Studies in Pacific Islands Music

Music 193J

Winter 1994

Instructor: Dr. Amy K. Stillman

School of Music

University of Michigan

602 Burton Memorial Tower

Ann Arbor MI 48109

Introduction to Course

The aim of this course is to introduce representative music and dance traditions in the the three broad cultural/linguistic regions of the Pacific Islands--Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. The course will focus on identifying various uses and functions of music and dance in the context of small-scale societies, especially in the contemporary era, and will emphasize diverse ways of appreciating these traditions in the late 20th century.

There will be a mixture of lectures and discussion sections. Students are expected to complete listening and video viewing assignments throughout the term, and be prepared to discuss the contents in class. Issues of identity, preservation, revival, and transformation are paramount, as is the problem of defining "traditional" music and dance in the contemporary Pacific Islands.

No prior knowledge of the region is required, nor is the ability to read musical notation.

Course Requirements and Grading

1. Essays. Two essays on assigned topics are required--10% each. The essays are to be three typewritten pages long.

2. Research Project--25%. A term project, culminating in a research paper 10-15 pages. Topics should be determined in consultation with the professor during the week of 1/17.

3. Midterm Examination--20%. A midterm examination, consisting of listening identification and/or commentary.

4. Final Examination--25%. Essay questions on video examples.

5. Class Participation--10%.

NB. All requirements must be successfully completed in order to pass the course.

Readings

Quanchi, Max and Ron Adams, eds. Culture Contact in the Pacific. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1993.

Music 193J Reader (at Alternative Copy in I.V., availability TBA):

Mervyn McLean, "Oceania and Australia," in The New Harvard Dictionary of Music edited by Don Randel (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 1986), 554-8.

Max E. Stanton, "The Polynesian Cultural Center: A Multi-Ethnic Model of Seven Pacific Cultures," in Hosts and Guests: The Anthropology of Tourism (2nd ed.) edited by Valene L. Smith (Philadelphia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 1989), 247-62.

Amy K. Stillman, "Prelude to a Comparative Investigation of Protestant Hymnody in Polynesia," Yearbook for Traditional Music 23 (1993), 89-99.

Daniel J. Boorstin, "From Traveler to Tourist: The Lost Art of Travel," in The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America (New York: Atheneum, 1961/R 1987), 77-118.

Dean MacCannell, "Staged Authenticity," in The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class (New York: Schocken, 1976), 91-107.

Adrienne Kaeppler, "Polynesian Dance as 'Airport Art'," Dance Research Annual 8 (1977), 71-84.

Roger Keesing, "Creating the Past: Custom and Identity in the Contemporary Pacific," Contemporary Pacific 1 (1989), 19-42.

Jocelyn Linnekin, "Defining Tradition: Variations on the Hawaiian Identity," American Ethnologist 11 (1983), 241-52.

Adrienne Kaeppler, "Pacific Festivals and Ethnic Identity," in Time Out of Time: Essays on the Festival edited by Alessandro Falassi (Albuquerque: Univ. of New Mexico Press, 1987), 162-70.

Karen Stevenson, "Heiva: Continuity and Change of a Tahitian Celebration," Contemporary Pacific 2 (1990), 255-78.

SCHEDULE

Week Topic, Reading, Listening, Viewing

1 Introduction
Reading:
Video:
article by Stanton
Portrait of Polynesia
Mana: Spirit of My People

2-3 Traditional Music
Reading:
Listening:
Culture Contact Chs. 1-4; McLean article
Music 193J Tape 1 "Bellona--suahongi"
Music 193J Tape 2: Call of the Morning Bird
Polyphonies des iles Saloman (CD) XCD 2532
Mele Inoa (LP) XL2 16,103

ESSAY 1--assigned Wed 19 Jan, due Mon 25 Jan

DETERMINE TOPICS FOR TERM RESEARCH PROJECT

4 Hymnody
Reading:
Listening:
Culture Contact Chs. 5-6
Music 193J Tape 3 "Tahitian and Cook Islands Choral Singing"
Music 193J Tape 4 "Samoan Hymn Singing"

MIDTERM EXAM - FRIDAY 29 JANUARY

5-6 Coexistence and Absorption
Reading:
Listening:

Video
Culture Contact Chs. 7-9
Gilbert & Ellice Islands Festival Company (LP) XL2 18,476
Tongan Festival Contingent (LP) XL2 18,472
Songs and Stories aof Tokelau (cassette & book) XTC 94
South Pacific Festival--West Polynesia

ESSAY 2--assigned Wed. 11 Feb, due Mon 14 Feb

7-8 Tourism
Reading:
Listening:
Video:
Culture Contact Chs. 10-11; articles by Boorstin, MacCannell, Kaeppler "Airport Art"
Music 193J Tape 4 "Tahitian Dance"
Heritage of Maori Song XTC 101
Heritage of Maori Song
Tahitian Dance TBA

9 Popular Music
Reading:
Listening:
Culture Contact Ch. 12: articles by Keesing, Linnekin
Riwain! XTC 77

TERM RESEARCH PAPER DUE FRIDAY 4 MARCH

10 Competitions
Reading:
Video:
articles by Kaeppler, Stevenson
28th Annual Merrie Monarch Hula Competition

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