EURO404-07W (C) Whole Year 2007
Colonialism to Partnership? Europe in the Pacific

Description

European colonization of the Pacific Islands, predominantly during the 19th and early 20th centuries, introduced political, economic, social, religious and ecological changes and set the stage for contemporary practices and globalised relationships.  During the first semester we introduce the ideas and concepts that underpinned relationships from both islander and colonizer perspectives.  We provide a brief comparative analysis of European colonialism in the Pacific.  The second semester shifts to contemporary relationships between new Pacific nations and Europe focusing on European Union (EU) policy toward the Pacific.  The EU Economic Partnership Agreements are the apex of Europe-Pacific relations today.

This course is an expansive yet focused examination of the ever-changing relationship between Europe, now mainly the European Union, and the Pacific Islands. It approaches the subject matter in both historical and modern terms. This is done in two parts. The first introduces students to the ideas and concepts that first informed the relationship. It also includes some ethnographic comparison of the impact of European commerce and colonial government in different parts of the historical Pacific. This part ends by examining Europe-Pacific relations under transformation between the end of World War II and the dawning of the new era in the 1970s. The second part discusses current EU policy towards the Pacific, which is represented by the Economic Partnership Agreements as the apex of Europe-Pacific relations.  

As this is an interdisciplinary approach, it is hoped that at the end students will have been made aware of the complexity of the relationships.

Pre-requisites

Restrictions

Equivalent Courses

For further information see National Centre for Research on Europe.