Course syllabus
Centre for Pacific Studies
PACIFIC 712
PACIFIC INDIGENOUS THOUGHT
Semester 2, 2018
Convenor: Dr Melenaite Taumoefolau, Rm 1O2H, Pacific Studies
Telephone 373 7599 extn 85167.
Email: m.taumoefolau@auckland.ac.nz
Office Hours – Friday 12, Room 108, Pacific Studies
Course Outline
Explores the relevance and use of Pacific indigenous concepts such as vanua, tapu, and mana across a range of disciplinary contexts. Focuses on Samoan, Fijian and Tongan concepts.
Over the past few decades scholars in various disciplines, mainly Health, Education, Theology, Māori Studies and Pacific Studies, have sought Māori and Pacific indigenous cultural concepts and philosophies that could be used in their disciplines to make their practice, research and writing more culturally relevant and meaningful to Māori and Pacific peoples. This course will enable students to examine some of these and other salient Pacific indigenous concepts and conceptual events that characterise Pacific ways of being, doing, talking, and thinking. Focus will be on the Samoan, Fijian, and Tongan conceptual systems.
Examples of indigenous concepts are vā (the relational space between two people or groups) – used in the literature to theorise social roles and relationships; talanoa (the act of having a relaxed conversation) – used by some writers to theorise an effective data-gathering method; and kakala (garland of fragrant flowers) – kakala-making is used as a model of research in Education and the Social Sciences. The accumulating literature on Pacific indigenous concepts is often about metaphorical extensions of the concepts to modern-day situations and processes, as in kakala-making representing stages in the research process. This course will look at some of this literature and examine the discussions of concepts for their indigeneity and creativity. In addition it will examine other indigenous concepts that have not yet been discussed in the literature such as proverbs and idiomatic expressions in Pacific languages.
Learning aims
By the end of the course, students will have developed: an understanding of indigenous concepts that have been applied in modern-day situations and processes; an appreciation for these concepts and their source languages and cultures; an ability to think comparatively across languages about salient themes expressed by indigenous concepts and sayings; a feel for what may be considered as Pacific modes of thinking; better preparation to apply indigenous thinking to their own research and writing.
Role of course
Current graduate Pacific Studies courses are taught entirely in English about things Pacific. This course complements existing courses by examining Pacific concepts which are expressed in Pacific language words and expressions. The course will help graduate students expand their understanding of the potential of Pacific languages and conceptual systems to enrich their research and writing.
There is a gap in the Pacific Studies curriculum in links between Pacific languages and Pacific cultures and world-views. This course will help fill that gap and highlight the ways in which Pacific linguistic repertoires and Pacific indigenous thought affect each other. Engaging with Pacific indigenous thought would help postgraduate students frame their writing in Pacific epistemologies and ontologies.
Lecture Schedule
Week One Introduction: What is Pacific indigenous thought? Relationship with Pacific languages.
Week Two Indigenous concepts from Tuwere and Nabobo-Baba
Week Three Indigenous concepts from Education – Konai Helu-Thaman, Toetu‘u-Tamihere
Week Four Indigenous concepts from Health
Week Five Indigenous concepts from anthropology – Anae, Ka‘ili
Week Six Indigenous concepts from Maori Studies – Mutu, Biggs
Week Seven Remainder of semester – readings from Aiono Fanaafi, Futa Helu, Malama Meleisea, Melenaite Taumoefolau and others
Course Credit
Coursework 100%
Major Assignment worth 50% (Essay of 5000 words)
Minor Assignment worth 40% (Essay of 4000 words)
Seminar worth 10% (1000 words)
Assignments and seminars will mainly be about reviewing and evaluating the uses of some Pacific indigenous concepts in the literature. Students may also write about Pacific indigenous concepts they have uncovered in their research, and the uses and applications of these in their study.
Tentative at this stage
Major Assignment – Critically discuss the idea of the close relationship between language and thought and illustrate with reference to Pacific indigenous concepts. (50%)
Minor Assignment – Critically review the relevance and use of five indigenous concepts within their disciplinary contexts. Do not use concepts you already used in the Major Assignment. (40%)
Seminars – Book from Week 3 onwards. (10%)
Course summary:
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