Course syllabus

 

University of Auckland                                                                                                                  ANTHRO 104/104G                            

2016 Semester One                                                                                                                       Peoples & Cultures

                                                                                                                                                                  of the Pacific

 Course Outline

 

In this course you are introduced to the four subfields of anthropology in relation to peoples and cultures of the Pacific. This diverse region, linked by a single ocean, encompasses both some of the earliest and the latest movements of modern humans into previously unoccupied land (the occupation of Australia and PNG between 60-40,000 years ago and the movement into parts of Remote Oceania less than 800 years ago). The area encompasses great cultural and linguistic diversity and yet also widespread continuities - biologically, historically and culturally. In this course anthropologists who are working in the Pacific, using a range of anthropological perspectives and techniques, will address a series of topics relevant to Pacific peoples including: connections, engagements, and movements between peoples and places; how populations cope with environmental and historical change; and how cultures reproduce and represent themselves in the contemporary environment.

 

Lectures:	Tuesdays 11:00 – 12:00 (noon), (MLTI 303-G23) Fridays     11:00 – 12:00 (noon), (OGGB4-26)
Tutorials:	Mondays 11:00 – 12:00, (Eng 4501/404 501) Tuesdays 1:00 – 2:00, (CAG 15/11 4-G15)                  2:00-3:00, (CAG 13/11)                  3:00-4:00, (CAG 1/11)                  4:00-5:00, (104-907) Wednesdays 8:00 – 9:00, (CAG 17/11)                      10:00 – 11:00, (CAG 10/11)                      1:00 – 2:00, (CAG 10/11)                      2:00 – 3:00, (CAG 13/11)

 

Course Convenor:	Phyllis Herda Office: HSB 810 Telephone: 373-7599; ext. 87111 Office hours: Thursdays 1:00 – 3:00 (or by appointment) Email: p.herda@auckland.ac.nz
Contributing Lecturers:	Melinda Allen, Archaeology Christine Dureau, Social Anthropology Bruce Floyd, Biological Anthropology Phyllis Herda, Social Anthropology Jane Horan, Social Anthropology Thegn Ladefoged, Archaeology Peter Sheppard, Archaeology Susanna Trnka, Social Anthropology Kirsten Zemke, Ethnomusicology
Course Tutor:	Sarah Haggar        Email: shga757@aucklanduni.ac.nz        Office hour: TBA        Office: HSB TBA Jai Patel        Email: apat201@aucklanduni.ac.nz        Office hour: TBA        Office: HSB TBA

Course Requirements:

The University expects that students will spend approximately 10 hours per week on each course inclusive of lecture and tutorial times. This means that you should expect to spend 7 hours per week preparing for class by reviewing assigned material, reviewing and developing your lecture and tutorial notes, and working on your coursework assessment.

 Course Prerequisites and Restrictions: none

 Course Points Value: 15 points

Attend Lectures: You are expected to attend lectures. Material taught in the lectures is not identical to that found in readings and other recommended material and is not provided in full on Canvas. You are expected to take your own notes on the main points of lectures. This will assist and deepen your learning. Some lectures will have associated presentation slides (Powerpoints) published on Canvas but you should not rely on these for lecture notes. All coursework assessment will incorporate material from lectures so the easiest way to prepare for assignments is to attend class.

Attend Tutorials: You are expected to attend tutorials and to participate in discussions and activities. Tutorials help to clarify and deepen your learning through exercises, discussion and review of assigned materials. They also help you to define and complete your assignments. You will get the most out of tutorials by participating and being prepared.

Assigned Readings: Each lecture has associated readings that you are expected to read before the lecture and tutorial. These readings have been chosen to enhance your understanding of the lecture topics, facilitate your tutorial discussions for that week and assist you as you prepare your assignments. Reading them in advance will greatly enhance your learning through attending class. Some of the material in the readings will appear in the final exam. See the schedule later in this course guide to know what to read when.

 All the readings for this course are available online through Canvas. It is your responsibility to download the readings each week and read them. It is a really good idea to keep up to date with readings because they will make more sense in the context of the lecture they are connected to! Also, there is too much reading in the course to cram it all in come exam time.

Complete Assignments: Instructions on assignments are provided on separate assignment sheets. They will be discussed in lecture and tutorials. Seek help from Phyllis, Sarah or Jai if you are unsure about any aspect of the assignment – before it is due.

 The Anthropology Department Essay Guide provides advice on how to put together an essay, including how to cite the sources you use. It is on the Anthropology Department webpage and on Canvas. This is an important document and should be regularly consulted.

 Hand in Assignments on Time: Assignments are to be handed in through Turnitin and on paper to the Arts Faculty Reception, Level 3, (Building 206). The time deadline on ALL assignments is 10 AM. Assignments handed in after 10 AM on the due date without an extension from Phyllis will be considered late.

The course makes use of Canvas, the University of Auckland’s new web based information system. Canvas has been designed to support student learning by providing a flexible system for information and communication. In this course, PowerPoint slides from lectures will usually be available on Canvas as will assignment sheets, copies of the course outline and other course information. Help with Canvas can be obtained from the Canvas Help Desk (phone: 373-7599 x85100), from Help Desks at student computer labs, or at the following web address: www.canvas.auckland.ac.nz

 Phyllis’s, Sarah’s and Jai’s expectations are that in this class we will each think, discuss and debate as anthropologists. That is, we use concepts that are scholarly, are conscious of the language we use, as well as the way that our personal values and experiences are reflected in our views. Please be careful and sensitive when you talk about race, gender, sexuality, class, faith, etc. Avoid inflammatory or exclusionary language. We reserve the right to ask you to reframe or refrain if, in our opinion, your contribution does not meet these criteria. Please be considerate of others.

Learning Outcomes of This Course Are:

• To introduce to students the theoretical perspectives, methods and data used by anthropologists (to teach you what it is like to see with anthropological eyes) in the four sub-disciplines of anthropology taught at the University of Auckland.
• To understand how that perspective applies to a range of issues in Pacific culture and history.
• To have a sense of the historic and contemporary Pacific as a connected yet diverse entity.
• To be able to conduct research on Pacific topics and to be able to write coherently and in a focused manner about these topics.
• To improve your general reading, thinking, writing and note-taking skills.

 Assessment:                        

 The coursework for this paper comprises two written assignments which are compulsory. You must submit these if you want to avoid a DNC (‘Did Not Complete’). We require a genuine effort at both pieces of coursework. This course includes a Final Exam.

 Library Assignment             750-1,000 words

                                    See attached assignment sheet

                                             Due Tuesday, 22 March 10:00 AM

5% of course assessment                                

The purpose of the library assignment is to encourage you to develop your library research skills.

Short Essay                      

500 words

See attached assignment sheet

Due Friday, 29 April 10:00 AM 

15% of course assessment

The purpose of the short essay is to develop your ability to read, paraphrase and think about and beyond the set readings in class.

See attached assignment sheet for details.

Your short essay must be put through Turnitin, an anti-plagiarism tool. In order to upload your work to Turnitin go to www.turnitin.com and follow the prompts.

 Our class # for Turnitin is: 12132562

 Our class password for Turnitin is: Pacific (case sensitive)

 Research Essay                 

1,200-1,500 words

See attached assignment sheet

Due Tuesday, 31 May 10:00 AM

30% of course assessment

The purpose of this assignment is to develop reading, critical thinking and writing skills. It will require you to do library research and to relate what you read to anthropological concepts from lectures and readings. See attached assignment sheet for details.

Your research essay must be put through Turnitin, an anti-plagiarism tool. In order to upload your work to Turnitin go to www.turnitin.com and follow the prompts.

Our class # for Turnitin is: 12132562

Our class password for Turnitin is: Pacific (case sensitive)

 Final Exam                                   

2 hour final exam

Place & Time TBA

50% of course assessment

 The final exam covers material presented in lectures, tutorials, required readings and films. It will consist of 100 multiple choice questions.

 PLEASE NOTE: The Examinations Office imposes a mandatory DNS (Did Not Sit ) grade for anyone who misses the exam.

Submitting Coursework:

All coursework must be handed in to the level 3 Arts 1 Reception (building number 206; Arts 1 is the building next to HSB). You will need a cover sheet when handing in work: details of how to create a cover sheet can be found on Canvas.

Please note: Essays or other assignments should NOT be e-mailed to either your tutor or convenor. Never place essays under anyone’s door. Please be sure to put your name & ID number on your assignments. ONLY use the coversheet that is available on Canvas.

Academic Honesty and Learning:

The University of Auckland expects students to complete all coursework with integrity and honesty. This ensures you achieve genuine learning and maintains the quality of your degree.

From the University of Auckland Guidelines: Conduct of Coursework:

 “The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting his or her learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the world‐wide web. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms”.

The full University of Auckland Guidelines on honesty in coursework can be found on the University homepage – Teaching and Learning – Policies, Guidelines and Procedures. The policy covers a definition of cheating, strategies for avoiding inadvertent cheating, procedures for investigation if cheating is suspected and penalties if cheating is found.

The following are examples of cheating in coursework and will not be tolerated:

Plagiarism means using the work of others in preparing an assignment and presenting it as your own without explicitly acknowledging – or referencing - where it came from. Plagiarism can also mean not acknowledging the full extent of indebtedness to a source.

Copying from another student’s coursework includes copying done with or without the knowledge of another student. It also includes using someone’s coursework that has been submitted previously – at any educational institution.

Making up or fabricating data includes using false data in the writing up of reports or using made-up quotations from interviewees or source material.

Submitting the same, or substantially similar, material in more than one course.

Impersonating someone else including arranging such impersonation.

Misrepresenting disability, illness or injury and then claiming special conditions or considerations.

Using material obtained from commercial services including web-based sources and third party assistance where the ideas are put in place so they are no longer solely your own.  

Turnitin: In order to ensure you submit work that reflects your work and learning, coursework must be submitted to Turnitin. In order to upload your work to Turnitin go to www.turnitin.com and follow the prompts.

Coursework will not be returned and grades will not be recorded until your assignment is uploaded to Turnitin. Students who do not upload their coursework to Turnitin will receive a DNC for the course.

Extensions

Extensions will be given in cases where there is a relevant and valid reason for your inability to complete the assignment on time – usually illness, accident or bereavement. We know that the end of semester is a pressured time, but this is not a reason to receive an extension; neither is poor time management. Extensions will reflect the amount of time you are prevented from working on your assignment.

When seeking an extension you should let Phyllis know as soon as possible that you are seeking an extension and, broadly, the reason. A certificate from your physician or other professional should be submitted along with the request. Only Phyllis can grant extensions. Note that Aegrotat/Compassionate consideration does not apply to coursework.

Late Assignments

Late coursework, without an extension, will be penalised in order to be fair to those people who did meet the deadline. You will be deducted a half a grade per 3 day block. That is: if you are up to 3 days late after the deadline and you receive a B, your credited grade will be a B-. If it is 6 days late your credited grade will be a C+ and so forth. However, no otherwise passing assignment will be failed on the basis of lateness. So if you hand in an assignment before the final date for submission – 7 June 2016 – and it would have passed but the three day blocks have reduced your possible grade to less than a pass you will still be credited with a C- (50%). We may not give feedback for work that is more than one week late.

Compassionate and Aegrotat Consideration:

University conditions and procedures for applying for consideration of grades due to ill health or other relevant circumstances are outlined at: http://www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/for/currentstudents/academiclife/aegrotatinfo.cfm

 Resources and Support:

 There is a diversity of students with wide range of needs in this, and any, class. All of us will want to access resources and supports that help us to participate as fully as possible and to get the most learning possible. Below are a variety of established resources and pathways that may be of use to you. If you need something that is not listed here please feel free to contact us.    

Problems with the Course? Please see Phyllis, Sarah or Jai if you are having problems with any aspect of the course. This is most helpful if you contact us when you initially have a problem, before the problem gets too big.

Want More Skills? If you need help with developing your reading, studying and writing skills check out the Student Learning Centre or English Language Enrichment services. The Student Learning Centre is on level 3, Kate Edger Information Commons. They have lots of resources, courses and one to one support.

Maori or Pasifika Student? The Tuakana Programme provides a range of opportunities and activities for Maori and Pasifika students. For first year students Arts Undergraduate Tuakana Programme has study groups, skills based workshops, and Tuakana tutors. Logan Hamley is the Tuakana tutor for Anthro 104 this year. Email tuakana.anthro@auckland.ac.nz to join.

If you think your English is Holding You Back from better grades, communicating or participating, English Language Enrichment is on level 1, room 101, Kate Edger Information Commons.

Have an Impairment or Disability? Student Disability Services (www.auckland.ac.nz/disability services) offer a variety of practical services for students, from advice to note-taking as well as useful information. Contact them for more information. It is also useful to let Phyllis, Sarah and/or Jai know about any impairment that affects your ability to fully participate in the course so that we can adapt any material or requirements to facilitate your learning and participation.

Want to Provide Feedback? Class representatives are your direct route to give feedback about any issues related to the course. We will elect reps early in semester and they will attend committee meetings where they can ask questions and give feedback.

Want Additional Reference Texts? You may find the following books useful in studying for this course. They are available in the reference section of the General Library, as e-books, or in the General Library collection:

Social Anthropology

Hendry, Joy, An Introduction to Social Anthropology: Sharing Our Worlds, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2008

Barnard, Alan and Jonathan Spencer (ed.), Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Routledge, London,1996

Levinson, David and Melvin Ember (eds.), Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology, Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1996

Biological Anthropology

Fuentes, Augustin, Biological Anthropology: Concepts and Connections, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2012

Archaeology

Kirch, Patrick, On the Road of the Winds: An Archaeological History of the Pacific Islands before European Contact, University of California Press, Berkeley, 2000

Ethnomusicology

Barz, G. and T. Cooley (eds.), Shadows in the Field: New Perspectives for Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2008

 

 

Lecture, Tutorial & Readings Schedule

 Week One:

 1 March               Course Introduction: Seeing the Pacific Through Anthropologists’ Eyes (Phyllis)

  Tutorial:               Tutorials do not meet this week.

Required Reading:   ANTHRO 104 Course Outline – yes, READ THE ENTIRE OUTLINE so you will be familiar with our expectations of you for the course.

 4 March                Pacific Islands Environments and Environmental Change (Melinda)

 Required Reading: Kirch, P.V.,‘Pacific Islands as Human Environment’, in On the Road of the Winds: An Archaeological History of the Pacific Islands Before European Contact, University of California Press, Berkeley, 2000, pp. 42–62 [ISBN: 0520223470]

Week Two:

8 March                Film: March, B., There Once Was An Island, Tuesday Festival, 2013 [UoA Library DVD-V LD12 0354]

Required Reading: Campbell, John R., ‘Climate-Change Migration in the Pacific’, The Contemporary Pacific, vol. 26, no. 1, Spring 2014, pp. 1-28 [ISSN: 1527-9464

11 March          Naming the Pacific: Melanesia/Micronesia/Polynesia (Phyllis)

Required Reading: Hau‘ofa, Epeli, ‘Our Sea of Islands’, in A New Oceania: Rediscovering Our Sea of Islands, University of the South Pacific, Suva, 1993, pp. 2-16 [ISBN: 9820102006]

Week Three:

15 March             Human Colonisation of the Pacific (Peter)

Required Reading:   Kirch, P.V.,‘Peopling of the Pacific: A Holistic Anthropological Perspective, Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 39, 2010, pp. 131-148 [ISSN: 0084-6570]

18 March             The Development of Polynesian Chiefdoms (Thegn)

Required Reading: Allan, Melinda, ‘Oscillating Climate and Socio-political Process: The Case of the Marquesan Chiefdom, Polynesia’, Antiquity, vol. 84, 2010, pp. 86-102 [ISSN: 0003-598x]

Week Five:

22 March             What Happened on Rapa Nui? (Thegn)

Required Reading:   Hunt, Terry, ‘Rethinking the Fall of Easter Island: New Evidence Points to an Alternative Explanation for a Civilization’s Collapse’, American Scientist, vol. 94, 2006, pp. 412-419 [ISSN: 1545-2786]

Ladefoged, Thegn N., ‘Variation in Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Land Use Indicates Production and Population Peaks Prior to European Contact’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science vol.112, no.4, 2015, pp.1025-1030 [ISSN: 1091 6490]

 25 March – 29 March: Easter Break

         no lectures or tutorials

 Week Six:                  

 1 April                     Death All Around: Contact and Depopulation in the Pacific (Bruce)

 Required Reading:   Haggett, P., ‘The Invasion of Human Epidemic Diseases into Australia, New Zealand, and the Southwest Pacific: The Geographical Context’, New Zealand Geographer, vol. 49, 1993, pp. 40-47 [ISSN: 0028-8144]

 Week Seven:

 5 April                 Culture Contact (Christine)

 Required Reading:   Schieffelin, Edward L. & Robert Crittenden, Like People You See in a Dream: First Contact in Six Papua Societies, Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1991, pp. 249-262; 283-292 [ISBN: 0804716625]

Tutorial:  Film: Connolly, Bob & Robin Anderson, First Contact, Arundel Productions, Glebe, 1982 [UoA Library DVD-V FIRST CONTACT]

 8 April                 Disease and Colonialism: The 1918 Influenza Epidemic in Western Polynesia (Phyllis)

 Required Reading: Thomas, N.,‘Sanitation and Seeing: The Creation of State Power in Early Colonial Fiji’, Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 32, 1990, pp. 149-170 [ISSN: 0010-4175]

Week Eight:                        

 12 April               Why are Polynesians so Big . . . . on Average? (Bruce)

 Required Reading:   Houghton, P.,‘The Adaptive Significance of Polynesian Body Form’, Annals of Human Biology, vol. 17, no. 1, 1990, pp. 19-32 [ISSN: 0301-4460]

 15 April               Reproducing Culture (Christine)

Required Reading: Marshall, M., 1977, ‘The Nature of Nurture’, American Ethnologist, vol. 4, pp. 643-662 [ISSN: 0094-0496]

 18 APRIL – 25 April: Mid-Semester Break + Anzac Day

NO LECTURES OR TUTORIALS

 Week Nine:

 26 April               Film: Wolffram, Paul, Stori Tumbuna: Ancestor’s Tale, Handmade Productions, Watertown, Mass., 2011 [UoA Library DVD-V STORI TUMBUNA]

Tutorial:               Second half of film: Stori Tumbuna: Ancestor’s Tale

Required Reading:   Terrell, J., ‘Polynesians & the Seductive Power of Common Sense’, Cultural Geographies, vol. 20, 2012, pp. 135-152 [ISSN: 1477-0881]

29 April  Colonialism (Phyllis)

Required Reading: Macintyre, M.,‘Better Homes and Gardens’, in Jolly, M. & M. Macintyre (eds.), Family and Gender in the Pacific: Domestic Contradictions and the Colonial Impact, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1989, pp. 156-169 [ISBN: 0521346673]

Week Ten:

 3 May  Diseases of ‘Affluence’ in the Pacific (Bruce)

 Required Reading:   Zimmet, P. et al, ‘Global & Societal Implications of the Diabetes Epidemic’, Nature, vol. 414, no. 6865, pp. 782-787 [ISSN: 0028-0836]           

6 May    Colonialism & Nuclear Testing in Micronesia (Phyllis)

 Required Reading: Teaiwa, Teresia, ‘bikinis and other s/pacific n/oceans’, The Contemporary Pacific, vol. 6, no. 1, Spring 1994, pp. 87-109 [ISSN: 1527-9464]

 Week Eleven:

10 May    Film: O’Rourke, Dennis, Half-Life: A Parable for the Nuclear Age, O’Rourke & Associates, Canberra, 1989 [UoA Library FTV 9154]

Tutorial:   Second half of film: Half-Life

Required Reading: Barker, Holly, M. 2004. 'Alienation from the Land: The Rongelap Experience', in Bravo for the Marshallese: Regaining Control in a Post-Nuclear, Post-Colonial World, Thompson Wadsworth, Belmont, 2004, pp. 60–79 [ISBN: 0534613268]

13 May   Ethnic Identity and Politics in Fiji (Susanna)

Required Reading: Trnka, Susanna, ‘From the Ground Up: Ethnographic Analyses of Ethnic Identity, violence and the State in Fiji, PIPSA (Pacific Islands Political Studies Association) conference proceedings [available at: https://cdn.auckland.ac.nz/assets/arts/Departments/centre-for-pacific-studies/documents-publications/2009%20PIPSA%20conference%20-%20Susanna%20Trnka.pdf ]

Week Eleven:

17 May                 Development in the Pacific (Jane)

Required Reading: Horan, Jane, ‘Indigenous Wealth & Development: Micro-credit Schemes in Tonga’, Asia Pacific Viewpoint, vol. 43, no. 2, 2002, pp. 205-221 [ISSN: 1467-8373]

20 May                 Migration and Connections (Phyllis)

Required Reading: Marsters, Evelyn, Nick Lewis, and Wardlow Friesen, ‘Pacific Flows: The Fluidity of Remittances in the Cook Islands’, Asia Pacific Viewpoint, vol. 47, no. 1, 2006, pp. 31–44 [ISSN: 1467-8373] 

Week Twelve:

24 May                 Pasifika Pop Musics: Reggae, Soul, and R ‘n’ B (Kirsten)  

Required Reading:   Zemke-White, Kirsten, ‘Nesian styles (re)present R and B’, Sites, vol. 2, 2005, pp. 90–23 [ISSN: 0112-5990]

Recommended Reading: Simonett, Helena, ‘Popular Music and the Politics of Identity: The Empowering Sound of Technobanda’, Popular Music and Society, vol. 24, no. 2, 2000, pp. 1-23 [ISSN: 0300-7766]

27 May                 Aotearoa Hip Hop (Kristin)

Required Reading: Zemke-White, Kirsten, ‘“This is My Life”: Biography, Identity & Narrative in New Zealand Rap Songs’, Perfect Beat: The Pacific Journal of Research Into Contemporary Music and Popular Culture, vol. 8, no. 3, 2007, pp. 31-52 [ISSN: 1038-2909]

Recommended Reading: Osumare, Halifu, ‘Beat Streets in the Global Hood: Connective Marginalities of the Hip Hop Globe’, Journal of American & Comparative Cultures, vol. 24, nos.1‐2, 2001, pp. 171-181 [ISSN: 1542-734x]

 Week Thirteen:

31 May          Essentializing Images of Pacific Peoples (Phyllis)

Required Reading:   Tamaira, A. Marata, ‘From Free Dusk to Full Tusk: Reimagining the “Dusky Maiden” Through the Visual Arts’, The Contemporary Pacific, vol. 22, no. 1, Spring 2010, pp. 1-35 [ISSN: 1527-9464]

 3 June            Where Have We Been & Exam Summary (Phyllis)

Required Reading: Hereniko, V., 2000, ‘Indigenous Knowledge and Academic Imperialism’, in Borofsky, R. (ed), Remembrance of Pacific Pasts: An Invitation to Remake History, Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2000, pp. 78-91 [ISBN: 082482301X]