"A New Oceania: Our Sea of Islands" by Epeli Hauʻofa

What new view of Oceania did the author have in "Big Island" at a conference?

"The world of Oceania is not small : it is huge and growing bigger every day."

According to the author, what is Oceania?

"Vast, expanding, hosptiable, generous, humanityr ising form the depths of brine and regions of fire deeper still, Oceania is us."

Describe the perspective or worldview of the peoples of Oceania regarding their environment. Did their environment extend beyond the shoreline?

Anything but small

How does the author describe the views of people in a dominant position and how are these views perpetuated to then have significant consequences on their inferiors?

Derogatory or belittling behavior integral to relationships of dominance and subordination, wherein superiors behave in ways or say things that are accepted by inferiors, and in turn perpetuate the relationship

What idea was the author bound to?

He was bound to the notion of smallness that even if they could improve approaches to production, that absolute size of our islands would still impose such severe limitations that they would remain defeated. (In other words, his own feeling was perpetuating the ideas of inferiority and the presumed need for assistance from the larger (dominant and controlling) government to be able to survive.)

According to the author, what event or action can be traced to the derogatory and belittling views of indigenous cultures?

Interactions with Europeans

What is the difference between viewing the Pacific as "islands in a far sea" and as "a sea of islands"?

Islands in a far sea = stresses smallness and remoteness. Sea of islands = people are part of the sea, the sea is part of their home in addition to the land

Did Europeans invent belittlement?

NO

What are the two levels of operation that are pertinent to the purpose of the paper?

National governments and the proletarians

What is the difference between the two perspective used for our region: Pacific Islands and Oceania?

Pacific islands implies just the land, a common misconception. Oceania includes the sea that interconnects the islands and people

What is the prevailing view that has been unwittingly propagated mostly by social scientists about Islanders?

Small island states and territories of the Pacific, all Polynesia and Micronesia, are much too small, too poorly endowed with resources, and too isolated from the centers of economic growth for their inhabitants ever to be able to rise above their present condition of dependence on the largess of wealthy nations.

What is the core of all oceanic cultures that is not taken into account by economists?

The ancient practice of reciprocity

What is the "idea of smallness" and "tiny confined spaces" relative to to?

The general thought given is that it is a matter of perception, especially by those living on continents.

Give an example how language can be used as a tool to control and emphasize social and ethnic differences.

The use of "master" and "boy" to differentiate between European and indigenous.

What does Epeli Hauʻofa say about the views of from the level of national governments versus that from the level of ordinary people?

The views often differ markedly

What reason was given to explain why aristocracy in Tonga used belittlement with commoners?

To control and subordinate

What is "neocolonialism," as defined by the author?

To make people believe they have no other choice but dependence.

If the ideas of "narrow, deterministic perspectives" continue for generations, what would happen to the people and what would happen to the land and seas?

Wardship over the people; land and seas would be at the mercy of the global economy.