Course Description:

This course is for students who are interested in learning about the various “humanistic forms” that exist and continue to remake themselves in both the Pacific/Oceania and the U.S. Pacific diaspora. From an interdisciplinary approach, the course will explore several forms in the humanities—literature, film, music, sports, dance, visual arts, spoken word, poetry, religion, drama, and architecture—to get a sense of how Pacific Islanders navigate and express their sense of “humanity” within these works with respect to race, gender, sexuality, identity, class, culture, environment, and other social categories.

From sunlit beaches, swaying palm trees, and happy tourists to tropical rainforest and menacing natives, the islands of the Pacific have been relentlessly depicted. Perhaps more than any other region of the globe, the Pacific has been “experienced” beforehand through the image-making of Hollywood, television, advertisement, and other media.

This course puts into dialogue the terrain of “western” conceptions of the Pacific and an ocean of indigenous narratives of themselves through the ways in which indigenous Pacific peoples engage and remake the “humanities.” What connections and contradictions emerge from this dialogue? What other her/histories, socio-cultural movements, and experiences are obscured, misrepresented, or erased? How have Pacific Islanders used these forms to challenge, further, preserve, articulate, represent, and reject ideas of Pacific culture(s), representations of “ocean/vasa/moana,” and/or humanity?

Important Dates

 SPRING 2026

Dr. Palaita will be teaching the following section in Spring 2026.  

HYBRID Sections: In-Person Meetings, Online Meetings, and the rest of the course Asynchronous

If you are unable to attend any of the in-person and CityZoom meetings, please enroll into VASA/IDST 45 which is a fully online section to give you the flexibility you need in scheduling.

        CRN#: 36442 (961) | HYBRID

• This sections is from 02/23-05/20 (12-Weeks)

• This section has scheduled meetings in-person and online via CityZoom on the following dates:

  • Tuesday February 24, 2026 | 6:10pm-9:00pm | HBB 140

  • Tuesday March 17, 2026 | 6:10pm-9:00pm | HBB 140

  • Tuesday April 07, 2026 | 6:10pm-9:00pm | HBB 140

  • Tuesday May 05, 2026 | 6:10pm-9:00pm | CityZoom (Online)

  • The rest of the course is asynchronous and online

Course Syllabus