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Prof. Bruce Harvey (harveyb@fiu.edu)
(www.fiu.edu/~harveyb/bruceharvey) Thursday: 10:00-11:00
& 12:30-1:30 |
Cannibals and kings, warriors and missionaries,
tattooed bodies, romance in lush tropical locales—the sites and scenes
of Polynesia or the South Pacific allure the Western imagination. --to introduce you to a fascinating area of cross-cultural/multi-cultural study --to improve your analytical ability to see how texts work rhetorically, aesthetically, and culturally --to develop your skill and pleasure in communicating
ideas, both in class and on paper After our first meeting, email me saying "I've read the policies, etc."--so that I know you did and so that I will have your preferred email address. Your email message is also a chance for you to express any initial concerns or questions that you might have about the course. |
TEXTS
1.
Greg Dening, Mr Bligh's Bad Language (Cambridge) ISBN-10: 0521467187
2. J-J. Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality
(Hackett) ISBN-10: 0872201503
3. Herman Melville, Typee (Houghton, Riverside) ISBN-10: 0618300074
4. Robert Louis Stevenson, South Sea Tales (Oxford Univ.
Press) ISBN-10: 0192837001
5. Keri Hulme, The Bone People (Penguin) ISBN-10: 0140089225
6. Lois-Ann Yamanaka, Blu's Hanging (Avon/Bard) ISBN-10:
0380731398 Out of print; I will provide used copies
FILMS TO BE WATCHED
--Mutiny on the Bounty (Clark Gable)
--Bounty (Mel Gibson)
--Tabu
--Once Were Warriors
--Whale Rider
--Lilo and Stich: scenes
--Blue Hawaii: scenes
GRADES AND ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES
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Due Date |
Grade percent |
Assignment: Click Links for Instructions |
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ASAP or by Sept. 29 |
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1/2 page emailed single-spaced statement of your essay topic |
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Oct. 13 |
10% |
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Oct. 27 |
--- |
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Nov. 3+ |
10% |
Oral Report, about aspect of research topic (inst. below) |
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Nov. 10 |
10% |
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Dec. 8 |
60% |
Essay Final version |
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--- |
10% |
Class Participation |
COURSE POLICIES
Class Participation: Missing class, especially as a graduate student, is poor form: please don't do it. If you miss more than two days, you will not be able to pass the course. A graduate-level seminar is not simply a more intense 4000-level undergraduate course. I look upon you as a potential teacher or colleague-in-the-making and thus, although I'm still leading the class, democracy more or less rules. This means that while typically I will have an agenda, I also want and encourage the class to veer off into other illuminating avenues. I expect more active and regular participation than in an undergraduate class. Passivity on your part--always waiting for me to guide you to important passages and points--is inappropriate. A high degree of intellectual inquisitiveness and resourcefulness is assumed of all students in a graduate seminar.
Book Review: Present a digest or review of a scholarly book about or related to one or several of our authors or your essay topic: a biography, a work of literary-cultural interpretation, or a theoretical volume. This should be between one and two single-spaced pages, and written in a format and style kindred to what you would find in an academic journal. Although short, this should be a showpiece--your very best, impeccable writing.
The review should include a) a summary of the argument/content of the work, b) a critical assessment pointing out strengths and weaknesses. Those can be done in tandem, or a) can go before b). If you were really writing a review, and knew the subject matter well, you'd have also a prefatory paragraph that puts the work in a larger context of kindred works... but I'm not expecting that necessarily. It's good to have a couple of key quotes to exemplify good points or bad points or crucial terminology. Come by my office to get a journal or two from me, which will have sample reviews. They come in all shapes and sizes, so there's a lot of flexibility... but style has to persuade, too.
Analytical-Research Paper: You can write on any of the texts we are reading, and you can--if you have an interest and experience--write on any of the films we will be watching. The essay draft should be either the entire draft ½ cooked or ½ of the essay well-cooked. As early as possible, tell me what you are interested in, so I can help guide you. The essay should be about fifteen pages long or longer, double-spaced. It must incorporate a decent amount of secondary research: historical-cultural, biographical, and/or critical. Longer essay guidelines and tips and citation method/bibliographic format will be provided at the link at the top of this syllabus. Topics may be psychological, literary, historical-cultural, film interpretation, religious studies, political, art historical, or philosophical, etc., according to your interests
Annotated Bibliography: This will be a 1-2 page single-spaced list of 6-10 significant scholarly works (essays or books) relevant to your research paper. In a brief paragraph or two, you provide for each an objective summary.
Oral Report: Oral reports should be about 15 minutes long and
no longer; informal but informative; focusing on a key aspect or issue of your
research subject (not necessarily what you’re writing on per se,
however). Provide some, not lavish, supplementary material: annotated
bibliography, photos of artwork, timeline, etc., as relevant to your
topic. You can use notes, but NO READING please. You may stand in
front of the class or sit in your chair … either according to your
comfort.
Miscellaneous: There is no final exam.
Conferences: I am always happy to meet with you during office
hours to talk more about the readings or other course matters. For brief
questions or to set up a conference outside of my regular office hours, you may
call me at my home number, leave a message on my office phone, or email
me. I almost always return email messages within the same day I receive
them, so if you don't get a reply within a day, you should assume I didn't get
the original message.
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Web Links |
Prof's Stuff Links |
Class Readings |
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Class 1 |
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IN THE PACIFIC CONTACT ZONE |
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Class 2 |
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No
class—reading ahead week and conferences during class period to discuss
essay topics |
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Class 3 |
Wiki on Polynesia
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Film:
“Bounty” continued + Mel Gibson version scenes
The historical context/details for the readings and films will come into clarity bit by bit. The handout for James Cook has modern interrupting editorial summaries marked by an icon, which will initially be confusing. Also, after Cook dies, one of his sub-commanders provides a journal continuation. |
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Class 4 |
Anthro/Noble Savage/Rousseau
(opening page only) |
"SAVAGE" SHORES & WESTERN IDEALS OF NATURAL LAW/PRIMITIVISM
Rousseau, Discourse on Inequality (Intro. v-xviii, Part One 16-44 & Part Two 44-71)
DON’T OVERLOOK
RECENTLY ADDED OMAI/COOK LINK TO THE LEFT |
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Class 5 |
Melville,
Typee (you
can skim chapters 19-26 and 28-29) |
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Class 6 |
Murnau Site
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ISLANDS & IMPERIALISM: THE WEST SEES POLYNESIA
Film:
"Tabu"
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Class 7 |
Class—I’ve re-arranged the
schedule so you can concentrate on developing your paper topic and
researching it. Tonight, we will do some sort of workshopping on your
topics, review research methods (and perhaps a bit of theory), and, time
allowing, have some individual conferences. |
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Class 8 |
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ISLANDS & IMPERIALISM: THE WEST WRITES POLYNESIA
Stevenson, South Sea Tales: Editor's intro. ix-xiii & "The Beach of Falsea" We will also work on developing your papers in progress—library researching tips, discussion of individual topics, etc. (time allowing). |
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Class 9 |
TRADITIONAL HAWAIIAN & MAORIAN CULTURE
Sahlins, How Natives Think (xerox excerpt)
Thomas,
Oceanic Art (xerox excerpt handout) Thomas, "Art of the Body" essay in our Typee edition (which
comes from the full Thomas's Oceanic Art volume above) |
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Class 10 |
CONTEMPORARY POLYNESIAN FICTION & FILM Film: excerpts from Utu |
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Class 11 |
Hulme,
The Bone People: Prologue & first half
Select dates for Oral Reports over next 4 weeks |
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Class 12
Book Review Due via email |
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Hulme
2nd half |
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Class 13 |
Yamanaka,
Blu's Hanging |
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Class 14 |
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POLYNESIAN KITSCH—OR NOT?
Film:
Blue Hawaii
Oral Reports |
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Class 15 |
Contemporary
Hawaiian poetry (handout to be given in class for today) |
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Finals Week |
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