Union Term Abroad In Fiji- Fall
Faculty Organizers: Karen Brison (Anthropology); Hal Fried (Economics)
The Fiji term abroad will take ten students to study and do research in Fiji, a South Pacific Island nation. The term is open to students of all majors. The term will introduce students to the process of doing anthropological research, and the cultures of Pacific Islands. In addition, the Fall 2006 term will focus on entrepreneurship: students will intern several hours a week with a locally owned small business and will work with the local entrepreneur to analyze the business and to understand the conditions under which Fijian entrepreneurs operate. There are no pre-requisites though taking Introduction to Culture Anthropology is recommended and students wanting to receive Economics credit must take Introduction to Economics first.
Students will be immersed in the local culture. The bulk of the term will be spent on hands- on 'ethnographic' research. Anthropologists feel that it is important to live with members of another culture and to be actively involved in their day-to-day life. To truly understand how people see the world, you must 'walk in their shoes,' ideally through participating in a venture of common interest together. Students will learn this method both through living with a Fijian family and through working several hours a week with a local entrepreneur to gain a thorough appreciation of the social and cultural forces that shape everyday life and economic enterprise in Fiji.
After an initial orientation week, students will be placed with individual host families spread throughout the capital city of Suva and the adjacent 'Coral Coast'region of the country. Students will meet together and with Prof. Brison two days a week for an organized fieldtrip and to hold classes and discuss readings on Fiji and on entrepreneurship. We will also take a midterm trip to another area of the country. Students will carry out structured exercises every week designed to help them understand local culture and local business, and will design one longer project of their own choosing in the second half of the term. Prof. Fried (economics) will give regular assignments for the Entrepreneurship component, which he will collect by email. He will also visit Fiji for a week in the middle of the term to conduct classes and meet with individual students.
The entrepreneurship component is appropriate for students in all majors. We will work to find local businesses catering to student interests; consider some exciting examples: working with local handicraft producers and marketers (arts majors) ; working with locally owned ecotourism companies (social science and environmental science majors); working in a small firm selling control devices to local factories (engineering majors); working with local fishermen and fish marketers (science majors) ; working on a local newspaper (humanities majors), and so on.
Course of Study
- ANT 185T Peoples and Cultures of the Pacific
- ANT 223T/ ECO 223 Culture and Entrepreneurship
- ANT 363T Research Methods in Anthropology
Eligibility
Students must have an overall GPA of at least 2.5 at the time of application, be in good academic standing when the program begins, and be certified as eligible by the Dean of Students.
Information on Fiji
Fiji is a former British colony that attained independence in 1970. The country consists of a group of 320 islands located east of Australia. There are two main ethnic groups in Fiji in a population of just over 700,000: indigenous Fijians and descendants of Indian indentured servants brought in by the British in the 19th century. About 60% of Fijians live in rural villages in a largely subsistence-based economy where kin connections and communal obligations are very important. Fiji thus offers relatively good living conditions while giving students exposure to a very different culture and way of life. Students would gain first hand experience of the problems of a developing country. Experience in a Pacific society is also important given a growing emphasis on Pacific relations in US business and education.
Fiji is an ideal site for a field oriented term abroad since most of the population speaks English (the official language of the country), medical and other facilities are good, and the country is free of major tropical diseases like malaria. The South Pacific Handbook, a popular guide for tourists, says 'Fiji's' climate is a healthy one, and the main causes of death are non communicable diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer...the tap water is Fiji is usually drinkable except immediately after a cyclone or during droughts. Health care is good, with an abundance of hospitals, health centers and nursing stations scattered around the country.'
Fiji Web Site
You can find further infromation about past Terms Abroad in Fiji here
Or contact Karen Brison x6673 or Hal Fried x6368
Calendar
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*Mid-Jauary |
Application Deadline |
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*Mid-March |
$200 non refundable deposit due at the Cashier's Office in McKean House |
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*Spring Term |
Orientation Meeting |
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*September |
Program begins in Fiji |
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*December |
Program ends in Fiji |