ICS 261 Cultures of Oceania
Winter 2007
Dr. Phillip McArthur
Office: MFB 211 Phone: 293-3907
Course Objectives
In this course we will study the cultural traditions of Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia in terms of history, culture and indigenous philosophy as they are expressed and created through visual, performance and language arts. Avoiding merely an intellectual approach to Pacific Arts, we will experiment with alternative ways of knowing that integrate an academic approach with learning through experience and dialogue. In this way we will be more fully able to celebrate the complex continuities and diversities of Pacific Islanders and the meaning of their artistic accomplishments.
Outcomes:
Required Texts
Wendt, Albert Leaves of the Banyan Tree
*You must obtain a CES Net ID and set your password in order to access the blackboard. Go to byuh.edu/netid to obtain your id. You will then access the site by going to “blackboard.byu.edu”.
Course Requirements
1. In Class Presentations
For each of the primary units (Verbal Arts, Music and Dance, Visual Arts, Literature, Theater and Film) you will be required to participate in short presentations and/or performances in class. The dates of these presentations are noted on the reading schedule. Even if you are not a Pacific Islander yourself you will be expected to participate in these activities. If you are a Pacific Islander I expect you to broaden your experience by extending yourself to learn of the arts of cultures other than your own. In many ways this assignment will combine with your participation grade. These activities will not just be fun show‑and‑tell activities, but you will need to say/display something about the form (formal qualities), function (what the art does in a culture) and meaning (the social, culture, and historical information necessary for us to understand the art within in the contexts of its culture).
2. Homework Assignments
Over the course of the term I will assign you a few short individual writing assignments. These assignments will be due the week after they are assigned.
* All written materials handed in must be typed and double-spaced.
3. Class Attendance and Participation
I place great emphasis on your effort to become involved in the lectures through questions and comments, and your contributions to class discussions. Therefore, attendance is essential and I will note daily who comes to class prepared to participate. I believe our best learning comes when we engage in meaningful dialogue with each other. You are expected to ask questions and voice your ideas and experiences. Through active participation in class you will find that you will not only better understand the subject matter, but enjoy developing critical ways to think about it.
* I expect you to do all the reading you are assigned. I demand from you a maturity and willingness to read, not because you have to, but because you want to learn. If I find students have not been conscientious with their reading assignments I reserve the right to give those pop reading quizzes we all love to hate.
4. Final Exam
During the examination time you will write a summarizing essay that reviews and integrates what you have learned over the course of the semester. Final Exam: Thursday, April 19 th, 7:00-10:00 a.m.
Course Schedule
Jan. 11 (thu) Introduction
Verbal Arts
16 (tue) Folklore Readings
18 (thu) Mitchell – “Oral Tradition and Micronesian History: A Microcosmic
Approach”
23 (tue) Huntsman – “Fiction, Fact, and Imagination: A Tokelau Narrative”
25 (thu) McArthur – “More Than Meets the Ear: A Marshallese Example of Folklore Method and Study for Pacific Collections”
30 (tue) Preparing Collections and Storytelling Presentation
Feb. 01 (thu) Presenting Collections and Storytelling
06 (tue) Presenting Collections and Storytelling
Music, Dance and Song
08 (thu) Moyle ‑ Polynesian Music and Dance On Reserve under McArthur
13 (tue) Kaeppler - “Dance and the Interpretation of Pacific Traditional Literature”
Feld – “Sound as a Symbol System: The Kaluli Drum”
15 (thu) Kaeppler – “Polynesian Dance as Airport Art”
20 (tue) Preparing Music and Dance Performances
22 (thu) NO CLASS – Keep preparing for music and dance (PCC essay due)
27 (tue) Music and Dance Performances
Mar 01 (thu) Music and Dance Performances
Visual Arts
06 (tue) Kaeppler – “Melody, Drone and Decoration: Underlying Structures
and Surface Manifestations in Tongan Art and Society”
08 (thu) Cummins – “Kinshape: The Design of the Hawaiian Feather Cloak”
13 (tue) Thomas – “The Art of the Body”
Nero – “The Breadfruit Story: Mythological Transformations in Palauan Politics”
15 (thu) Bishop Museum Field Trip
20 (tue) Preparing Visual Art Presentations
22 (thu) Visual Art Presentations (Museum essay due)
27 (tue) Visual Art Presentations
Literature, Theater and Film
29 (thu) Wendt ‑ Leaves of the Banyan Tree (Book I)
Apr. 03 (tue) Wendt ‑ Leaves of the Banyan Tree (Book II)
05 (thu) Wendt - Leaves of the Banyan Tree (Book III)
10 (tue) Hereniko – “The Monster (A Fantasy). A One‑Act Play, with an Interview with the Playwright”
12 (thu) Presenting and Sharing Pacific Foods (as art) (creative writing due)
17 (tue) Dead Day
19 (Thu) FINAL EXAM
Special Needs
Brigham Young University-Hawai'i is committed to providing a working and learning atmosphere, which reasonably accommodates qualified persons with disabilities. If you have any disability that may impair your ability to complete this course successfully, please contact the students with Special Need Coordinator, Leilani A'una at 293-3518. Reasonable academic accommodations are reviewed for all students who have qualified documented disabilities. If you need assistance or if you feel you have been unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of disability, you may seek resolution through established grievance policy and procedures. You should contact the Human Resource Services at 780-8875.
Preventing Sexual Harassment
Title IX of the education amendments of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination against any participant in an educational program or activity that receives federal funds, including Federal loans and grants. Title IX also covers student-to-student sexual harassment. If you encounter unlawful sexual harassment or gender-based discrimination, please contact the Human Resource Services at 780-8875 (24 hours).
Intentional plagiarism is a form of intellectual theft that violates widely recognized principles of academic integrity as well as the Honor Code. Such plagiarism may subject the student to appropriate disciplinary action administered through the university Honor Code Office, in addition to academic sanctions that may be applied by an instructor (Policy for this class: Studentfails the particular assignment or exam, which might result in failing the course, and will be report ed to the Honor Code Office ). See definition and specifics at : http://w2.byuh.edu/studentlife/honorcode/docs/ces.htm#1
Examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to:
1) Direct Plagiarism: The verbatim copying of an original source without acknowledging the source.
2) Paraphrased Plagiarism: The paraphrasing, without acknowledgment, of ideas from another that the reader might mistake for your own.
3) Plagiarism Mosaic: The borrowing of words, ideas, or data from an original source and blending this original material with one's own without acknowledging the source.
4) Insufficient Acknowledgment: The partial or incomplete attribution of words, ideas, or data from an original source.
Plagiarism may occur with respect to unpublished as well as published material. Acts of copying another students work and submitting it as one's own individual work without proper attribution is a serious form of plagiarism.
Final Examination
All students should be aware of the BYUH policy that there are no early final exams. An exception to this policy is the case of a school sponsored activity which takes an individual or a team away from the University at the time an examination is scheduled to take place. Faculty and Administration who are responsible for scheduling official University activities attempt in every way to avoid scheduling activities in conflict with the scheduled examinations. Students must plan travel, family visits, etc., in a way that will not interfere with their final exams. Emergency situations should be presented in writing as soon as possible to the Dean of the college or school of the student’s major.
Less expensive fares, more convenient travel arrangements, and any other non-emergency reasons are not considered justification for early or late final exams. Students are responsible for making sure that family or friends who may supply tickets or make travel arrangements for a student are aware of the student’s need to complete courses by taking the final examinations as scheduled.