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50522-01 - Seminar: Reading the South Pacific: New Zealand and Oceania (3 CP)
| Semester | spring semester 2018 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Christiane Schlote (christiane.schlote@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Images of Oceania are still dominated by Western representations of the Pacific, whether in the form of Paul Gauguin's 'tropical' paintings in Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands, Captain Cook's Endeavour journals, Robert Louis Stevenson's "In the South Seas" (1896), or Margaret Mead's classic anthropological study "Coming of Age in Samoa" (1928). While we will also briefly examine these works in regard to concepts such as exoticism and the colonial gaze, the main focus of this course will be to acquaint ourselves with the literatures and cultures of Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia and New Zealand. Starting with oral literature traditions, we will then concentrate on the work of New Zealand and Pacific writers, playwrights and filmmakers, including Alistair Campbell (Cook Islands), Alan Duff (Maori), Epeli Hau'ofa (Tonga), Lloyd Jones, Hereniko Vilsoni (Rotuma) and Albert Wendt (Samoa). Our close readings will be complemented by a study of Oceanic and Maori art and material culture and we will pay particular attention to processes of colonisation and decolonisation in what Rob Wilson has called the "unchartered waters of the Pacific century". |
| Learning objectives | Students will be introduced to the various literary and cultural contexts in the Pacific region and the interplay between indigenous and postcolonial critical theories in key texts. |
| Bibliography | Students should acquire the following texts: Alan Duff, "Once Were Warriors", Epeli Hau'ofa, "Tales of the Tikongs", and Lloyd Jones, "Mr Pip". Theoretical and additional primary texts will be made available on ADAM. |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | This seminar is for BA students on the advanced level: for BA05 students those who have completed their proseminar paper in Literary & Cultural Studies; for BA13 students those who have completed ALL three introductory modules (including the proseminar papers). |
| Course application | Please register by sending an email to christiane.schlote(at)unibas.ch by 7 February 2018. Places are limited to 25. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|
No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Modul Advanced Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Bachelor's degree subject: English) Modul Extending the View (Literary and Cultural Studies) (Bachelor's degree subject: English (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) Modul Focusing on the Discipline (Literary and Cultural Studies) (Bachelor's degree subject: English (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Regular and active participation, reading assignments, oral presentation |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft |