Course syllabus
MĀORI 396: Tikanga - Ancestral Ways in Modern Times
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Nau mai, Haere mai, Piki mai ki Māori 396 – Tikanga – Ancestral Ways in Modern Times
Tikanga, the customary system of values and practices that have developed over time and are deeply embedded in the social context, are dynamic and creative, constantly changing over time. During this course we will:
- explore how tikanga Māori have evolved since the first arrival of the tupuna in Aotearoa from the Pacific, and the arrival of settlers from Europe, Asia and elsewhere;
- trace historical debates among Māori and wit other New Zealanders; and
- reflect upon how tikanga Māori might contribute to pathways into the future.
This is a course about experiments in the present and into the future, as well as in the past. Using a whakapapa model this course will trace topics of contemporary interest such as land use, the sea, kinship, gender relations, justice, health and economics, and explore historical debates and reflect upon possible futures. Particular focus will be on kaitiakitanga and how it is practiced.
15 points
Every effort will be made to link the course with contemporary challenges, and the interests of students with a range of interests, and to foster participatory learning.
Key subjects for discussion include:
- cosmology – visions of the world;
- tapu and noa – ancestral presence and absence;
- wananga – experimental learning and ancestral knowledge;
- mana – leadership, governance, and ancestral power;
- tika – right ways of being, justice and law;
- utu – the principle of balance and the distribution of wealth;
- ora and mate – health, well-being and ill-being;
- tangata, whenua and moana – land, sea, people and environmental challenges;
- taonga – ancestral treasures – the aesthetics of ancestral presence; and
- whakapapa – relational networks (including gender relations and health of waterways) into the future
Students will be encouraged to carry out their own inquiries and research into topics of personal and professional interest. The course will be evidence-based, drawing on early Māori manuscripts, tribal histories, early European accounts, reports to the Waitangi Tribunal and contemporary debates and discussion’s.
The course is intended to be stimulating, enjoyable and engaging.
Convenor and Lecturer Email Office
Dr Dan Hikuroa d.hikuroa@auckland.ac.nz Room 218 Maori Studies
Guest lecturers TBA
Lectures and Tutorials
Lectures
Fridays 10-12pm Old Choral Hall, Room G54
Tutorials
Fridays 2-3pm OGGB, 040B (starting second week of semester)
We will meet once a week for a two-hour session. Attendance is required. It is important that each week you have read the set material BEFORE class and are prepared to discuss the set reading DURING class and participate in debates, and discussions.
Please organise your time to make this possible. The ability to organize your ideas and express them to others in clear, thoughtful and interesting ways is an invaluable skill, and for this reason, 5% of your grade will be allocated to both your attendance and the quality of your participation in our sessions together.
Office Hours: Friday 12-2pm
If you are not able to see me during that time, please send me an email or speak to me after class, and we can schedule an appointment.
Course Readings
Course readings and relevant resources will be available on Canvas.
COURSEWORK
Final grades are based on 100% compulsory coursework:
- Participation in debates, panels and discussion: 5%
- Research Essay: 35%
- Essay Proposal : 10%
- Research Essay: 25%
- Reading Report: 10%
- Final test: 50%
All coursework is COMPULSORY.
You will be very familiar by now with the University’s policies on plagiarism and cheating. The work that you submit for grading must be your own, reflecting your own study, thought and insights. Where other sources have been used, these must be properly acknowledged.
COURSEWORK ASSIGNMENTS
- Participation in Discussion: 5%
You should plan your time so that you have read the readings before each session. Advanced study is a collaborative art, giving us the opportunity to learn from each other. Our sessions will be structured to foster debate and informed, stimulating discussion.
In considering your contributions to the sessions, I will consider:
- Your understanding and knowledge of the readings for each session
- The clarity and interest of your ideas, and the way you organize and express them in class,
- Your ability to participate collegially in panels, debates and discussion, raising thoughts and arguments and responding thoughtfully to the ideas and contributions of others,
- Creativity – intriguing, thought-provoking interventions in our sessions
You must be present to participate, and grades will be adjusted to reflect absences.
- Research Essay: 35% (Proposal 10%; Final essay 25%)
The essay will seek to explore some area of tikanga in which you are interested, bringing to bear some of the ideas we are exploring in the course.
Your work will be evaluated for the quality and depth of the research you have carried out, originality of insight, and clarity and creativity of expression.
The research essay includes an essay proposal (10%) and the final essay (25%), which should respond creatively to my feedback on your proposal.
The topic should be relatively narrow, so that you can examine it in some depth in a relatively short piece of written work.
Essay Proposal: 10%, 10th August, 5pm
Word limit: 800 words
Choose a topic in which you are genuinely interested.
The essay proposal gives you an opportunity to test your ideas and research in a preliminary fashion, ensuring that your final essay will be of high quality and does justice to your abilities.
Please check your topic with me first, during office hours, so that we can discuss how best to approach the topic and where to look for useful sources.
The written proposal should be 800 words long, and include a bibliography of at least 8 academic items (excluding those in the course reading list). It will give brief account of the topic you have chosen and some themes or ideas you intend to explore.
Final Essay: 25%, 14th September, 5pm
Word limit: 4000 words
Having chosen a topic in which you are genuinely interested, the more original, interesting and engaging your essay, the better.
Feel free to use images where relevant.
I encourage you to explore primary sources where possible for your research essay. All quotes and information needs to be properly referenced. Include a bibliography of your sources.
- Reading Report: 10%, 1st October, 5 pm
Word limit 1200 words
A brief report on three readings relating to one of the main areas of tikanga in the course outline. This report will assist you in preparing for the final test, and must touch upon a different realm of tikanga to the one you examined in your research essay.
- Your understanding and knowledge of the readings you have chosen
- The clarity and interest of your account of their contents
- Originality and creativity of your engagement with their arguments
- An understanding of how they illuminate a particular realm of tikanga
- Final Test: 50%, TBC
The final test will be held on our last session in October. It will be a two hour test in an essay format, held in class time, and cover all of the topics that we have explored together during the course.
Course summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|