Pacific studies

Pacific studies is the study of the Pacific region (Oceania) across academic disciplines such as anthropology, archeology, art, economics, geography, history, linguistics, literature, music, politics, or sociology.

In the fields of anthropology and linguistics, Oceania is often subdivided into Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia, while also including Australasia. In archeology and prehistory, Oceania extends into the southern Pacific Rim of Asia, especially the islands now comprising Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Study of the history, economics, and politics from the colonial period on is inextricably bound to that of the major colonial powers: Britain, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Russia, the United States, and later Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia.

For many Pacific Islanders, Pacific studies involves projects of cultural renaissance, the reclamation and reassertion of cultural identity, while for many others, Pacific studies tends to focus more on modernization and development, on how to understand the region in ways that will improve people's lives (Firth 2003).

Institutions

* Australian National University
* CNRS
* EHESS
* National Museum of Ethnology (Japan)
* SOAS
* San Diego State University
* Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
* University of Auckland
* University of Canterbury
* University of California, San Diego
* University of Hawaiokinai
* University of Oregon

Journals

* Asian Perspectives: The Journal of Archaeology for Asia and the Pacific
* Oceanic Linguistics
* Manoa: A Pacific Journal of International Writing
* Pacific Science
* Pacific Studies (journal)
* The Contemporary Pacific
* The Journal of Pacific History

References

* Firth, Stewart. 2003. Future Directions in Pacific Studies. "The Contemporary Pacific" 15: 139-148.
* Hviding, Edvard. 2003. Between Knowledges: Pacific Studies and Academic Disciplines. "The Contemporary Pacific" 15: 43-73.
* Thaman, Konai Helu. 2003. Decolonizing Pacific Studies: Indigenous Perspectives, Knowledge, and Wisdom in Higher Education. "The Contemporary Pacific" 15: 1-17.
* Other articles in the "Special Issue: Back to the Future: Decolonizing Pacific Studies, edited by Vilsoni Hereniko and Terence Wesley-Smith, "The Contemporary Pacific" 15 (2003).

External links

* [http://www.hawaii.edu/cpis/ Center for Pacific Islands Studies (UH)]
* [http://interwork.sdsu.edu/center_for_pacific_studies/aboutus.html Center for Pacific Studies (SDSU)]
* [http://w2.byuh.edu/academics/thepacificinstitute/pacstudy.htm Pacific Studies]
* [http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/carfax/00223344.html The Journal of Pacific History]