SAN 2420

This course provides an introduction to the peoples and the complex cultures of the Pacific Islands (Oceania) in the areas known as Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia. Topics include gender, social stratification, leadership and exchange, conflict and war, ritual and symbolism as well as the relationship between tradition and modernity. The course examines the past and the present and the ways in which contact, colonization, the introduction of Christianity, and the cash economy shaped and continue to shape life in the Island Pacific. Three hours a week