Ethnic Studies

This course examines the ways in which Pacific peoples frame their contemporary world in the context of globalization. It also examines factors which shape contemporary Pacific life and popular culture as well as some of the challenges emanating from how Pacific peoples construct and make sense of their own and others’ historical, political, socio-cultural, economic and religious worlds.

Students will consider hegemonic understandings of the body as essentially linked to histories of colonialism and power. They will investigate frameworks about the body proposed by minoritized groups, developed out of collective struggle and political movements, found in feminism and critical indigenous studies. Students will recognize the essential differences between these frameworks as well as how they intermingle and intersect.