Pacific Studies Summer Session - Cook Islands Field Trip 2002

 

Coordinator:                             Teresia Teaiwa                                    

Tutors:                                      Tereora Crane/Makiuti Tongia

                       

Lectures:                                  }see attached timetable

Tutorials:                                  }

 

For additional information:        Diana Felagai, 6 Kelburn Parade, Room 101

Ext 5830

 

Course Aims and Objectives:

Talofa lava, Kia orana, Malo e lelei, Bula vinaka, Fakaalofa atu, Taloha ni, Yu orait no moa, Kam na bane ni mauri, Tena Koutou! Welcome to PASI 101, a survey paper covering a range of topics relevant to Pacific nations and people. We will explore both indigenous and foreign perspectives on the geography, histories, cultures, economies, politics, and arts of this amazingly diverse region!

 

As a field trip course to Rarotonga, we will have the added benefit of experiencing the environment and social life of a Pacific island. While the course material will not focus explicitly on the Cook Islands, it is hoped that students will be able to make connections between the material presented in readings, lectures and videos and the information available to them about the Cooks. One of the challenges for Pacific Studies students is being able to identify and respect historical and cultural specificity, while also being able to detect structural commonalities and political or economic trends across the region.

 

Crunching a course normally taught over 12 weeks into 2 weeks will require, on your part, tremendous concentration and commitment for keeping up with the readings. Given our reliance on local expertise for some guest lectures and the changeability of the weather during the time of the year that we will be in Rarotonga, a certain degree of flexibility should be given to our course outline.

 

Students who pass the paper:

 

v     Are familiar with the basic geography and demography of the Pacific region;

v     appreciate that the Pacific is a complex region politically, culturally and socially;

v     are aware that there are different ways of researching and understanding the Pacific;

v     are able to identify and begin to use a range of local, regional, and international resources for research on the Pacific region;

v     are able to summarize and discuss the ideas put forward in the required texts and  lectures;

v     ask thoughtful questions about the origins and effects of popular images of the Pacific;

v     confidently share their own ideas and perspectives on regional issues through written work, and oral or performance presentations.

 

Key Texts:

§         Multilith: available for purchase from Student Notes, this is the main required text for PASI 101.

§         All videos screened during lecture hours also constitute required texts for PASI 101.

§         Reserve Readings: a selection of optional readings will be available on reserve to enhance and elaborate on topics covered in lecture.

§         Handouts: occasionally required readings will be handed out in lecture or tutorial.

§         Map of the Pacific: a Xerox-copied map will be handed out in lecture, but Pacific Studies majors are encouraged to invest in a good-sized map of the contemporary Pacific.

§         Recommended texts: Taria Kingstone, Cook Islands

 

Workloads and Course Requirements

Students are expected meet the following requirements:

·        Attend at least 9/12 tutorials

·        Achieve at least 50% in coursework assignments

 

The workload for PASI 101 is consistent with other departments within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences 18 point courses. You are expected to allow on average 12 hours per week—or in this case, at least 2 hours a day--of reading and engaging with the material for this course. Use the opportunities in tutorials to debate and discuss issues raised in lectures. For this field trip course, attendance at lectures and tutorials is mandatory. Remember: YOU ARE NOT ON HOLIDAY.

 

Assessment

100% Internally Assessed

 

Required Assignments

6% Library Assignment—due January 14

10% First Field Trip Report—due Friday January 25th

10% Second Field Trip Report—due Monday January 28th

10% Class exercises—in tutorial

10% Seminar Presentation--tba

4% Pop Quiz

20% Examination—Friday February 1st

30% Research Essay—due Monday February 18th

 

v     The Library Assignment has been especially designed for us by our Library Liaison Officer, Sue Hirst. In addition, Sue has compiled an extremely useful Subject Guide to the Vic library’s Pacific Studies resources for you—ask the Reference Desk for one when you’re at the library. The library is a treasure house and doing this assignment will help you learn how to get the maximum out of it!

 

v     Class exercises will be outlined during tutorial, and may involve a combination of physical, verbal and written participation.

 

v     Field Trip Reports—these assignments are designed to demonstrate your powers of observation and your writing skills. Quite simply, what is required is your summary of and reflections on any of the smaller field trips we take during our two weeks in Rarotonga.

 

Some questions to help guide your writing: Where did you go? How did you get there? What did you learn? Who or what made an impression on you and why? Don’t hesitate to write about “the obvious”. It’s amazing how trying to describe what we think is obvious can actually be more challenging sometimes than trying to describe what we find curious.

 

For your first field trip report you have a choice between writing on a church visit or the trip to Takuvaine Valley; for your second field trip report you have a choice between writing about a church visit or the cross-island hike. Your field trip reports should be about 5-8 pages handwritten.

 

v     Seminar Presentation—This should be a 7-10 minute discussion of a selected reading or video, highlighting the author’s key points and raising questions for discussion.

 

v     The quiz and examination emphasize a familiarity with the readings and discussions in lecture and tutorial. If you’re up-to-date on your work, you’ll be all right! The pop quiz will last no more than 15 minutes during a lecture—you will not be given any indication of when the quiz may be (hence the “pop”). Last year’s Final examination is available if you’d like to have a look at it—this year’s exam will have a similar format but will be geared towards two hours rather than three.

 

v     Research Essay—Here, I’d like to see how you’re able to integrate the skills you’ve developed and the knowledge you’ve gained from your Library Assignment, class exercises, your field trip reports, your seminar presentation and the examination.

 

This is your research assignment: Drawing on readings done for the course and at least five new sources, write an essay of at least 2,000 words that argues either for or against the following statement: THE PACIFIC IS A COMPLEX REGION BUT PACIFIC PEOPLE LIVE SIMPLE LIVES. You may also use personal observation or experience to illustrate your argument in the essay. You must provide a bibliography (detailing the author’s full name, the full title of a work, place of publication, publisher and date of publication, as well as page references if only chapters or articles were used) for your essay. Please arrange your bibliography in the ascending order of author’s last names (i.e. from A to Z) and follow the following format recommended in the Te Kawa a Maui Essay Writing Guide.

 

General University Requirements

Students should familiarise themselves with the University’s requirements regarding assessment and course study requirements, and formal academic grievance procedures, contained in the statutes in the Calendar, and should read the requirements of this course outline in that context. The Calendar also contains the Statute on Conduct, which ensures that members of the University community are able to work, learn, study and participate in the academic and social aspects of the University’s life in an atmosphere of safety and respect. The statute contains information on what conduct is prohibited and what steps can be taken if there is a complaint. While on this field trip, all students and staff are accountable to the Statute of Conduct.

 

Grievance Procedures

If you have any academic problems you should talk to the tutor or lecturer concerned; if you are not satisfied with the result of that meeting, contact the Head of School or the Associate Dean (Students) of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

 

Avoiding Plagiarism

(Adapted from SAMO 111 Course Outline 1999 and Auckland University’s 271.201 Pacific Worlds Course Outline 2000)

 

Plagiarism is copying another student’s essay or work, taking material directly from books and other sources without acknowledgement, and re-using some work you have already handed in to another course. It is a serious offence. Doing this will cost you marks. It may even mean you get your work back ungraded and this means you fail. In extreme cases, university procedures may be invoked.

 

Of course, everyone uses other peoples’ ideas and information (if not their exact words) to write essays. But it is important that these ideas and words are acknowledged and cited. Different academic disciplines have different conventions for citing sources. You are asked to follow those current in Pacific Studies. The proper formats for citations and references are illustrated below:

 

The following is a direct quote:

 

“Most Pacific Islanders are reluctant to make difficult decisions, even if they appear to be the right ones, for fear of giving offence” (Latukefu 1992:30).

 

You could paraphrase the above quote in different ways. Here are two examples:

 

Many Pacific people fear offending others and as a result, even their beliefs do not seem to help them make difficult decisions (Latukefu 1992:30).

            or:

Latukefu suggests that many Pacific people shy away from making choices that are unpopular even if they are right (Latukefu 1992:30).

 

The following is plagiarism:

 

For fear of giving offence, most Pacific Islanders reluctantly make difficult decisions, even if they are the right ones.

 

Note: in the last example, not only was there a very simplistic paraphrasing of the original, but there was also no citation provided.

 

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PASI 101 Week Two

 

 

 

 

Pacific Studies Summer Session 2002

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1. Pacific Studies: how to start?

 

What is Pacific Studies? What kind of knowledge do we expect to gain from Pacific Studies? How are we going to proceed with learning about the Pacific?

 

Videos: Pacific Images in Popular Culture, Maire

 

2. Pacific Geography: when to start?

 

What are some key features of Pacific geography? How do we relate to our environment? How do we envision the relationships between Pacific islands and islanders?

 

Videos: Wayfinders or Settlement of Polynesia…

 

3. Pacific History: where to start?

 

What does our reading tell us are some significant similarities and differences among Pacific islanders’ experiences in pre-colonial times? How does the past impact on our present? How can our understanding of the past be improved?

 

Videos: Act of War, Compassionate Exile

 

Readings: “Pre-Colonial Times” by Robert C. Kiste in Tides of History: The Pacific Islands in the Twentieth Century edited by K.R. Howe, Robert C. Kiste and Brij V. Lal. St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 1994. Doug Munro, “Who Owns Pacific History? Reflections on the Insider/Outsider Dichotomy”, The Journal of Pacific History 29(2):232-37. Roger M. Keesing, “The Past in the Present: Contested Representations of Culture and History” in Michael Goldsmith and Keith Barber (eds.), Other Sites: Social Anthropology and the politics of representation 1992:8-28. (handouts) Vince Diaz, “Simply Chamorro: Telling Tales of Demise and Survival in Guam” in The Contemporary Pacific 6(1):29-58. (in reader)

 

4. Pacific Anthropology: representing “our people”

 

Can we distinguish between flat, one-dimensional representations of a people and fuller, multi-dimensional representations? How has anthropology contributed to our understanding of Pacific cultures? How has it been misleading? Can we do better?

 

Video: Pacific Passages

 

Readings: “The Island Peoples,” in Felix Keesing, Native Peoples of the Pacific World. New York: Macmillan, 1945:8-29. Ann Stephen, “South Pacific Stories: A Photo Essay,” in Meanjin 53(4):679-688; (in reader); Anna S. Meigs, “Blood kin and food kin,” in Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology edited by Spradley and McCurdy, 1987:117-124. (handout) “Dance as a Reflection of Rotuman Culture” by Vilsoni Hereniko from Rotuma Hanua Pumue: Precious Land, Anselmo Fatiaki et al. Suva: Institute of Pacific Studies, 1991:120-141; Haunani-Kay Trask, “Natives and Anthropologists: The Colonial Struggle” in Voyaging through the Contemporary Pacific, David Hanlon and Geoffrey M. White (eds.). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield, 2000:255-263. Michael King, “The Climate Changes” from Being Pakeha: an encounter with New Zealand and the Maori Renaissance 1985: 174-193. (on reserve)

 

5. Pacific Economics: understanding subsistence and sustainable development

 

What are the possibilities for sustainable development in Pacific Islands? How well are people equipped to cope with the demands of both traditional obligations and the capitalist market? Are there particular challenges for women? What are they?

 

Video: Happy Birthday Tutu Ruth

 

Readings: Introduction to Malignant Growth or Sustainable Development? Perspectives of Pacific Islander Women edited by ‘Atu Emberson-Bain. Suva: Marama Publications, 1994:I-xiii; “The Pacific Islands: All it Requires is Ourselves” by Vanessa Griffen in Sisterhood is Global edited by Robin Morgan. Garden City, New York: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1984: 517-524. (in reader)

 

6. Pacific Literature: understanding “truth” and literary representation

 

Readings: Excerpts from Lali: A Pacific Anthology, Albert Wendt (ed.). Auckland: Longman Paul, 1980. Vilsoni Hereniko, “Representations of Cultural Identities” in Tides of History: The Pacific Islands in the Twentieth Century edited by K.R. Howe, Robert C. Kiste and Brij V. Lal. St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 1994:406-433. (in reader) Some Cook Islands creative writing (handouts tba)

 

7. Pacific Education: reflecting on how we learn

 

What metaphors or models of learning might enhance Pacific Studies? Given the multicultural imperatives of the world we live in, and the multicultural nature of Pacific Studies—what is the role of language in our education? When we are outside of the classroom, how do we learn best?

 

Video: E ola ka ‘olelo Hawai’i, Chamoru Dreams

 

Readings: “Education in Western Samoa: Reflections on My Experiences” by Lonise Tanielu in Women’s Studies Journal 13(2):45-59; “From a Native Daughter” by Haunani-Kay Trask in The American Indian and the Problem of History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987:171-179.  Jonathan Kamakawiwo’ole Osorio, “Songs of Our Natural Selves: The Enduring Voice of Nature in Hawaiian Music” in Pacific History: The Proceedings of the 8^th Pacific History Association Conference edited by Donald Rubinstein. Mangilao, Guam: Micronesian Area Research Center, University of Guam, 1992:429-432. (in reader) “O ‘Oe Se A?” by Tate Simi. Apia: Samoa Observer, n.d. (handout)