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History 377
“Natives and Navigators:” The Pacific in the Age of Encounter
In the fifteenth century, Europeans began to enter the Pacific region. What they
“discovered” were curiosities so far outside their accepted parameters of natural and
human social systems that the European intellectual world was shaken to its foundations.
For their part, the peoples of the Pacific struggled not only to understand these bizarre
interlopers, but to survive the onslaught of cultural disruption, disease and violence that
accompanied their arrival. How to interpret this “encounter” is an important debate in
contemporary scholarship, a debate that has reinforced the importance of combining
formerly discrete disciplines such as history, archaeology and anthropology. In the end,
what is at stake is our ability to grasp the diversity of human intellectual and social
variety and explain encounters between peoples and cultures with very different notions
of the basic realities of human existence.
Methodology:
The first weeks of class will be devoted to reading articles organized around two
basic areas: The world and history of the Polynesians and the theoretical arguments
among western scholars about how to interpret that world. We will then read selections
from the journals of European voyagers and analyze them as evidence of the problems
and progress of Europeans in understanding Polynesia.
Our primary focus will be on the early voyages of the Dolphin and the Endeavour.
Primary sources for understanding Tahiti can be found at:
http://southseas.nla.gov.au/index_voyaging.html
We will be using the South Seas Voyaging Accounts site for much of the
discussion in the class. Another site that will be part of our reading is Te Rangi Hiroa’s
An Introduction to Polynesian Anthropology at: http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/teiBucIntr.html
The collection of materials at Tide Pools: NZETC digitized texts at
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-corpus-pacific.html includes Te Rangi Hiroa’s
material, but also numerous other articles and entries that can be used to support your
research.
Assignments:
As we read and discuss these articles, students are expected to begin to develop
their own projects. These should be substantial enough to result in a 12-15-page research
paper (typed, double-spaced, one-inch margins, numbered pages) footnoted in Chicago
style or Turabian style. The paper must concern the Pacific in the period (1500-1850)
covered. If, in considering a topic, you cannot find multiple sources to support your
essay, abandon the topic and choose another! Papers based substantially on a single
source will be treated as book reports and graded accordingly. In order to gauge progress,
students will turn in a proposed topic and later a bibliography of consulted articles and
books.
In addition to the final paper, each student will write a 4-page book review of one
of the books listed below or another approved choice.
There will be two oral presentations. One will be on the book you have chosen to
review. A second report will be on your completed research. Use of maps, visual aids,
power-point presentations and the like are encouraged as a way of helping your fellow
students grasp your topic. Guidelines for both of these assignments will be discussed in
class.
Office hours:
My office is Stevenson 2066, phone 664-2462. Office hours are Monday, 12:00-1:00,
Tuesday, 1:00-2:00 and Thursday 12:00-1:00 by appointment. I can be reached by e-mail
at [email protected]
Syllabus
Week of:
1/31.
Introduction and discussion of course guidelines.
2/7.
European Science and the questions of exploration
Consult the following sites and write a one-page paper
describing what role Linnaeus’ ideas might have played in voyages of exploration.
http://www.strangescience.net/linn.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Linnaeus
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/linnaeus.html
2/14.
Polynesian Navigation
Read Te Rangi Hiroa’s An Introduction to Polynesian
Anthropology on “Polynesia” and “Polynesians.”
Polynesian Navigators: Their Exploration and
Settlement of the Pacific
Elsdon Best. Geographical Review, Vol. 5, No. 3. (Mar.,
1918), pp. 169-182.
Stable URL http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=00167428%28191803%295%3A3%3C169%3APNTEAS%3E2.0.CO%
3B2-Q
NOTE: This article contains high-quality images.
Polynesian Migration Voyages: Accidental or
Purposeful
J. P. Frankel, American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol.
65, No. 5, Selected Papers in Method and Technique. (Oct., 1963),
pp. 1125-1127.
Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=00027294%28196310%292%3A65%3A5%3C1125%3APMVA
OP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-O
Those Polynesian Voyages, Andrew Sharp, American
Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 67, No. 1 (Feb., 1965), pp. 102103
Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the
American Anthropological Association
Article Stable URL: http://0www.jstor.org.iii.sonoma.edu/stable/668663
Ben R. Finney, “Voyaging Canoes and the Settlement of
Polynesia,” Science, New Series, Vol. 196, No. 4296 (Jun. 17, 1977), pp. 1277-1285.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1744728
Myth, Experiment, and the Reinvention of Polynesian
Voyaging
Ben Finney, American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol.
93, No. 2. (Jun., 1991), pp. 383-404.
Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=00027294%28199106%292%3A93%3A2%3C383%3AMEATR
O%3E2.0.CO%3B2-S
2/21.
Polynesian Society
Moas and Men: New Zealand about A.D. 1250. Kenneth
B. Cumberland, Geographical Review, Vol. 52, No. 2
(Apr., 1962), pp. 151-173, Published by: American
Geographical Society. Article Stable URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/212954
Felix M. Keesing, “The Changing Life of Native Peoples
in the Pacific Area: A Sketch in Cultural Dynamics,”
The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 39, No. 4 (Jan.,
1934), pp. 443-458. Stable URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2766263
Eighteenth Century Tonga: New Interpretations of
Tongan Society and Material Culture at the Time of
Captain Cook. Adrienne L. Kaeppler. Man
New Series, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Jun., 1971), pp. 204-220.
Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great
Britain and Ireland
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2798262
Michael J. Kolb, “Monumentality and the Rise of
Religious Authority in Pre-contact Hawai'i,” Current
Anthropology; Dec. 1994, Vol. 35 Issue 5, p521-547,
Article Stable URL: http://0www.jstor.org.iii.sonoma.edu/stable/2744080
2/28
Seeing the Other I
William T. Stearn, “A Royal Society Appointment with
Venus in 1769: The Voyage of Cook and Banks in the 'Endeavour' in 1768-1771 and
Its Botanical Results,”
Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 24,
No. 1 (Jun., 1969), pp. 64-90. Stable URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/530741
The Royal Society and the South Seas, G. E. Fogg,
Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 55, No. 1 (Jan., 2001),
pp. 81-103, Published by: The Royal
Society. Article Stable URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/532146
Bernard Smith, “European Vision and the South
Pacific,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol.
13, No. 1/2 (1950), pp. 65-100.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/750143
3/7
Endeavour
Assignments:
1. Go to the South Seas website listed above and search
Cook, Banks and Parkinson’s journals for terms you
think are relevant to the voyage of the Endeavour while
she was in Tahiti and New Zealand. For Cook and
Banks, search the “Descriptions,” not the “Daily
Entries.” Search at least a dozen terms, then take the
five you find most interesting and write up a list and the
dates and comments that you found of note. You can
cut and paste these rather than type them out. Pick one
of these entries and write a paragraph or two on what
the entries tell you about the agenda or differing
perspectives of Cook, Banks, or Parkinson.
2. Go to the South Seas website and look at the map of the
Endeavour voyage. Click on the map to bring up those
portions of the voyage covering Polynesia. Note the
dates the Endeavour was in Tahiti and New Zealand.
What seasons of the year was the Endeavour at each
place? Search Cook’s and Bank’s journals to see if you
can find out whether they understand the seasonal
nature of agriculture. What terms or entries proved
useful?
3. What are Cook’s and Bank’s impressions of the natives
of New Holland in terms of their technology, interest in
trade, and quality of life? How do they compare to the
Tahitians and New Zealanders?
3/14
Resolution
Read:
Johann Reinhold Forster: The Neglected 'Philosopher'
of Cook's Second Voyage (1772-1775), M. E. Hoare, The
Journal of Pacific History, Vol. 2, (1967), pp. 215-224,
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
Article Stable URL: http://0www.jstor.org.iii.sonoma.edu/stable/25167919
Assignments:
1. Go to Google and search: Johann Reinhold Forster
Observations on A Voyage Around the World, or go to
the Google Books preview:
http://books.google.com/books and search the title.
Read the “Introduction” and Forster’s “Preface.”
Note how Forster’s views diverge from those expressed by
Cook, Banks or Parkinson on the first voyage. What are the
sources of the conflicts between the Forsters and Cook?
What were the goals of Cook’s second voyage? What were
his achievements?
3/21
State of Nature
“Of Rats and Men: A Synoptic Environmental History
of the Island Pacific,” J. R. McNeill, Journal of World History,
Vol. 5, No. 2 (Fall, 1994), pp. 299-349
Published by: University of Hawai'i Press Article Stable
URL: http://0-www.jstor.org.iii.sonoma.edu/stable/20078602
“The Introduction of Venereal Disease into Tahiti: A
Re-Examination,” Howard M. Smith, The Journal of Pacific
History, Vol. 10, No. 1 (1975), pp. 38-45
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. Article Stable URL:
http://0-www.jstor.org.iii.sonoma.edu/stable/25168208
A Message for Our Future? The Rapa Nui (Easter
Island) Ecodisaster and Pacific Island Environments.
Paul Rainbird. World Archaeology, Vol. 33, No. 3,
Ancient Ecodisasters (Feb., 2002), pp. 436-451.
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/827878
The Effects of European Contact on Hawaiian
Agricultural Systems - 1778-1819. Ross H. Cordy.
Ethnohistory, Vol. 19, No. 4 (Autumn, 1972), pp. 393418. Published by: Duke University Press. Article Stable
URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/481442
Epidemiology and the Pacific Labor Trade. Ralph
Shlomowitz. Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 19, No. 4 (Spring, 1989), pp.
585-610. Published by: The MIT Press
Article Stable URL: http://0www.jstor.org.iii.sonoma.edu/stable/203955
3/28
Beachcombers and Missionaries
“Beachcombers and Castaways as Innovators,” Thomas
Bargatzky, The Journal of Pacific History, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Apr., 1980), pp. 93-102,
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
Article Stable URL: http://0www.jstor.org.iii.sonoma.edu/stable/25168413
“Absorption, Trade and Warfare: Beachcombers on
Ponape,” 1830-1854,” Martin Zelenietz and David Kravitz,
Ethnohistory, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Summer, 1974), pp. 223-249 ,
Published by: Duke University Press Article Stable URL:
http://0-www.jstor.org.iii.sonoma.edu/stable/481171
“Manuscript XVII: Who Taught Pomare to Read?
Unpublished Comments by a Missionary Surgeon on
Tahiti in May 1807 to October 1810, and Journal
Entries by an Able Seaman at Tahiti in 1811,” Rhys
Richards, The Journal of Pacific History, Vol. 40, No. 1
(Jun., 2005), pp. 105-115. Published by: Taylor & Francis,
Ltd. Article Stable URL: http://0www.jstor.org.iii.sonoma.edu/stable/25169732
“A House Is Not a Home: Gender, Space and
Marquesan Encounter, 1833-34,” Lee Wallace, The Journal of
Pacific History, Vol. 40, No. 3 (Dec., 2005), pp. 265-288,
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
Article Stable URL: http://0www.jstor.org.iii.sonoma.edu/stable/25169764
“Hawaii 1778-1854: Some Aspects of Maka'ainana
Response to Rapid Cultural Change,” Caroline Ralston,
The Journal of Pacific History, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Jan., 1984),
pp. 21-40, Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. Article
Stable URL: http://0www.jstor.org.iii.sonoma.edu/stable/25168538
“Warfare and State Formation in Hawaii: The Limits
on Violence as a Means of Political Consolidation,” Paul
D'Arcy, The Journal of Pacific History, Vol. 38, No. 1 (Jun.,
2003), pp. 29-52,
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. Article Stable URL:
http://0-www.jstor.org.iii.sonoma.edu/stable/25169618
4/4
No class: Research assignment. Research topics and
preliminary bibliography due on 4/11.
4/11
Anthrohistopology
Marshall D. Sahlins, “Poor Man, Rich Man, Big-Man,
Chief: Political Types in Melanesia and Polynesia,”
Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 5, No. 3
(Apr., 1963), pp. 285-303. Stable URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/177650
Other Times, Other Customs: The Anthropology of
History
Marshall Sahlins American Anthropologist, New Series,
Vol. 85, No. 3. (Sep., 1983), pp. 517-544.
Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=00027294%28198309%292%3A85%3A3%3C517%3AOTOCTA%3
E2.0.CO%3B2-M
“The Culture of Culture Contact: Refractions from
Polynesia,” I. C. Campbell, Journal of World History, Vol. 14,
No. 1 (Mar., 2003), pp. 63-86, Published by: University of Hawai'i
Press
Article Stable URL: http://0www.jstor.org.iii.sonoma.edu/stable/20079009
Heterotopic Dissonance in the Museum Representation
of Pacific Island Cultures. Miriam Kahn. American
Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 97, No. 2 (Jun., 1995), pp. 324338
Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the
American Anthropological Association. Article Stable URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/681965
Research topics and preliminary bibliography due.
4/18
Spring Break.
4/25
Book Reports due. Presentations.
5/2
Presentations
5/9
Final Presentations
5/16
Final Presentations
5/23
Paper due by 12:00 noon.
Books for Review
Edward Robarts. The Marquesan journal of Edward Robarts, 1797-1824. Edited,
with an introduction by Greg Dening. Imprint Honolulu, University Press of
Hawaii [1974].
Stuart Banner, Possessing the Pacific: land, settlers, and indigenous people from
Australia to Alaska, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2007.
Jean Barman and Bruce McIntyre Watson. Leaving paradise: indigenous
Hawaiians in the Pacific Northwest, 1787-1898. Imprint Honolulu: University of
Hawai’i Press, 2006.
Greg Dening. Mr. Bligh's bad language: passion, power, and theatre on the
Bounty. New York : Cambridge University Press, 1992.
-- The Death of William Gooch: A History’s Anthropology
Gananath Obeyesekere. The Apotheosis of Captain Cook; European Mythmaking
in the Pacific. Honolulu, Princeton University Press, 1995.
-- Cannibal Talk : The Man-Eating Myth and Human Sacrifice in the
South Seas, 2005
Marshall Sahlins. How “Natives” Think: About Captain Cook for Example.
Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1995.
--Apologies to Thucydides: Understanding History as Culture and Vice
Versa. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2004.
Makiko Kuwahara, Tattoo: an Anthropology. Oxford, New York, 2005.
Nicholas Thomas, Anna Cole, and Bronwen Douglas, eds. Tattoo : bodies, art,
and exchange in the Pacific and the West. Durham : Duke University Press, 2005.
Francis Barker, Peter Hulme, Margaret Iversen, eds. Cannibalism and the colonial
world. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Ter Ellingson. The myth of the noble savage. Berkeley, University of California
Press, 2001.
Ann Salmond, The Trial of the Cannibal Dog
Aphrodite’s Island