Pacific Islands Studies

Classes

PACS 108: Pacific Worlds: an Introduction to Pacific Islands Studies

Discipline
Pacific Islands Studies
Credits 3 Lecture Hours 3
Designation
DS
This course situates Hawai‘i in the larger context of Oceania and exposes students to issues, themes, values, and practices across the region. It also introduces students to the geography, societies, histories, cultures, and arts of Oceania, including Hawai‘i. This course combines lecture and discussion that emphasize Pacific Islander perspectives and experiences.
Course Outcomes
  • Locate and name the island groups, geographic regions, and political entities of Oceania.
  • Describe social and cultural similarities and differences among Pacific Island societies.
  • Identify themes in the works of Pacific Island artists and writers.
  • Discuss contemporary social, political, economic, cultural, and environmental issues in the Pacific Islands.
  • Explain significant themes in indigenous, colonial, and postcolonial histories of the Pacific Islands.

PACS 201: Islands of Globalization

Discipline
Pacific Islands Studies
Credits 3 Lecture Hours 3
Designation
DS

Examines the nature and impact of globalization on Pacific Island societies, viewed from the perspective of islanders who engage with global forces and processes, and create strategies to survive.

Recommended Preparation

 PACS 108 or HWST 107

Prerequisite Courses
ENG 100: Composition I
Course Outcomes
  • Define globalization.
  • Identify and explain the processes and forces that facilitate globalization.
  • Identify and name Pacific island countries, their capital cities and major urban centers, and the types of islands.
  • Discuss the general histories, cultures, and contemporary issues in the Pacific Islands.
  • Discuss the general histories, cultures, and contemporary acts of globalization on Pacific Island societies.
  • Explain and examine how Pacific Islanders engage with global processes and forces.

PACS 202: Pacific Islands Movement and Migration

Discipline
Pacific Islands Studies
Credits 3
Designation
DS

Examines the diaspora of Pacific Islanders. Through community engagement and cultural, social, political and economic lenses, groups of Pacific Islanders living in places other than their homelands will be explored.

Recommended Preparation

PACS 108 or HWST 107

Prerequisite Courses
ENG 100: Composition I
Course Outcomes
  • Discuss diaspora relating to Pacific Island peoples.
  • Identify how Pacific Islanders engage with issues of movement and migration in the Pacific.
  • Discuss cultural, social, political, environmental, and economic issues as they relate to diasporic Pacific communities.
  • Describe the diversity of contemporary Pacific Island cultural formations in urban and modern spaces.