Central Washington University  -  Winter Quarter 2010

GEOG 415

Geography of Oceania

Tuesday & Thursday  3:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Dean Hall Room 202

Instructor: Dr. Robert Kuhlken
Office: Dean Hall Room 310
Office Hours: Wednesdays 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Phone: 963-2795
E-mail: kuhlkenr@cwu.edu
 

Required Texts:

A Traveller's History of Australia 

   by John H. Chambers
 

A Traveller's History of New Zealand
  and the South Pacific Islands

    by John H. Chambers

   image of australia book  image of new zealand book

About this course

Geography 415 investigates the physical and cultural geography of what is perhaps earth's most widespread and wondrous region. Oceania comprises the island continent of Australia, along with the myriad islands of New Zealand, New Guinea, Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Topics covered in this course include landforms, climate, flora and fauna; ecological adaptations of indigenous people; historical and political geography; natural resources and patterns of livelihood; and the creation of distinctive landscapes and regions.


Course Outline & Required Readings

Required readings are from the two Chambers books and the websites listed below.
 

Week 1     January 5 & 7

Introduction: A Vast Geographic Realm, Contemporary Political Territories

Web Resources

Historical map of Australia & New Zealand

Australia's size comparisons

Australasia physical map

Oceania place names

Oceania atlas


Week 2       January 12 & 14

Australia: The Physical Environment & Human Settlement
 


 

Required Readings

from the Chambers Australia book:

Chapter 1: The Physical Environment, pp. 3-10
Chapter 2: Aboriginal Australia, pp. 11-35
Chapter 3: Europeans Arrive, pp. 36-59
Chapter 4: Convicts and Colonists, pp. 60-85
Chapter 5: New Britannias, pp. 86-111

from the www:

Geography of Australia 1
Geography of Australia 2
Australia's climate
Australia's landforms
Australia's native vegetation


Additional Web Resources

Maps of Australia

Australia political map

Australia blank political map

Facts & figures about Australia

Australian Geographic online journal

Ecological images of Australia

Aborigines - Australia's native peoples

European discovery and colonisation


Week 3       January 19 & 21

Australia: Historical & Economic Geography

Required Readings

from the Chambers Australia book:
Chapter 6: The Demise of Black Australia, pp. 112-139
Chapter 7: Economic Development, pp. 140-171
Chapter 9: The Early Federation, pp. 203-227
Chapter 11: Politics, Economy and Culture,  pp. 258-295

from the www:
Australia at a glance
The Australian Gold Rush
Canberra: Australia's capital city
Natural disasters in Australia
Natural hazards report summary


Additional Web Resources

Landlines: Australia's Rural Affairs Weekly

Overview of agriculture in Australia

Australian wine maps

Australian wheat production

Cultural portal to Australia

Waltzing Matilda

Waltzing Matilda RealAudio download

And the band played Waltzing Matilda, song by Eric Bogle

Animated population pyramid

Asian immigration to Australia

Canberra: National Capital Authority

An ideal city?

About the ACT
 


Week 4       

January 26        Midterm Exam on Australia

January 28        New Zealand: An Introduction

Required Readings

          from the Chambers New Zealand book:
          Preface and Introduction: pp. xi - 6


from the www:
New Zealand: summary description
About New Zealand: a brief outline
New Zealand: Geography and geology


Week 5       February 2 & 4

New Zealand: The Physical Environment


Required Readings

          from the Chambers New Zealand book:
          Chapter 1: The Physical Environment, pp. 7-23

from the www:
NZ landscape features
North Island landscapes
South Island landscapes
New Zealand's Volcanoes
Active volcanoes in New Zealand
Coasts
Climate
The Bush and its plants


Additional Web Resources

North Island map

South Island map

Manaaki Whenua - New Zealand Landcare Research

New Zealand biodiversity

Napier earthquake
 


Week 6       February 9 & 11

New Zealand: Cultural-Historical Geography

Required Readings

from the Chambers New Zealand book:
Chapter 3: Maori (portion), pp. 62-76
Chapter 6: New Zealand to 1840, pp. 125-147
Chapter 7:
New Zealand 1840-1872, pp. 148-170
Chapter 8: New Zealand 1861- early 1900s, pp. 171-192
chapter 9: New Zealand to 1918, pp. 193-216
Chapter 12: New Zealand post-1980, pp. 261-282

from the www:
The people of New Zealand
Where New Zealanders live
Arrival and settlement of the Maori
Pre-European society
The Maori economy: a history
Maori people and culture today
Treaty of Waitangi
Cook's Achievement
British immigration and the New Zealand Company
Large differences in regional growth
New Zealand agriculture
New Zealand agricultural production


Additional Web Resources

Virtual New Zealand

Te Maori

Maori culture

Tainui canoe chant

Haka:  from the Rugby league

History of immigration to New Zealand

New Zealand regions

Another view of NZ regions

About New Zealand

New Zealand forest plantations

New Zealand wine regions

Urban places of New Zealand

New Zealand local governments

New Zealand webcams



Week 7      

February 16        Midterm Exam on New Zealand

February 18        Pacific Islands: Introduction & Physical Geography

Required Readings

from the Chambers New Zealand book:
How Pacific Islands were formed,  pp. 9-15

from the www:
Charting the Pacific (read all island summaries from sidebar links)
New Caledonia flora, by Porter Lowry


Additional Web Resources

Theory of island biogeography

Status of Cook Island birds

Pacific Island environmental news

Schematic diagram of an atoll

Atoll ecosystems



Week 8      February 23 & 25

Pacific Islands: Historical & Economic Geography


 

Required Readings

from the Chambers New Zealand book:
Chapter 2: Early South Pacific Cultures, pp. 24-51
Chapter 3: Easter Islanders, Fijians,  pp. 52-62
Chapter 4: Contact and Commerce, pp. 74-100


from the www:
The Easter Island Story
Traditional Pacific Island Agroforestry Systems
Urban agroforestry on Pacific Islands

Additional Web Resources

Mutiny on the HMS Bounty

Canoe plants of ancient Hawaii

Agroforestry in the Pacific Islands: Systems for Sustainability


The Cook Islands

Oil & gas fields of Oceania

Effects of Population Growth and Urbanization in the Pacific Islands



Week 9       March 2 & 4

Pacific Islands: Cultural Geography

Required Readings

from the Chambers New Zealand book:
Chapter 5: Christianity and Colonization, pp. 101-124
Chapter 13: The Pacific Way, pp. 283-318

from the www:

Additional Web Resources

Pacific Islands Internet Resources

Café Pacific

Tonga on the Net

Planet Tonga

Arts Pacific

Cook Islands dancing  video from island of Mauke

Jane's Oceania home page

Oceania Travel Notes

Lonely Planet's Oceania

South Pacific Organizer


 
 


Week 10       March 9 & 11

Pacific Islands:  Focus on Fiji

Required Readings

from the www:

Additional Web Resources

The Fiji Museum

Geography of Kava

Fijian warfare

Map of Kadavu  from Thomson 1889

Ecotourism in Fiji


Some additional web links you might find useful:

  • Maps of Australia
  • Links for Australia

  •  Nzine lots of travel information for New Zealand
  • New Zealand photo galleries
  • New Zealand webcams
  •  
  • Center for Pacific Islands Studies
  • University of Guam Homepage
  • Oceania blank outline map
  • Oceania political map
  • Large reference map of Oceania
  • Map of the western Pacific


  • To: Dr. Kuhlken's homepage.

    To: Geography Department homepage.