ABSTRACT
The destruction of local identity through the relentless encroachment of a 'McDonald-ized' cultural imperialism is a global phenomenon. Yet the reactions of Pacific peoples to this Western hegemony are diverse and encourage the creation of independent cultural identities through sports and games, political mediations, tourism, media and filmmaking, and the struggles for land rights and titles, particularly in Australia.This book, based on extensive fieldwork, addresses a subject of great immediacy to peoples of the Pacific Island nations. It fills an important gap in existing ethnographic literature on the region and confidently navigates what had previously been considered uncharted, even unchartable, waters -- that wide sea between the classic ethnography of Oceania and contemporary anthropology's theoretical concerns with global relations and transnational cultures. Its breadth, rigour, and timely contribution to post-colonial politics in Oceania are certain to ensure that this book will provide an enduring contribution to the field.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|106 pages
Constituting Historical Knowledge
chapter Chapter 1|30 pages
Knowing Oceania or Oceanian Knowing: Identifying Actors and Activating Identities in Turbulent Times
chapter Chapter 4|22 pages
‘Noble Savages’ and the ‘Islands of Love’: Trobriand Islanders in ‘Popular Publications’
part II|144 pages
Ways of Constructing Identities
chapter Chapter 6|22 pages
The Identity Construction of Ethnic and Social Groups in Contemporary Papua New Guinea
chapter Chapter 9|24 pages
Resource Management in Lavongai and Tigak Islands: Changing Practices, Changing Identities
chapter Chapter 10|15 pages
Metaphors, Media and Social Change: Second-generation Cook Islanders in New Zealand
part III|101 pages
Australia after Mabo
chapter Chapter 13|23 pages
Knowing the Country: Mabo, Native Title and ‘Traditional’ Law in Aboriginal Australia
chapter Chapter 14|20 pages
‘All One but Different’: 1 Aboriginality: National Identity versus Local Diversification in Australia
part IV|48 pages
Questioning Western Democracy?