1. Compare and contrast how “the native” or indigenous person

Paper Topics

Pacific Literary and Cultural Studies

Winter 2020

Due Friday, February 28, hard copy only.

4-5 pages in length

Format: MLA Style

Native-ness

1. Compare and contrast how “the native” or indigenous person is defined in two texts from the course. One text should unpack colonial and imperial constructions of racial, ethnic, and/or cultural difference (e.g., the notion of the noble savage, legislation, court rulings, missionary conversion, travel narratives).  A second text should elucidate how indigenous groups understand what constitutes their nativeness (e.g., genealogy, belonging to place, cultural conceptions such as mana, genealogical relations to both the human and the non-human).  What is at stake in both the means by which nativeness is defined but also the deeper cultural and socio-political implications of these differences?

Knowledge

2. The Pacific is a region that has been apprehended by strangers from other parts of the world first through the vicarious or virtual experience of texts, earlier documented accounts of voyagers be they explorers, whalers, missionaries, or tourists. The Pacific has already been “experienced” through text and all of the misconceptions in the minds of the writers.  Discuss two texts which examine the implications of this historical reality of prior representation; one text which examines the implications of this prior-ness for exploration and colonization, and one text which contemplates what this means for indigenous islanders.  What does this priority entail for travelers, and for indigenous islanders?

Agency

3. Several of the texts in this course explore controversial “scenes” of colonial encounter that raise the question of how to read and understand the intentions and actions of indigenous people. Discuss 2 texts in which native agency is a central question or theme.  What are some of the debates or discussions that emerge out of the interpretation of these moments.  How do indigenous authors address this question in their fictional worlds?

Gender & Sexuality

4. What role do gender and/or sexuality play in the processes of imperialism and colonialism? Discuss 2 texts, one that provides insight into how colonialism targets native sexual practices and gender roles through prohibitions and the imposition of colonial norms.  What do these texts offer as oppositional or transformative alternatives to the colonial forms?

In addition to these topics, you may also devise a topic of your own.  I ask that you consult with me prior to beginning work so that we can craft a topic that encompasses suitable range and depth.

For more information about MLA Style, please see the “Files” section of the Canvas site.