The extension of World War II to the Pacific Theatre in 1942 signalled a new era in the technology of war and profoundly shaped the modern history of the Asia Pacific region. This course is the first in the world to combine Allied, Japanese and Pacific Islander understandings of the Pacific War with particular attention to the South West Pacific. It complements the existing emphasis on the perspective from the United States and is distinctive in making ‘space’ for Islander experiences. Attention is divided equally between a narrative history of the events of conflict, and a multi-thematic consideration of the consequences and implications of World War II in the Islands. These legacies are addressed through issues as diverse as military technology and strategy, health and environment, Pacific Island lives and post-war political developments in the region. The course offers a fresh approach to a watershed in regional history, and should appeal to students in History, Peace and Conflict Studies, Pacific Studies, Asian Studies, Development Studies and International Relations.

On successfully completing the requirements of this course, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of key actors, events, locations and interests in the Pacific War in the Islands, its aftermath and legacies, as scoped in this course
2. Identify broadly distinctive interpretations and representations of events from different standpoints (such as Allied, Japanese and Pacific Islander perspectives; or popular versus specialist treatments of World War II in the Islands)
3. Recognize issues of difference and debate
4. Place texts, films, objects, or sites in their historical and interpretive contexts
5. Explicate the assumptions implied in students’ own ‘inherited memory’ of the Pacific War in the Islands
6. Find and deploy relevant material relevant to an essay question (or equivalent)
7. Communicate these findings in a well-supported and convincing essay (or equivalent).

Item A Contribution to discussion (weighted 10%)

Item B 4 critical reviews @ 500 words on items in at least three different media, including one review of a written text and a final, reflective review (weighted 20%)

Item C Short essay (2,000 words) (weighted 30%)

Item D Long research essay (5,000 words) (weighted 40%)

The workload will be

2 X 1 hour lectures

1 X 1 hour tutorial (except for week 1)

7 hours independent study

Completion of undergraduate degree, or equivalent subject to approval. Incompatible with PASI2006.

As above

Readings will be provided from various sources, but will include:

• Beaumont, Joan, ‘Australia's War: Asia and the Pacific’, in Joan Beaumont (ed.), Australia's War, 1939 - 1945, St Leonards, NSW, 1996, 26-53
• Bennett, Judith A., Natives and Exotics: World War II and Environment in the South Pacific, Honolulu, 2009
• Dower, John W., War without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War, New York, 1986
• Falgout, Suzanne, Lin Poyer and Laurence M. Carrucci, Memories of War: Micronesians in the Pacific War, Honolulu, 2008
• Fujitani, T., Geoffrey M. White and Lisa Yoneyama (eds), Perilous Memories: The Asia-Pacific War(s), Durham, N.C, 2001.
• Lindstom, Lamont and Geoffrey M. White, Island Encounters: Black and White Memories of the Pacific War, Washington, 1990
• MacLeod, Roy M. (ed.), Science and the Pacific War: Science and Survival in the Pacific, Dordrecht and Boston, 2000
• Nelson, Hank, ‘Kokoda: And Two National Histories’, JPH 42 (1), 2007, 73-92
• Robinson, Neville K., Villagers at War: Some Papua New Guinean Experiences in World War II, Canberra, 1979
• Stanley, Peter, Invading Australia: Japan and the Battle for Australia, 1942. Camberwell, VIC, 2008
• Toyoda, Yukio and Hank Nelson (eds), The Pacific War in Papua New Guinea: Memories and Realities, Tokyo, 2008
• White, G.M. et al., Bikfala Faet : Olketa Solomon Aelanda Rimembarem Wol Wo Tu = The Big Death : Solomon Islanders Remember World War II, Suva, 1988
• White, G.M. & L. Lindstrom, The Pacific Theater: Island Representations of World War II, Honolulu, 1989

Online access and Skype.