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Study information

Pacific Histories: Environment, People and Politics

Module titlePacific Histories: Environment, People and Politics
Module codeHIC3010
Academic year2024/5
Credits15
Module staff

Dr Emma Kluge (Lecturer)

Duration: Term123
Duration: Weeks

10

Number students taking module (anticipated)

32

Module description

Traditionally the Pacific has been conceptualised as an empty space, a region without history or culture. This module flips this traditional narrative to reveal the Pacific as a vibrant region of mobility, exchange, networks, protest, and activism. Taking the islands of the Pacific as its foci this module centres primarily on the 20th century. You will study Pacific histories of migration and colonisation, movements for decolonisation, indigenous rights, and environmental justice. We will look at how Pacific peoples have engaged in regional and international forums of governance and engaged with global environmental politics. You will also be asked to think about how knowledge about the Pacific is produced and reflect on ways to raise awareness about the history and the significance of this region.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to introduce you to the core history and theory related to Pacific History. You will study the methods associated with global and transnational history as well as the interdisciplinary fields of Pacific Studies and Environmental Humanities. You will build your historical skills and knowledge though examining a range of sources including maps, photographs, oral histories, protest literature, music, material culture, petitions, colonial records, personal papers, and government records. You will learn how to write about history for both public and academic audiences, alongside producing your own creative and research outputs.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

  • 1. Demonstrate a historical understanding of the key events and themes relating to Pacific history
  • 2. Engage with historical sources to explain the impact of migration, colonialism and decolonisation in the Pacific
  • 3. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the methods of global and transnational history alongside interdisciplinary approaches of Pacific Studies and Environmental Humanities

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

  • 4. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the methods of global and transnational history alongside interdisciplinary approaches of Pacific Studies and Environmental Humanities
  • 5. Engage critically with existing historiography and with a variety of theoretical frameworks relating to migration, colonisation, and decolonisation

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

  • 6. Deploy persuasive communication skills both independently and in group work
  • 7. Mobilise effective research skills to critically analyse primary and secondary material on the module themes and issues
  • 8. Work independently and to module deadlines

Syllabus plan

Whilst content may vary from year to year, you will cover some or all of the following topics:

  • Genealogies of knowledge: How do we know the Pacific?
  • Postcolonialism and approaches to history
  • The Pacific in Global History
  • Migrations: Navigation, Diaspora, and Settlement
  • Colonialism in the Pacific
  • The ‘Pacific’ War: WWII and Pacific peoples
  • Decolonising the Pacific: Transnational networks and protest
  • The Black Pacific and Indigenous Globalisation
  • Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific: Anticolonial and Environmental activism
  • The Pacific Way: Democracy, Socialism, and the Pacific

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
301200

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled learning and teaching1010 x 1 hr lectures. These provide a spine through which all students can be brought to a similar level of knowledge and through which ideas and debates can be transmitted.
Scheduled Learning and Teaching2010 x2 hr seminars. These will focus on particular aspects of the subject-matter, with a view to offering a more in-depth exploration and discussion of the topics explored in the lecture. Students will be expected to prepare fully for the seminar through independent study, reading, evaluation, and reflection, and to contribute their own thoughts on and interpretations of seminar material to the group.
Guided independent study120Private study to prepare for seminars and assessments.

Formative assessment

Form of assessmentSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Essay Plan and bibliography500 words1-8Written and oral

Summative assessment (% of credit)

CourseworkWritten examsPractical exams
80020

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment% of creditSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Creative piece: poster or website402000 words1-8Written feedback
Seminar presentation2010 minutes1-8Written/oral feedback
Research essay403000 words1-8Written feedback
0
0
0

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessmentForm of re-assessmentILOs re-assessedTimescale for re-assessment
Creative piece (2000 words)Creative piece (2000 words)1-8Referral/Deferral Period
Seminar presentation1,000 word reflective essay1-8Referral/Deferral Period
Research Essay, (3,000 words)Research Essay, (3,000 words)1-8Referral/Deferral period

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

  • Tracey Banivanua Mar, Decolonisation and the Pacific: Indigenous Globalisation and the Ends of Empire (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016).
  • Matt Matsuda, Pacific Worlds: A history of Seas, Peoples and Cultures (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012).
  • Armitage and Bashford (eds.), Pacific Histories: Ocean, Land, Heritage (Bloomsbury, 2014).
  • Quito Swan, Pasifika Black: Oceania, Anti-Colonialism and the African World (NYU Press, 2022).
  • John Kelly and Martha Kaplan, Represented Communities: Fiji and World Decolonization (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001)

Key words search

Pacific History, Colonisation, Decolonisation, Environment, Politics, Indigenous, Global History, Governance, Activism, Protest

Credit value15
Module ECTS

7.5

NQF level (module)

6

Available as distance learning?

No

Origin date

09/07/2023

Last revision date

13/03/2024