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Please forward widely and distribute through your networks. Thank you!

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Hello, UW Students. Welcome back and Happy New Year!

This summer, Chris Rothschild (Researcher with Technology & Social Change Group – TASCHA) and I are directing an Exploration Seminar in Tahiti, French Polynesia. In this seminar, we will explore information within oral traditions, the value of oral traditions as knowledge systems, and the intersection of oral traditions and technology. This 6-credit seminar is open to all UW graduate and undergraduate students. The program description is below, and the online application along with more info are on the website: http://studyabroad.washington.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=11117

Applications are due February 15^th.

We will be scheduling information sessions soon with more details but are happy to answer any questions in the meantime, so feel free to contact us at:

Chris Rothschild (chriskr@uw.edu)

Sheryl A. Day (sagutie@uw.edu)

~Sheryl

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PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

The Pacific Islands have a very long and rich culture of oral traditions. These manifest themselves in their spiritual practices and relationships with the environment and people through song, dance, chant, and storytelling. This program will look at understanding the different systems of oral traditions and how to understand information they contain. The focus will be on Tahiti and the Pacific islands and will attempt to help students understand the value of oral traditions as valid, critical, and credible sources of scientific information and not just cultural "stories".

This course will investigate the following questions:

What are oral traditions and what types of information do they contain?
How are oral traditions used and what purpose do they serve in the Polynesian context?
How have oral traditions been historically viewed as "credible" sources of information by western scientists?
In what ways can the information in oral traditions be viewed as "scientific"?
How does technology impact oral traditions?

In addition to a comprehensive course reader on oral traditions in general and Polynesian traditions in particular, to gain a better contextual understanding of the questions above, we will visit noted oral historians and "tupunas" (elder teachers) who will speak on Tahitian oral traditions in astronomy, geology, agriculture, political history, and fishing. We will also meet with university representatives of the University of French Polynesia who will discuss research in Polynesian oral traditions and how the information contained in them are used not only as inherently important "stories" of old, but as historical and scientific information that can be used in modern scholarship. Students will also be exposed to Tahitian customs and traditions through cultural and dance classes that will be conducted throughout the program.

COURSE: INFO 498 or INFX 598: Oral Traditions, Knowledge, and Science (6 credits)

APPLICATION DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 15, 2013

Apply online at: http://studyabroad.washington.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=11117

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Sheryl A. Day, PhD Candidate

Box 352840, Seattle, WA 98195-2840

Cell: 206.930.1409 | Fax: 206.616.3152

UW Information School

IIRG: Indigenous Info Research Group

NOIS: Native Org of Indigenous Scholars

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