ANTH 4960 - Tongan Culture and Island Environment: Study Abroad in the Kingdom of Tonga

Meets with ANTH 6960. The Kingdom of Tonga is a Pacific island nation with an economy based on subsistence horticulture, cash cropping, fishing, limited market and wage labor and a large remittance economy. While monetary aid from neighboring nations has provided some amenities and market infrastructure, household economies are primarily based on yields from agriculture, kinship relationships and remittances overseas. Students enrolled in this study abroad course will gain training in ethnographic research through independent study and primary research under the direction of the course instructor. Course topics include subsistence in an island environment, Tongan history, language, contemporary culture and the drivers of Tongan cultural change.