"SEA Semester was one of the most memorable chapters of my life. I was able to spend a semester among like-minded peers for one of the first times in my life, exploring new environments and cultures during port stops, merging old and new technologies together to navigate our ship and bring us safely to our next destination, and bringing anew view of the world to light."
Liz Stefany
Bates College
Environmental Studies Major
SEA Semester: Sustainability in Polynesian Island Cultures & Ecosystems
What Is It?
An environmental studies semester which takes an interdisciplinary look at the people and islands of Polynesia in an effort to learn what they can tell us about the global issues of environmental sustainability and cultural continuity.
When Is It?
Early Spring 2013: Space Available
January 3 - March 26, 2013 (Pacific)
Who Should Apply?
SPICE attracts students who want to understand environmental, political, and cultural changes from an interdisciplinary perspective and in an historical context. This writing-intensive program is particularly appropriate for environmental studies/science majors, but students of any major are encouraged to apply. Limited to 24 students per cruise.
SEA Semester operates on a rolling admissions basis, so there are no application deadlines. Students are accepted on a case-by-case basis until the program is full.
Program Description
Tahiti, Bora Bora, Nuku Hiva, & Moorea are names which evoke romantic images of sandy beaches, lush palm trees, and exotic native people. Polynesians reached this remote region of the South Pacific in voyaging canoes as early as 3,000 years ago. They developed cultural practices and technologies influenced by the unique environmental challenges of each island. Europeans arrived in these islands 250 years ago and described a paradise of abundance. When the two groups met, European diseases devastated the Polynesian people and commercial interests forced the abandonment of traditional practices that had developed in fragile, limited ecosystems.
The islands of French Polynesia have a history of demonstrated sustainability despite the fact that they have been profoundly shaped by European colonization. Today, they are thought by many to be so dependent on those colonizers that they cannot sustain themselves without foreign financial support. At the same time, a movement for independence looks towards a sustainable future that acknowledges the persistence of the Polynesian culture. In this semester, we examine what the future holds for these islands, and whether they can give us answers that apply to other regions of the globe as well.
On Shore and At Sea
During the initial 4-week shore component in Woods Hole, intensive academic coursework prepares students for their research cruise. Students then join the crew of the SSV Robert C. Seamans to sail among the islands of Polynesia for approximately 7 weeks. Students visit historical, cultural, and agricultural sites on the islands and meet local people. Using state-of-the-art shipboard laboratory and research facilities, they also investigate the complex factors that threaten fragile island ecosystems and the surrounding marine environment.
Students close with a one-week shore component on the campus of the University of Hawaii in Honolulu.
Special Program Features
Central to students' academic work is the production of a web based historical, cultural, and environmental atlas of Polynesia. As researchers, authors, editors, and fact-checkers of atlas entries, students engage in every aspect of a humanities-based research project.
SPICE Photo Gallery
Click images to view full gallery (22 photos)
Course Descriptions
Maritime History and Culture: Island Peoples, CAS NS 322 (4 credits)
The ocean both isolates and connects the islands of Polynesia, influencing the maritime knowledge and technology that have defined it for millennia. This course explores how the sea has influenced the development of Polynesian art, literature, religion, vessel design, navigation, and patterns of settlement. It also examines the impact of European colonization, the devastating loss of native populations to disease, the suppression of traditional cultural practices, and the modern Polynesian cultural and political response.
Marine Environmental History: Island Environments, CAS NS 323 (4 credits)
This course is designed to explore the impact of human actions on island and marine ecosystems, and the local, regional, and international responses and strategies developed to mitigate and manage that impact. Students examine the subject matter from several perspectives, using the methods and sources of both the sciences and the humanities.
Nautical Science: Navigating the Marine Environment, CAS NS 223 (3 credits)
Mariners face many challenges and questions when planning and executing an ocean voyage. Nautical Science will explore these fundamental questions from an historical and contemporary perspective as we plan and execute our own voyage in Polynesia. This course also examines concepts in meteorology including the impact of weather on voyage planning and execution.
Oceanography: The Ocean Environment, CAS NS 221 (3 credits)
This oceanography course provides students with the scientific foundation needed to use scientific equipment and instruments onboard the ship to investigate the planet's oceans. While learning about modern ocean studies and technological advances in instrumentation, students develop proposals for original research projects to be carried out at sea.
Maritime Studies: European Perspectives of Polynesia, CAS NS 222 (3 credits)
This course will look at European and American source materials that helped invent the notion of paradise in Polynesia, including the narratives of Captain James Cook and the novels of Herman Melville. In addition to published materials, students will examine manuscript logbooks and journals of American mariners who visited Polynesian islands in the nineteenth century, and objects collected on those voyages that survive in New England collections.
Request Information
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