Australasia - Oceania
A special branch of study offered by the Department of Pacific and Asian Studies is the focus on peoples and societies of Australasia-Oceania. The coverage of these countries of the central and western Pacific stems from early teaching by members of the Department who worked in Fiji and Australia. It also reflects Victoria's position as an Island University linked across the ocean historically and contemporarily in economics, politics, and culture to the countries across the Pacific . The coverage of Australasia-Oceania is a fascinating branch of study that distinguishes Pacific and Asian Studies at UVic among programmes in the province.
"Australasia" typically refers to Australia and adjacent island countries, namely: Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Tonga, Tahiti and French Polynesia, Solomon Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Papua New Guinea, West Papua, Palau, New Zealand, Nauru, Marshal Islands, Kiribati, Fiji Islands, Cook Islands. "Oceania" similarly refers to the many islands of the Pacific Basin, with or without Australia.
Oceania also is defined in reference to the culture areas "Melanesia", "Micronesia", and "Polynesia", names derived from classic researches into languages and geography. "Oceania" covers the societies and cultures of the islands of the Pacific Basin.
Subjects of Study: Current subjects for course study and research projects on Oceania include:
- Ecology, Continental and Island Systems Land and Marine Tenure, Agriculture, Subsistence
- Language Relationships, Cultural Texts, Malayo-Polynesian Regional Patterns in Language and Culture
- ndigenous Social Organisation: Theory and Ethnography
- Cultures of Melanesia, Polynesia, Micronesia, Australia
- *Political Systems of the Indigenous Pacific
- World Expansion and Colonial Histories
- Contemporary Social and Economic Conditions
- Post-Colonial Politics: Democracy and The Pacific Way
- Migration, Labour, Dependency, Health
- Climate Change, New Global Alignments, People and the World Today
These topics are significant in both academic and applied fields and provide a basis for further study and employment in specialised areas in Canada and overseas. Students are encouraged to bring new issues for study.
Languages of Oceania: The languages of Oceania are numerous; many belong to the great Malayo-Polynesian (Austronesian) family of languages that includes Indonesian and Malay. At the University of Victoria, in Pacific and Asian Studies, the study of Malay- Indonesian is a good start for students wishing to learn about related Oceania languages. Along with the indigenous languages, English and French are important languages in this part of the Pacific. The region's libraries and archives hold very good materials for study and research.
World and Pan-Pacific Linkages: For Australia and the Pacific Islands, growing ties with Asian nations e.g. Japan, China, Taiwan, Malaysia today are multi dimensional - extending from trade and economics to arts and dance - and these pan-Pacific ties are integral to the new global links of Pacific nations. Along with an established focus on indigenous societies and world history in the Pacific, the Department has a close interest in the contemporary effects of Asia's involvement in smaller Australasian countries.