About Us
Welcome from the Department
Halo olketa, Yokwe, Kam na mauri, Bula vinaka, Faiakse'ea, Talofa, Taloha ni, Malo e lelei, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Kia orana, Aloha, Ia orana, Tēnā koutou katoa!
Our warmest Pacific greetings to you all from the very deep south of New Zealand - welcome to the Pacific Island Studies website!
Pacific Island Studies is offered as a major for the Bachelor of Arts and is a multi-disciplinary degree hosted by Te Tumu, the School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies here at the University of Otago. Our aim is to provide the very best education on a range of topics relating to the Pacific including Pacific Island social issues, dance, politics and history just to name a few.
Please take the time to browse our site and do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. We hope to see you soon in Sunny Dunedin!
What is Pacific Islands Studies?
Pacific Islands Studies is a course focusing on the Pacific Islands taught across several departments. Papers in the course cover topics such as Pacific prehistory, Pacific people's issues, Pacific performing arts, Pacific history, intercultural film and media studies as well as music and politics. These papers make up a unique programme with a multi-disciplinary orientation that examines contemporary issues of importance to Pacific peoples, including New Zealanders.
The course covers the geographical area contained within the Polynesian Triangle as well as the islands of Melanesia and Micronesia. The focus of the programme is within the Pacific countries themselves and presents Indigenous and local perspectives of the Pacific both historically and in the present day. Some papers also look at Pacific Island communities living in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Pacific Islands Studies can be taken both as a major and minor subject within the Bachelor of Arts, and combines well with other papers from a wider range of subjects, including Anthropology, Music, Community and Family Studies, Geography, History, Politics and languages. The post-graduate programme in Pacific Islands Studies includes a diploma (available from 2010) and both Masters and PhD qualifications.