Lectures: Geography, Historiography, Origins of Pacific Islanders, Cultural Heritage

After completing the assigned readings and attending the above lectures, you should be able to:

describe:

1. the political entities of today that comprise Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia.
   
2. the origin of the terms used for the three cultural labels and why these “don’t quite fit” certain areas.
   
3. historiographical issues of objectivity, representation, and narration in the study of the Pacific islands.
   
4. how the definition of “Pacific” varies depending on perspective.
   
5. the contributions of the Davidson school and anthropology in the way we do Pacific history.
   
6. the difference between indigenous knowledge and academic imperialism.
   
7. the navigational techniques used by Mau Piailug & how it factors into our understanding of ancient voyages.
   
8. the oral traditions and early theories on the origin of the Pacific islanders.
   
9. the origin & settlement pattern of the Pacific islanders based on our current scholarly evidence.
   
10. the cultures of Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia in relation to each other.