KAPI‘OLANI COMMUNITY COLLEGE
University of Hawai‘i
COURSE OUTLINE FORM (Form: 4/25/94)
ENG 257C THEMES IN LITERATURE: LITERATURE OF OCEANIA
1. COURSE DESCRIPTION: (9/1/00)
ENG 257C THEMES IN LITERATURE: LITERATURE OF OCEANIA (3)
3 hours lecture/0 lab per week
Prerequisite: Completion of ENG 100, 160 or ESL 100 with a grade of C or higher.
Recommended Preparation: Completion of HAWST 107 and PACS
108 with a grade of C or higher.
A study of selected works of the literature of Oceania created in the 19 th and 20 th centuries outside Hawai’i.
Students will focus on the interaction between and among people from across Oceania through these works. Themes such as place and identity, cultural norms and ideals, and responses to change: assimilation, alienation, and issues of nationalistic movements in Oceania will be discussed.
2. COURSE OBJECTIVES/COMPETENCIES:
Upon successful completion of ENG 257C, the student should be able to:
... Consider a work of literature as a reflection of its cultural milieu.
... Examine a work of literature from various vantage points.
... Examine and analyze the various elements of a literary work.
... Use basic concepts and terminology particular to literary analysis.
... Recognize major themes in a work of literature; explore their implications and identify their basic assumptions.
... Analyze structure; understand how form contributes to meaning.
... Show greater sensitivity to language and literary devices authors use in literature.
0

... Appreciate the artistry of literary works and become better acquainted with writers as artists.
... Recognize the need for literary evidence to support opinions and ideas regarding literary works.
... Express opinions and responses to literature clearly and effectively in writing.
Specific Course Competencies:
... Demonstrate knowledge of some of the authors of 19 th and 20 th century in the Pacific, from a range of ethnic and cultural groups.
... Recognize the universality in human experience, as well as the qualities that make a particular ethnic or cultural group distinct.
... Recognize the diversity of literary opinions, conflict and commonality in relationship to cross-cultural perspectives in Oceania.
3. GENERAL EDUCATION AND RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER COURSES:
ENG 257C is part of the required 200 series introduction to literature program. The general purpose of all courses in this series is to provide an introduction to the study of literature. These courses fulfill core requirements for AA and AS degree programs.
ENG 257C supports the following college competency areas:
… Responsiveness to the arts and humanities
ENG 257C also satisfies the following Associate in Arts degree competencies:
… Computation and communication abilities
… Values for living
… Awareness of the dynamics in contemporary issues
… Problem-solving and decision-making abilities
… Employ those skills in communication, mathematics, and historical content essential to further college work. Show by completion of course in the Humanities sensitivity to values, awareness of their expression in various cultures, and understanding of their importance in the quality of life.
1

… Show, by completion of elective and/or required courses, the educational background necessary for more specific professional and personal goals.
… Make a decision if desired about further course of study in a four-year college, with a capacity to declare a major and select courses directed toward that major, based upon a realistic assessment of personal needs and aspirations.
ENG 257C also satisfies the following Associate in Science degree requirements:
… Employ skills and understandings in language and mathematics essential to fulfill program requirements.
… Understand attitudes and values of various cultures and examine their potential for improving the quality of life and meaningfulness in work.
… Understand contemporary issues and problems and respond to the impact of current conditions.
… Demonstrate abilities of conceptual, analytic, and critical modes of thinking.
… Develop insights into human experience and apply them to personal, occupational, and social relationships.
ENG 257C satisfies the following departmental and/or program competencies:
… Understand the nature of the humanities as a collection of disciplines that study the nature of the human being and human culture, attitudes, accomplishments, and relationships to the universe.
… Recognize the commonality, interrelatedness, tensions, and affirmations of human existence.
… Critically examine the values and attitudes of one’s own creations, assertions, decisions, and valuations.
… Learn to listen to and communicate with one’s peers and tolerate opposing viewpoints.
… Understand and participate in intellectual and aesthetic pursuits.
… Develop leisure-time activities which encourage a constructive and self-fulfilling existence.
… Foster a spirit of continuous inquiry in pursuit of wisdom.
4.
COURSE CONTENT:
The course could be organized in various ways, but the texts should be (1) primarily written by authors who
2

were or are living in the Pacific island area rather than those who were or are visiting; and (2) representative and inclusive of writers of the various ethnic and cultural groups that make up the population of 19 th and 20 th century Oceania. Here is a possible general outline:
A.
Representative 19 th century texts; the movement to establish a Oceanic/Pacific Island literature in the 19 th century.
B.
Representative 20 th century texts (Fiction, Poetry,
Drama, and Essays); the movement to establish a multi-ethnic Oceanic literature in the 20 th century.
Possible themes to focus on:
1.
The uniqueness of Place, Culture, and Traditions of
Oceania.
2.
Individualism and Family
3.
Issues of Identity.
4.
A Writer’s response to Historical and Cultural
Change.
5.
The universal in Human Experience.
5. POSSIBLE TEXTS:
Figiel, Sia. The Girl in the Moon Circle. Raiwaqa, Suva,
Fiji: Mana Publications, 1996.
Figiel, Sia. Where we once belonged. Auckland, New Zealand:
Pasifika Press, 1996.
Hau'ofa, Epeli. Tales of the Tikongs. Honolulu, Hawaii:
University of Hawaii Press, 1983.
Hereniko, Vilsoni, and Teresia Teaiwa. Last Virgin in
Paradise. Suva, Fiji: Mana Publications, 1993.
Ihimaera, Witi. Tangi. London: Heinemann, 1973.
Kneubuhl, John. Think of a Garden. Honolulu, Hawaii:
University of Hawaii Press, 1997.
McNeill, Hinematau. Te Aria The Spirit Sings. Auckland, New
Zealand: Flamingo: An Imprint of HarperCollins
Publishers, 1998.
Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. Te Pua 1., Te Pua 2, Te Pua 3 Volume
1, Te Pua 3 Volume 2. . Auckland, New Zealand:
Puawaitanga, Te Whare Waananga o Tamaki Makaurau, 1992 -
1994
Teaiwa, Teresia Kieuea. Searching for Nei Nim'anoa. Suva,
Fiji: Mana Publications, 1995.
Thaman, Konai Helu. Kakala. Suva, Fiji: Mana Publications,
1993.
Thaman, Konai Helu. Of Daffodils and Heilala: Understanding
(Cultural) Contexts in Pacific Literature. Honolulu,
Hawai'i, 1997.
3

Thaman, Konai Helu. You, The Choice of my Parents. Suva,
Fiji: Mana Publications, 1974.
Wendt, Albert. Lali: A Pacific Anthology - Introduction.
Auckland, New Zealand: Pacific Paperbacks, 1980.
Wendt, Albert. Nuanua: Pacific Writing in English since
1980. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, 1995.
Wendt, Albert. Pouliuli. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of
Hawaii Press, 1977.
Wendt, Albert. “'A Resurrection'.” Flying Fox in a Freedom
Tree. Auckland, New Zealand: Longman Paul, 1974.
6. REFERENCE MATERIALS:
Arvidson, Ken. “The Emergence of a Polynesian Literature.”
MANA Review 1.1 (1976).
Crocombe, Marjorie. “Report to the South Pacific Creative
Arts Society.” Trans.Suva, Fiji, 1973.
Crocombe, Marjorie. “Samoa's Albert Wendt: Poet and Author.”
Pacific Islands Monthly 1973: 75-76 (MANA Section).
Hereniko, Vilsoni. “An Interview with Albert Wendt in
Manoa.” Manoa: A Pacific Journal of International Writing
5.1 (1993 Summer): 51-59.
Hereniko, Vilsoni. “Pacific Island Literature.” Manoa: A
Pacific Journal of International Writing 5.1 (1993): 47-
50.
Hereniko, Vilsoni, and David Hanlon. “An Interview with
Albert Wendt: Following in Her Footsteps.” The
Contemporary Pacific 5.1 (1993): 112-131.
Hereniko, Vilsoni, and Rob Wilson. Inside Out: Literature,
Cultural Politics, and Identity in the New Pacific.
Lanham, Boulder, New York, Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield
Publishers, Inc., 1999.
Markmann, Sigrid. “On Women's Writing in Aotearoa/New
Zealand: Patricia Grace, Keri Hulme, Cathie Dunsford.”
English Postcoloniality: Literatures from around the world (1996): 165-178.
Metge, Joan. “Time & the Art of Maori Storytelling.” New
Zealand Studies 8.1 (1998): 3-9.
Minh-ha, Trinh T. Woman, Native, Other: Writing Post-
Coloniality and Feminism. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana
University Press, 1989.
Mita, Merata. “Indigenous Literature in a Colonial Society.”
Te Ao Marama: Regaining Aotearoa: Maori Writers Speak
Out. Ed. Witi Ihimaera. Vol. 2, 1992.
Orbell, Margaret. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Maori Myth and Legend. Christchuch, New Zealand: Canterbury
University Press, 1995.
Ortiz, Simon J. “Believing the Story.” Winds of Change
Autumn 1995: 114-119.
4

Subramani. “Mana: A South Pacific Journal of Art and
Culture, Language and Literature.” 11 (1996): 112.
Subramani. Pacific Literature in English. Suva, Fiji: Dept. of Literature and Languages, School of Humanities,
University of the South Pacific, 1994 Sept.
Subramani. South Pacific Literature : From Myth to
Fabulation. Suva, Fiji: Institute of Pacific Studies in association with the Fiji Centre of the University of the
South Pacific, 1985.
University of the South Pacific, Institute of Education.
Pacific Writer's Workshop. , 1983.
Wendt, Albert. “The Angry Young Men of Oceania.” Courier Feb
1976 1976: 4-12.
Wendt, Albert. “Novelists and Historians and the Art of
Remembering.” Class and Culture in the South Pacific.
Eds. Antony Hooper, et al. Suva, Fiji Auckland, New
Zealand: Institute of Pacific Studies of the University of the South Pacific Centre for Pacific Studies of the
University of Auckland, 1987. 264.
Wendt, Albert. Towards a new Oceania. Honolulu, Hawaii,
1977.
7. AUXILIARY MATERIALS AND CONTENT:
Xeroxed handouts, films, and other audio-visual aids, as the instructor deems necessary.
8. METHODS OF INSTRUCTION:
This course is primarily lecture/discussion with emphasis on student involvement. Small groups will be used for collaborative learning. Writing will be emphasized as a way of learning.
9. METHOD OF EVALUATION:
Grades will be based largely on writing assignments.
Possible grade distribution:
Papers – 40%
Exams – 40%
Informal writing and participation – 20%
Students will be graded A-F:
A = 100%-90%
B = 89%-80%
C = 79%-70%
D = 69%-60%
F = 59% and below
5

10. JUSTIFICATION:
ENG 257C is one of the themes in the 257(alpha) series.
11. RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS:
A.
This proposal will not require a change in staff, equipment, facilities, or cost.
B.
Course will be rotated with existing elective courses.
C.
This course will not have any impact on other departments in the areas of prerequisites, program support, or space requirements.
C. Estimated enrollment – 25. Number of sections will vary, depending upon themes instructors decide to focus on.
12. ARTICULATION:
A.
See attached sheet for list of similar courses offered at other schools within the University of Hawaii system.
B.
This course has the support of the Center for Pacific
Islands Studies within the School for Hawaiian and
Pacific Studies.
C. This course is appropriate for articulation with the UH
Manoa General Education Core Requirements and the other
Community Colleges in the UH system.
6