Research Guides: AEGS- American Ethnic & Gender Studies : AEGS 206: Intro to Oceania & Pacific Islander Studies

Country Profile Sources

Britannica Academic
Encyclopedia articles, images, videos, and primary sources plus an atlas, dictionary, and thesaurus.

Due to the British focus of this resource, some topics unique to the U.S. get ephemeral treatment.
Credo Reference
More than 1,000 encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, and reference handbooks.
CultureGrams
Easy-to-read reports on countries of the world, including culture highlights, maps, and statistics.

Country Profiles- BBC News
Full profiles provide an instant guide to history, politics and economic background of countries and territories, and background on key institutions.
Country Profiles- World Bank
The World Bank's primary database for cross-country comparable development data.
Country Profiles- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation
Food and agriculture-specific details from the UN.
Country Statistics and Profiles- UN Data
UNdata is a web-based data service for the global user community. It brings international statistical databases within easy reach of users through a single-entry point. Users can search and download a variety of statistical resources compiled by the United Nations (UN) statistical system and other international agencies.
CIA World Factbook
Basic information on the history, people, government, economy, energy, geography, environment, communications, transportation, military, terrorism, and transnational issues for 258 world entities.

Books & eBooks

A History of the Pacific Islands by Steven Roger Fischer
Call Number: 995 Fi525h

Publication Date: 2017

Spanning over 50,000 years of human presence in an area which comprises one-third of our planet - Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia - the narrative follows the development of the region, from New Guinea's earliest settlement to the creation of the modern Pacific states.
Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia by Evelyn Flores (Editor); Emelihter Kihleng (Editor); Craig Santos Perez (Series edited by)
Call Number: eBooks

Publication Date: 2019

Poetry, short stories, critical and creative essays, chants, and excerpts of plays by Indigenous Micronesian authors have been brought together to form a resounding--and distinctly Micronesian--voice.
Indigenous Pacific Islander Eco-Literatures by Jetn̄il-Kijiner, Kathy, editor; Kava, Leora, editor; Santos Perez, Craig, editor.
Call Number: 820.8036 In2j

Publication Date: 2022

Reader will encounter a wild garden of genres, including poetry, chant, short fiction, novel excerpts, creative nonfiction, visual texts, and even a dramatic play-all written in multilingual offerings of English, Pacific languages, pidgin, and translation.
New Mana: Transformations of a Classic Concept in Pacific Languages and Cultures by Matt Tomlinson and Ty P. Kawika Tengan (Eds)
Call Number: eBook

‘Mana’, a term denoting spiritual power, is found in many Pacific Islands languages. In this book, 16 contributors examine mana through ethnographic, linguistic, and historical lenses to understand its use and transformations in the past and present.
On the Road of the Winds : an archaeological history of the Pacific islands before European contact by Patrick Vinton Kirch
Call Number: 995 Ki632o

Publication Date: 2017

Synthesizes the grand sweep of human history in the Pacific Islands, beginning with the movement of early people out from Asia more than 40,000 years ago, and tracing the development of myriad indigenous cultures up to the time of European contact in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries.
Our Voices, Our Histories : Asian American and Pacific Islander Women by Shirley Hune & Gail M. Nomura
Call Number: eBook

Publication Date: 2020

Exploring Asian American and Pacific Islander women's lives along local, transnational, and global dimensions.
Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia by Christina Thompson
Call Number: Main Collection - 2nd Floor ; 305.8994 Th372s

Publication Date: 2019

A quest to discover who the ancient voyagers of Polynesia were, where they came from, and how they managed to colonize every habitable island in the vast region of remote Oceania. Combines the wonder of pursuit and the drama of a gripping historical puzzle in a vivid tour of one of the most captivating regions in the world.
Telling Pacific Lives: Prisms of Process by Lal, Brij V., editor.; Luker, Vicki, editor.
Call Number: eBook

This volume of essays is an exploration of the way in which scholars from different disciplines, standpoints and theoretical orientations attempt to write life stories in the Pacific.
Unequal Lives : Gender, Race and Class in the Western Pacific by Bainton, N. A., McDougall, D., & Alexeyeff, K.
Call Number: eBook

Publication Date: 2021

Grounded in meticulous long-term ethnographic enquiry and deep awareness of the historical contingency of these configurations of inequality, this volume illustrates the multidimensional, multiscale and epistemic nature of contemporary inequality.

Journals

The Contemporary Pacific
Peer reviewed journal from the Center of Pacific Island Studies at University of Hawaii at Manoa.
The Journal of the Polynesian Society
Issues from 1892-2021 containing a repository of indigenous texts and traditions contributed by Pacific peoples as well as travelers, social/cultural anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, linguists and physical/biological anthropologists, and more recently they have been joined by sociologists, political scientists, economists.
Oceania
Peer-reviewed journal available online

Other Resources

Critical Pacific Islands and Oceania Studies Curriculum Framework, from Asian American Research Initiative
A framework that provides some key questions, selected concepts, and introductory resources on Pacific Islander definitions of history, identity, self-determination, sovereignty, disaggregation, and solidarity.
Guampedia
Guampedia is a community project to preserve and provide access to the journey of the Chamoru/Chamorro people and Micronesia.
Ka Wai Ola- Reporting from an Indigeous Hawaiian newspaper
A multiple award-winning Indigenous media source funded by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. It is consistently recognized for excellence in reporting by the Indigenous Journalists Association, as well as the Public Relations Society of America.
The Pacific Community
International sustainably-focused development organization working to progress all Pacific people's rights and well-being.
Teaching Oceania from the Center for Pacific Island Studies at University of Hawaii at Manoa
OER series for undergrad Pacific Island Studies throughout Oceania. Titles include:
Militarism & Nuclear Testing in the Pacific,
Gender in the Pacific,
Health & Environment in the Pacific,
Oceanic Arts, and more
Ulukau: The Hawaiian Electronic Library
A collection of historical accounts, oral histories, dictionaries, and books on Hawaiian language, fishing, and more.

Recommended Databases

JSTOR
Digitized back issues of academic journals, academic books, museum and archive images, and primary sources. Useful for research in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
ProQuest eBook Central (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Collection)
Over 18,000 librarian-selected eBook titles covering Asian Studies, Women's Studies, Black Studies, Hispanic/Latino Studies and much more.