be no less than 2000 words
in length and should be thoroughly proofread and copy-edited
before it is turned in. Your complete research assignment
will be assessed as much on form as it will be on content. Assessment will
be based on organisation of content, use of appropriate academic citation
formats, and the effective exposition of your topic. Marks will be awarded for the
absence of typographical errors. v Class seminar presentation (30%) Short
seminar presentation (10%) Sign-ups for short seminar presentations
will be taken in Week 1, with the first seminars taking place in Week
2. Each student is expected to take responsibility for leading a seminar
discussion by a) preparing to summarize and respond critically to the day's
readings; b) leading seminar discussion by preparing questions or exercises for
the entire class. Long
seminar presentation (20%) Since this is the first ever senior class of
PASI students and since we have a pretty high enrolment this
trimester, long seminars will be presented in the form of
our own PASI 301 "conference" in Week 13. This will be held in
Porirua/Hutt/Newtown community centers and open to the public. Long seminar
presentations will be based on students' research assignments and should be no
less than 20 minutes in duration. It may be possible that one or two
students from PASI 301 will be selected to participate in this year's SPICOL
(Students' Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders) at the University of the
South Pacific. PASI 301: Framing
the Pacific, Theorising Culture and Society--Course Outline
Part I: Introduction
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Week 1 The Work of the Intellectual July 16-20 Wed 10am Introductions 11am Course Outline and this week’s readings/handouts distributed Thurs 10am Sign-ups for Seminars and 11am Discussion of this week's readings Readings
for this week: Antonio Gramsci, "The Intellectuals" in Selections
from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci edited and translated by
Quintin Hoare and Geoffrey Nowell Smith. New York: International Publishers,
1999:3-23 (handout); Edward Said,
"Representations of the Intellectual" in Representations of the
Intellectual. New York: Vintage Books, 1996:3-23 (in reader). Recommended
for this week--Closed Reserve: Edward Said, "Holding Nations
and Traditions at Bay" in Representations of the Intellectual. New
York: Vintage Books, 1996: 25-46. (Said's Reith Lectures on which these
chapters were based are also available as sound recordings in the 9th Floor
Audio Visual Suite.) Readings
for next week: Kerry Howe, “The Fate of the ‘Savage’ in Pacific
Historiography” in The New Zealand Journal of History 11(2): 137-154 (in reader); Epeli Hau'ofa, “Our Sea of
Islands” (in PASI 101 reader); Mallon
and Pereira pp 9-11; Ishtar pp 5-14. Recommended
for next week--Closed Reserve: Jacqueline Leckie,
"Introduction: The Silent History of Fiji's Public Sector Workers" in
To Labour with the State: The Fiji Public Service Association. Dunedin:
University of Otago Press, 1997: 11-28. Videos for
this week: Half-life: A Parable for the Nuclear Age, Dennis O’Rourke
(dir.); SPICOL Documentary, Students of the University of the South Pacific
(dir.). Week 2 Framing the Pacific July 23-27
Wed 10am Lecture: Frames 11am Student Seminars Thurs 10am Lecture: Framing the Pacific 11am Student Seminars Readings
for next week: “Introduction” and excerpt from “Chapter 1: Political
Protest” by Peter Hempenstall and Noel Rutherford in Protest and Dissent in
the Colonial Pacific. Suva: The University of the South Pacific, 1984:1-17;
JW Davidson, " Lauaki Namalau'ulu Mamoe: a traditionalist in Samoan
Politics," in Pacific Islands Portraits, edited by JW Davidson and
Deryck Scarr. Wellington and Auckland: AH and AW Reed, 1976: 267-299; Brij Lal,
"Apolosi Nawai" in 20th Century Fiji: People Who Shaped this
Nation. Suva: USP Solutions, 2001: 49-50. (in reader) Video to
be discussed next week: The Tribunal, Na Maka o Ka ‘Aina Productions. Part II: Activists
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Week 3 In the Colonial Past July 30-August 3
Wed 10am Lecture: The Colonial Past 11am Student Seminars Thurs 10am Guest Lecture: Toeolesulusulu Dr. Damon
Salesa 11am Student Seminars Readings
for next week: “Violent Protest” by Peter Hempenstall and Noel
Rutherford in Protest and Dissent in the Colonial Pacific. Suva: The
University of the South Pacific, 1984:87-97 (in reader); “Introduction” and “The Forgotten Wars,” from David
Robie's Blood on their Banner: Nationalist Struggles in the South Pacific.
Quezon City: Malaya Books, 1989: 13-25, 41-65 (handout); Susanna Ounei, “For an Independent Kanaky” in Confronting
the Margaret Mead Legacy: Scholarship, Empire, and the South Pacific edited
by Lenora Foerstel and Angela Gilliam. Philadelphia: Temple University Press,
1992:159-172 (handout); Ishtar
pp15-33. Recommended
reading for next week--Closed Reserve: Selections from Laura Marie
Torres Souder, Daughters of the Island: Contemporary Chamorro Women
Organizers on Guam. Lanham/New York/London: University Press of America and
Micronesian Area Research Center, University of Guam, 1992. Second Edition. Video for
next week: Week 4 From Colonial Past to Present August 6-10
Wed 10am Student Seminars 11am Student Seminars Thurs 10am Guest Speaker: Susanna Ounei 11am Open Discussion Readings
for next week: Haunani-Kay Trask, "Politics in the Pacific
Islands: Imperialism and Native Self-Determination" in From a Native
Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawai'i. Monroe, Maine: Common
Courage Press, 1993: 51-78 (in reader);
Jacqueline Leckie, "Union and Nation Building in Post-Colonial Fiji,"
in To Labour with the State: The Fiji Public Service Association.
Dunedin: University of Otago Press, 1997:49-72 (in reader); Ishtar pp36-63. Recommended
reading for next week—Closed Reserve: Jacqueline Leckie,
"Contesting the Workplace: Personal meets Political" in To Labour
with the State: The Fiji Public Service Association. Dunedin: University of
Otago Press, 1997:73-98. Recommended
reading for next week—Independent surfing: Te Ahu, "Brown
Power" in "The Evolution of Contemporary Maori Protest".
http://maorinews.com/writings/papers/other/protest.html Handout: selection
from Pulega i Samoa: Governance in Samoa, Asofou So’o et al. Video to
be discussed next week: Uiaki Fono,
Taueva Fa’otusia (dir.) Week 5 Independence? August 13-17
Wed 10am Guest speaker: Dr. Melani Anae
(Centre for Pacific Studies, Auckland University) 11am Open Discussion Thurs 10am Student Seminars 11am Student Seminars NOTE: COURSE JOURNALS WILL BE COLLECTED AT THE END OF
SEMINAR ON THURSDAY Readings
for next week: “Introduction: Sustaining the unsustainable” (in PASI 101 reader), Vanessa Griffen’s
“The politics of sustainable development in the Pacific”, Noumea Simi’s
“Putting people first” and Arlene Griffen’s “At the dawn of the ‘Pacific
century’: A place for Pacific feminism,” from 'Atu Emberson-Bain Sustainable
Development or Malignant Growth? Perspectives of Pacific Island Women.
Suva: Marama Publications, 1984:I-xiii, 263-284. (handout) Recommended for next week--Closed Reserve: Vanessa
Griffen (ed.), Women, Development and Empowerment: A Pacific Feminist
Perspective, A Report of the Pacific Women's Workshop, Naboutini, Fiji 23-26
March 1987. Kuala Lumpur: Asian and Pacific Development Centre, 1989. Videos for next week: In the Name of Growth, ‘Atu
Emberson-Bain (dir.) Week 6 Development? August 20-24
Wed 10am Student Seminars 11am Student Seminars Thurs 10am Guest speaker: Gitanjali Bedi 11am Open Discussion Readings
for Week 7: Nicholas Thomas, "National Independence, Indigenous
Minorities and Migrants" in Oceanic Art. London: Thames and Hudson,
1995:184-208; John Berger, Chapter 1, Ways of Seeing. London: British
Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books, 1977:7-33; Frantz Fanon, “On
National Culture” in The Wretched of the Earth. New York: Grove
Weidenfeld, 1963:206-248. (in reader) Langi Kavaliku, “Culture and sustainable
development in the Pacific” from Culture and Sustainable Development in the
Pacific edited by Antony Hooper. Canberra: Asia Pacific Press, 2000:22-31. (handout) "Fatu Feu'u" and
"Filipe Tohi" in Mallon and Pereira. Recommended
readings for Week 7--Closed Reserve: Vilsoni Tausie, Art in the New
Pacific. Suva: Institute of Pacific Studies, 1981; Vilsoni Hereniko,
“Representations of Cultural Identities” (in
PASI 101 reader). >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> MID-TERM
BREAK >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Part III: Artists
Week 7 Cultural Representations September 10-14
Wed 10am Lecture: Culture and Representation 11am Student Seminars Thurs 10am Lecture: Culture and Resistance 11am Student Seminars Readings
for next week: Paul
Gilroy, “It ain’t where you’re from, it’s where you’re at: The dialectics of
diaspora identification,” from Small Acts: Thoughts on the Politics of Black
Culture. New York: Serpent’s Tail, 1993: 120-145; Don Long, “In Search of a
‘Written Fagogo’: Contemporary Pacific Literature for Children” from Vilsoni Hereniko and Rob Wilson
(eds.), Inside Out: Literature, Cultural Politics and Identity in the New
Pacific. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield, 1999:231-246. (handouts) "John Pule" and "Michel Tuffery" in
Mallon and Pereira. Recommended
readings for next week: tba Week 8 Indigenous Articulations September 17-21
Wed 10am Student Seminars 11am Student Seminars Thurs 10am Guest speaker: Filipe Tohi 11am Open Discussion Readings
for next week: Christina A. Thompson, “In Whose Face? An Essay on the Work
of Alan Duff,” from Vilsoni Hereniko and Rob Wilson (eds.), Inside Out:
Literature, Cultural Politics and Identity in the New Pacific. Lanham,
Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield, 1999:105-118 (handout); Sean Mallon, “Samoan Art Histories” forthcoming in Art
AsiaPacific (in reader);
"Lily Laita", "Lyle Penisula" and "Jim Vivieaere"
in Mallon and Pereira. Recommended
reading for next week—Closed Reserve: bell hooks, “Counter-hegemonic
Art: Do the Right Thing,” in Yearning: race, gender and cultural politics.
Boston: South End Press, 1990: 173-184. Week 9 Social Criticism September 24-28
Wed 10am Student Seminars 11am Student Seminars Thurs 10am Guest Speaker: Andy Lelei’siuao 11am Open discussion NOTE: COURSE JOURNALS WILL BE COLLECTED AT THE END OF
SEMINAR ON THURSDAY Readings
for next week: Haunani-Kay Trask, “Writing in Captivity: Poetry in a Time
of Decolonization,” and Patricia Grace, “Influences on Writing,” from Vilsoni
Hereniko and Rob Wilson (eds.), Inside Out: Literature, Cultural Politics
and Identity in the New Pacific. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield,
1999:17-26, 65-73. Selected work by Alistair Te Ariki Campbell and Audrey
Brown…(handouts) Recommended
reading for next week: Week 10 Writing Cultures October 1-5
Wed 10am Student Seminars 11am Student Seminars Thurs 10am Guest speakers: Alistair Te Ariki Campbell
and Audrey Brown 11am Open discussion Readings
for next week: Robert Nicole, “Toward a Literature of Liberation,” from The
Pen, the Pistol and the Other: Literature and Power in Tahiti. New York:
State University of New York, 2001:167-202. (in reader) Recommended
reading for next week—Closed Reserve: Paul Gilroy, “Art of darkness: black
art and the problem of belonging to England,” from from Small Acts: Thoughts
on the Politics of Black Culture. New York: Serpent’s Tail, 1993:74-85;
Frantz Fanon, “The Pitfalls of National Consciousness” from The Wretched of
the Earth. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1963:148-205. Part IV: Conclusion
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Week 11 Culture and Politics October 8-12
Wed 10am Student Seminars 11am Student Seminars Thurs 10am Guest Speaker: H.E. Wilkie Rasmussen, Cook
Islands High Commissioner to New Zealand 11am Open discussion Readings
for next week: Ngugi wa Thiongo, "The Language of African
Literature" in Decolonizing the Mind: The Politics of Language in
African Literature. London and Nairobi: James Currey and Heinemann Kenya,
1986:4-33; Malama Meleisea, “Ideology in Pacific Studies: A Personal View” in Class
and Culture in the South Pacific edited by Antony Hooper et al. Suva and
Auckland: The University of the South Pacific and Auckland University, 1987:140-152;
Sione Latukefu, “The Making of the First Tongan-born Professional Historian,”
in Pacific Islands History: Journeys and Transformations edited by Brij
V. Lal. Canberra: The Journal of Pacific History, 1992:14-31. (in reader) Recommended
reading for next week—Closed Reserve: Antonio Gramsci, “On Education”
from Selections from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci edited and
translated by Quintin Hoare and Geoffrey Nowell Smith. New York: International
Publishers, 1999:2-43. Week 12 Politics and Scholarship October 15-20
Wed 10am Guest Speaker: Toeolesulu Dr. Damon Salesa 11am Open discussion Thurs 10am Student Seminars 11am Student Seminars NOTE: COURSE JOURNALS WILL BE COLLECTED AT THE END OF
SEMINAR ON THURSDAY Week 13 PASI 301 Community Conferences
October 22-26 Venues and Times tba
Pacific art in New Zealand: selected readings compiled by Sean Mallon Cross, Mark. 1993. Liku and the
new hiapo of John Pule. Art New Zealand,
66:43-5 Griffin, Jane. 1992. Southern
Presence: meeting with Five Pacific artists. Art New Zealand, 64:85-9 Feu`u, Fatu. 1995. Samoan Artists in Samoa and New Zealand. Art AsiaPacific Vol2:4. Lay, Graeme. 1996. Pacific
New Zealand. Auckland: David Ling. Panaho, Rangihiroa. 1990.Te
Moemoea No Iotefa: the dream of Joseph: a celebration of Pacific Island
artists. Wanganui:Sargeant Gallery. Stacey, G. 1987. The Art of Fatu
Feu’u. Art New Zealand, 45:48-51. Stevenson, Karen.
1996. "Culture and Identity: Contemporary Pacific Artists in New Zealand'.
Bulletin of New Zealand Art History,
Vol 17:59-68. Te Waka Toi. 1992. The Tongan Arts in New Zealand. Te Waka Toi, Issue 13 Thomas, Nicholas. 1994. Lost Gods
the Paintings of John Pule. Art
AsiaPacific, vol 1(4):96-103. Thomas, Nicholas.
1995. "Pacific Dualities: Bottled Ocean in Wellington and Auckland".
Art New Zealand 74:46-50. Vaigro,W. 1995. Bottled Ocean:
shape shifting. Art AsiaPacific, Vol.
2 no 4. Vercoe, C. 1999.
John Ioane Fale Sa. Auckland Art
Gallery, Toi O Tamaki. Auckland. Vivieaere, Jim. 1997. The Island race in Aotearoa. Artlink, Vol 16:4. Walker, Tim. 1994. Everything is Connected: The Art of Michel Tuffery. Art New
Zealand, 70:64-7. | |
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