Epeli Hau'Ofa We Are the Ocean

Annotation

He has had many influences, by birth and by education, and now he devotes himself to transmitting that fascinating mix and the effect it has on the people of a unique region. Hau'ofa (Oceania studies, U. of the South Pacific, Fiji) was born in New Guinea and educated there and in Tonga, Fiji, Australia and Canada. He has things to say about his experiences and those of people from the region, particularly regarding development and cultural shift. Reasoned yet energetic and sometimes angry, he helps readers rethink what anthropology has taught about Pacific islanders and how an entirely post-colonial contingent of scholars will correct the errors of the past. He reflects upon the spiritual lessons of the islands and the ocean that will serve as the foundation of a new commitment to the creativity, the role the Pacific way in creating writers, and paths toward fuller participation in the arts.