136-506 Pacific History, Environment & Science

Previously known as 136-506 Science and Discovery in the Pacific. Students who have completed 136-506 are not eligible to enrol in this subject. The subject dates and HECS/course fee census date for this subject change each year. Check your enrolment record for the correct census date for this subject.

Usually admission to the postgraduate diploma or fourth year honours, or a postgraduate coursework program.

There are two interwoven streams in this subject: a study of the role of the Pacific as a scientific laboratory, and issues in the environmental history of the Pacific. The Pacific or Oceania has been of central significance for many of the major scientific discoveries, theories and understandings which have shaped Western science. The subject will examine some of these, such as the scientists on the voyages of James Cook, and the work of such people as Charles Darwin, Alfred Russell Wallace, Patrick Vinton Kirch, Bahn & Flenley, and Athol Anderson. In parallel, the Pacific has provided a number of fundamental case studies in the evolution of human understandings of, and interaction with, the non-human environment. Such studies of human interactions with Pacific environments (the environmental history in a broad sense) provide invaluable insights into broader aspects of human settlement and exploitation. This is particularly accessible given that most initial human settlement has taken place within the last 1500 years, and the European wave in the last 250 years. The scholarship about this is new and vibrant, and the subject will contain case studies drawn from such issues as the debates over Polynesian migration, contrasting early settlement interactions in Tikopia and Mangaia, Maori in New Zealand, and the impact of alien introductions in Hawaii.

• improve skills of interpretation and analysis through reading and interpreting historical documents;

• develop an understanding of a variety of environmental, scientific and philosophical concepts;

• develop and exercise the technical skills involved in writing;

• through use of library and other information sources, gain experience in independent research;

• develop the capacity for critical thinking and analysis through essay writing and tutorial discussion;

• improve communication skills through written work and tutorial discussions;

• develop broader skills in historical understanding and analysis of debates.

• Students will be exposed in this subject to arguments among historians and scientists, and will be expected to consider why they differ and how students can evaluate such arguments and make their own judgements about the issues.

Written work totalling 5000 words comprising: a seminar paper of 1000 words 20% due one week after presentation, a research essay of 4000 words 70% due three weeks after the end of teaching, and contribution to seminar 10%. A hurdle requirement of attendance at eight seminars is applicable.

A subject reader will be available for purchase from the University Book Shop.