Course syllabus

PAC 200: Pacific Studies

Semester 1, 2018

 

COURSE CONVENOR:    Dr Lisa Uperesa

Office:                  Room 102J, Building 273, Centre for Pacific Studies

Office Hours:       M 12-1 and by appt.

Phone:                 373 7599 extn 84291

Email:                  l.uperesa@auckland.ac.nz

 

LECTURE TIME/VENUE:     

Monday 10-11 am 104-G54 (Old Choral Hall)

Thursday 11-12 am 303–G01 (Science Lec Theater 1)

 

TUTORIAL TIME/VENUE:    

Tutorial 1 Thursday 12-1 pm 114-G10 (Commerce A)

Tutorial 2 Friday 11-12 pm 273-107 (Pacific Studies)

Tutorial 3 Tuesday 2-3 pm 206-216 (Arts 1)

 

TEACHING TEAM:                

Dr Lisa Uperesa

Dr Melani Anae

AP Damon Salesa

Dr Melenaite Taumoefolau

Dr Jemaima Tiatia-Seath

Dr Tarisi Vunidilo

 

COURSE TUTOR: Pauline Rupeni                                

Office:                  Room 108 Centre for Pacific Studies, Building 273

Office Hours:       T 1-2pm and by appt.

Email:                  p.rupeni@auckland.ac.nz 

 

Welcome to Pacific Studies 200.

This is a course designed to broaden and deepen your knowledge of the Pacific, and of Pacific Studies as an interdisciplinary way of knowing the Pacific. Where Pacific 100: Introduction to Pacific Studies focused on an introductory knowledge of the Pacific, introducing you to its history, cultures, economics, politics and contemporary issues, Pacific 200: Pacific Studies develops further your understanding of key debates, influential thinkers, and critical issues in the Pacific. 

Course Description:

Covering a vast expanse of the globe, the Pacific Islands and Ocean is an area of interconnected regional societies and identities.  In this course, we build students’ core knowledge by introducing key debates and interdisciplinary methods, drawing on different media and texts produced within and outside the Pacific.  In approaching the region as the global Pacific, we learn about local issues and challenges within a global context, including those of its peoples, transnationalism and globalization, government and economy, health, wellbeing and climate. Through the political writings of Bernard Narokobi, the poetry of Konai Helu Thaman and Teresia Teaiwa, the satire of Epeli Hau’ofa, the philosophical writings of Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, and the fiction of Albert Wendt, among others, we test the depth and breadth of the currents of Pacific thought.  

In the last part of the course, case studies highlight the localized and global aspects of current debates.  For example, in our study of Disney’s Moana and Pacific scholar Vilsoni Hereniko’s Moana, we examine representation of the Pacific by the corporate culture industry and indigenous artistic productions, with consideration of wider debates about cultural appropriation.  The case of Mauna Kea and the Thirty Meter Telescope highlights visions of development and land use across the Pacific, including the treatment of sacred sites and the way Pacific islands have been used to advance scientific projects.  Grounded in the poetry of Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, we build our understanding of climate change, its specific and pressing impacts on Pacific societies, and activism by organizations like Pacific 350.  In the last weeks of the course, student-led research groups choose and develop their own projects on current critical debates, employing methods and approaches they have learned, and extending their own knowledge of the contemporary Pacific.

The aims of the course are twofold: first, to develop students’ knowledge of the contemporary Pacific, and secondly to provide students with a solid grounding in Pacific Studies as an interdiscliplinary area of scholarship. The course addresses this content through three organizing units of the course: Studying the Contemporary Pacific, Pacific Thinkers, and Critical Contemporary Debates.

 

Unit 1: Studying the Contemporary Pacific

This unit focuses on approaches to contemporary issues in the Pacific, with an emphasis on how this analysis happens: what frameworks, theories, disciplines and methods are used in research about the Pacific.  This year these key methods include:

• ‘Pacific research methods’ such as talanoa
• Ethnographic, anthropological, cultural studies
• Health research, interviews, longitudinal study
• Quantitative, economic, statistical
• Political and survey

 

Unit 2: Pacific Thinkers

This unit traces the development of Pacific Studies as a field of inquiry, and a diverse field, by concentrating on the genealogies of Pacific Studies. By choosing an important and representative set of Pacific Studies scholars, and setting this in the context of the field, both as it developed and as it currently stands. The Pacific Thinkers on which we focus are:

• ‘Epeli Hau‘ofa
• Bernard Narokobi
• Grace Molisa
• Teresia Teaiwa
• Maualaivao Albert Wendt
• Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese
• Futa Helu
• Konai Helu Thaman

 

Unit 3: Critical Contemporary Debates

The final unit introduces some of the key debates in Pacific Studies. This allows students to see different methods, and different scholars, engaging with critical concerns, thus integrating unit 1 and 2, and developing deeper understandings of core issues and material. The ‘critical debates’ we have chosen are:

• Remittances and Migration
• Development and Aid
• Identity and Culture
• Health and Wellbeing
• Gender and Cultural Production
• Environment and Ocean
• Geopolitics, Security, and Militarization

This unit prepares students for thinking about, and developing, ideas about their own research, as well as engaging them in the key streams of current Pacific Studies, and deepening their understanding of the Pacific, the region, and its people and cultures.

 

Course Readings

A series of introductory readings will be provided along with additional material as is required, all accessible here on the Reading Lists tab (linked to the course Talis list held by the library).  We will also be reading Epeli Hau’ofa’s Tales of the Tikongs, which is available at the bookstore.

 

Assessment

• Final Exam: 40%
• Coursework: 50%
  • Midterm Exam 15%
  • Group Project 15%
  • Essay (2000 words) 20%
  • Tutorial Assignments and Participation 10%

Further details will be distributed in class and made available via CANVAS. Test dates are indicated on the class schedule.

 

Lecture Schedule

Date	Topic	Lecturer
26 February	Class Orientation	Uperesa
01 March	What is Pacific Studies?	Uperesa
Unit 1: Studying the Contemporary Pacific
05 March	1.1 Indigenous Research Methods	Vunidilo
08 March	1.2 Militarism and Environmental Issues	Na'puti
12 March	1.3 Indigenous Knowledge	Vunidilo
15 March	1.4 Culture and Identity	Uperesa
19 March	1.5 Researching Pacific Health and Wellbeing	Marsters
22 March	1.6 Pacific Film and Visual Production	McCartney
Unit 2: Pacific Thinkers
26 March	2.1 The Development of Pacific Studies	Uperesa
29 March	Midterm Test
	30 March- 14 April Mid-Semester Break
16 April	2.2 Epeli Hau’ofa	Anae
19 April	2.3 Sia Figiel
23 April	2.4 Konai Helu and Futa Helu	Taumoefolau
26 April	2.5 Bernard Narokobi and Grace Molisa	Salesa
30 April	2.6 Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Taisi Tupuola Efi and Maualaivao Albert Wendt	Salesa
Unit 3: Critical Debates
03 May	3.1 Development and Aid	Salesa
04 May	Essay Due
07 May	3.2 Migration and Remittances	Uperesa
10 May	3.3 Film and Visual Production Essay Due EXTENDED DEADLINE	Uperesa
11 May	Group Project Proposals Due
14 May	3.4 Pacific Youth and Mental Health	Marsters
17 May	3.5 Militarization and the American Pacific	Uperesa
21 May	3.6 Mauna Kea & TMT: Natural Resources, Geoscience, and Culture	Uperesa
24 May	3.7 Climate Change Warriors and Refugees	Uperesa
28 May	3.8 Pacific Pasts and Futures	Uperesa
31 May	3.9 New Zealand’s Pacific Futures	Salesa
04 June	Group Projects Due

 

Link to detailed course schedule: PAC 200 detailed course schedule 2018.docx

 

Expectations

Attendance. The number one predictor of success in this course (and many others) is class attendance.  While tutorials are mandatory, it is also expected that you will attend all lectures.  Occasional absences for illness or emergency are acceptable, but chronic absence will make it difficult for you to do well in or even pass this class.

 

Fa’aaloalo/Respect. Respect each other.  Respect the instructor, and the institution.  Respect the knowledge we are developing and learning.  Respect other cultures and ways of being and doing.  Honour the work of your colleagues, support them in their learning, and contribute to the learning of others and yourself. (This includes refraining from using cellphones, tablets, and laptops in ways that distract your instructor, your colleagues or get in the way of your own learning.)

 

Preparation. Be prepared.  Being prepared for class is an essential part of research, learning and teaching.  Being unprepared prevents you from learning; it also inhibits the work of others, and the class, and prevents your full development as a student in the course.  The University of Auckland's expectation is that students spend 10 hours per week on a 15-point course, including time in class and personal study. Students should manage their academic workload and other commitments accordingly. 

 

Knowledge. Universities exist to teach, and to research.  In Pacific Studies we teach and research Pacific peoples, communities and places, knowledge that has at times been neglected or maligned, or which in many cases has only recently been recognized by academic scholars.  Our communities and people hold this knowledge dear, value it deeply, and we expect our students to do the same.

 

Coursework. Deadlines for coursework are set by course convenors and will be advertised in course material. You should submit your work on time. In extreme circumstances, such as illness, you may seek an extension but you may be required to provide supporting information before the assignment is due. Late assignments without a pre-approved extension may be penalised by loss of marks.

 

Late Submissions and Extensions. Deadlines for essays and assignments, and set times for test taking and presentations, are strictly observed in Pacific Studies.  This policy is to ensure fairness amongst students, and to promote key learning skills such as preparation, planning and timeliness. All late work and missed tests will be subject to a penalty.  An extension of time will be given only for illness or compassionate grounds. You must supply documentation (eg, doctor’s certificate or letter from the counsellor). Criteria for approval of late submission reflect the criteria for aegrotat and compassionate pass consideration in final examinations. You must apply for an extension of time before the due date either by emailing your request and reasons to your tutor.  Retrospective approval will be given only in exceptional circumstances. You can apply for an aegrotat or compassionate consideration in coursework by completing and submitting an AS-46

 

Support. Student Health and Counselling Services is able to certify both compassionate and medical issues.  These services are confidential and also provide support and expertise that your lecturers and tutors are unable to. They can be found at Kate Edger Information Commons and are open from 8.30am to 6pm (Monday to Thursday), 8.30am to 5pm (Friday).  Phone: 923-7681.  Doctor’s visits are $12. Visits to the counsellor are free.

 

The Pasifika Counsellor is:

Sarah Va’afusuaga McRobie

Level 3, Kate Edger Information Commons

2 Alfred Street

City Campus

Standard hours: 8.30am to 6pm (Monday to Thursday), 8.30am to 5pm (Friday)

 

Penalties. All late essays, assessments or missed tests that do not have certificates of the appropriate medical or compassionate grounds, will be subject to penalty. In Pacific Studies courses, the following schedule of penalties will apply:

1. Work handed in after the due time, but not more than 24 hours late, will incur a penalty of one-third of a full letter grade. (For example, an essay graded as an A- will become a B+; a C+ essay will be graded as a C)
2. Work handed in more than 24 hours late, but not more than 7 days late, will be penalized an additionalone-third of a full letter grade. (For example, an A- essay will be graded as a B; a B essay will be graded as a C+)
3. Essays handed in between 7 and 14 days late will be penalized by a furtherone-third of a full letter grade. (For example, an A- essay will be graded as B-; a C+ essay will be graded as a D+).
4. No essays will be accepted more than two weeks after the assigned date unless an extension has been granted for medical or compassionate grounds.
5. All late work should be submitted through Canvas.

 

Academic Misconduct and Plagiarism. 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 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.  Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review. For more detailed information, see the University’s guidelines at http://www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/home/about/teaching-learning/policies-procedures.

 

Referencing. Ensure APA style referencing is used for assignments. Click on the following link to access an APA guide: https://www.library.auckland.ac.nz/subject-guides/edu/docs/APAbooklet.pdf