This course introduces students to visual culture—films, art, performance—from and about the islands in the Pacific Ocean known as Oceania.  Images of the islands have found their way into western imaginations through the earliest accounts of explorers, missionaries, and writers, many of whom claimed to depict, in Melville?s famous words, “the unvarnished truth.”  Ironically, these images also produced the vivid and often inaccurate and sometimes demeaning images of the primitive, the savage, the exotic that are part of the imperial and colonial imaginary.  We will explore both early images created by explorers and others as well as contemporary films that engage the contradictory claims of truth and the production of fantasy.  How do indigenous filmmakers and visual artists engage with these contradictions?  We will also be engaging some of the written texts that inspired these visual forms.

This course satisfies the following CURRENT English major/minor requirement: Identity & Difference

This course satisfies the following NEW English major/minor requirements: Regions: Americas, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Regions: Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Pacific Islands, Time: Contemporary/Modern

Course Requirements:

Requirements: Journals, quizzes, reading questions, midterm paper, and final paper.

Intended Audience:

This course is accessible to undergraduates across all departments and programs.