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Department of Pacific Affairs · ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
Pacific encounters provides an introduction into the debates about theory and practice that shape how we conceptualise and think about the Pacific region and its peoples. The course is built around three learning modules - the past, present and future. In the past we come to understand the voyages that brought people to the region and the stories they tell about their journeys. We investigate colonisation, the impact it had and still has on the region, and the different ways it can be understood. In the recent present we examine the new voyages that Pacific people have taken into places like Australia, New Zealand and the United States. In doing so we look at how people move within and between these new boundaries and how Pacific cultures and identities have evolved over time and place. Finally, we bring all of these themes together by examining how the past and the present can help us imagine the future. This course will be taught in Japan (in English) as part of the Bachelor of Asia Pacific Affairs.
Reflective essay (750 word or 10 minute video)
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4
Minor essay (1000 words)
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Participation
Learning outcomes 2, 3, 4
Major essay (1500 words)
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4
Country Presentation
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
This course comprises some 130 hours of activity over 12 weeks, including some 24 hours of lectures or an equivalent activity and some 12 hours of tutorials or equivalent activity. The course comprises a maximum of 6000 words of assessment or the equivalent.
There are no prescribed texts for this course, however, the following two journal articles provide a useful introduction into Pacific Studies Wesley-Smith, T 1995, ‘Rethinking Pacific Islands Studies’, Pacific Studies, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 115-37. Hau‘ofa, E 1993, ‘Our Sea of Islands’, in V Naidu, E Waddell & E Hau‘ofa (eds), A New Oceania: Rediscovering Our Sea of Islands, School of Social and Economic Development, University of the South Pacific, Suva. In addition, throughout the course you will find these references useful resources. D'Arcy, P 2006, The People of the Sea: Environment, Identity and History in Oceania, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu. Crocombe, R 2008, The South Pacific, 7th edn, IPS Publications, University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji. This book will provide important case material and examples for assessment tasks.