Ethnic Studies

This course examines the socio-cultural and political impact of New Zealand films foregrounding Māori, both in front of and especially, behind the camera. It looks primarily at how Māori filmmakers have used cinema as a means to reassert cultural identity and tino rangatiratanga, from its activist beginnings during the Māori Cultural Renaissance in the 1980s, to the present.

This course is a practical and theoretical introduction to performing cultures of the Pacific with emphasis on Polynesian cultures. Basic music and dance skills are taught in practical instruction. Consideration of commonalities and differences among Pacific cultures. Academic discussion of styles, instruments, performer categories and the place of the performing arts in Pacific cultures.

This course examines the ways that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people draw on a range of personal, social and cultural resources to compensate for adversities brought about by colonization. It explores agency, successes and joys as well as the ways that people live with the challenges and traumas of history. 

This course examines Indigenous peoples as agents of geopolitical change. It introduces colonial/decolonial geographies to demonstrate the geopolitical implications of Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing. Key themes include: territory and geopolitics; Indigenous identities, subject-formation and intersectionality; Indigenous knowledges, rights and political agency; and, Indigenous relationships with non-Indigenous peoples.

This course examines the diverse roles Aboriginal women have played in Indigenous and Settler societies and investigates historical and contemporary issues and the activism and leadership that Aboriginal women have undertaken. It covers activism and leadership, agency, and power from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous standpoints. It looks at Aboriginal women in contemporary times as well as from early colonial days and on the missions, Aboriginal women feminism and the making of a nation, Aboriginal women’s literature and roles in higher education, Indigenous women in sport, social and emotional wellbeing, as well as Aboriginal women and criminal justice.

This course offers a comprehensive introduction to Indigenous Studies in the United States, with a focus on key concepts, historical contexts, and contemporary themes relevant to Native American peoples. Through an interdisciplinary approach grounded in Indigenous epistemologies, it examines the plurality of worldviews, histories, and experiences of Indigenous peoples in the United States – and beyond – to understand the historical and contemporary relationships between Indigenous communities, settler-colonial systems, and current governance structures. Through the study of the relationship between Native American peoples and the U.S. government, the course critically examines topics such as sovereignty, self-determination, governance, land and the use of natural resources, Indigenous justice systems, gender-based violence, Indigenous education, linguistic and cultural transmission, among others. Additional discussions address the history of treaty rights in the United States, the U.S. federal and state recognition processes, the recognition of specific rights for Indigenous peoples at the international level, and evolving concepts of identity and indigeneity. While the primary focus is on American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Nations within the United States, comparative perspectives on Indigenous Peoples worldwide are also provided. Interactive discussions, group exercises, and presentations by guest scholars and practitioners also provide interdisciplinary insights that bridge theory, practice, and community-based experience.

This course examines critical contemporary issues for youth in the Pacific region with a particular emphasis on Aotearoa. Throughout this course, issues around health and well-being, identities (ethnic, spiritual, gender), education, climate change, artistic expressions, resilience, youth engagement and risk-taking behaviors will be examined, and the impacts these have upon Pacific young peoples, their families and their communities will be explored.

This course examines how Indigenous knowledge and ‘Western’ science work against, with or independent of each other and look at examples of how science contributes to Indigenous development. This international approach fosters cross-cultural communication skills, sharing of theory and practice, and comparative analysis of the situations of Indigenous peoples in global contexts.

This course gives students an introduction to the structure of Tongan as well as allowing them to develop basic language skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing.