Semester	Fall Semester, 2025
Department	Graduate Institute of Linguistics MA Program, First Year Graduate Institute of Linguistics MA Program, Second Year
Course Name	The Languages of the Pacific: History, Linguistics, Sociology, and Politics
Instructor	DE BUSSER RIK LOUIS JOSE
Credit	3.0
Course Type	Elective
Prerequisite

Course Objective

Course Description

Course Schedule

Week	Content and readings	Activities	Estimated work load (incl. hours in class)
1	Introduction	Lecture	5
2	Peopling the Pacific I: Pacific prehistory	Required reading, lecture, discussion	5
3	Peopling the Pacific II: Modern man	Required reading, lecture, discussion	5
4	Australian languages I	Required reading, lecture, discussion	5
5	Indigenous Australia II: Case studies	Lecture, Presentations, discussion	5
6	Papuan languages I	Required reading, lecture, discussion	5
7	Papuan languages II: Case studies	Lecture, Presentations, discussion	5
8	Austronesian languages I: Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Madagascar	Required reading, lecture, discussion	5
9	Midterms	Write abstract	5
10	Austronesian languages II: The Deep Pacific	Required reading, lecture, discussion	5
11	Austronesian languages III: Case studies	Lecture, Presentations, discussion	5
12	East Asian languages I: The Western fringe	Required reading, lecture, discussion	5
13	East Asian languages II: Case studies	Lecture, Presentations, discussion	5
14	Languages of globalization I: Colonization and creolization	Required reading, lecture, discussion	5
15	Conclusion	Lecture, discussion	5
16	Final exam	Exam	5

This is a preliminary schedule. The final schedule of this course will be compiled in consultation with the students.

Teaching Methods

Teaching Assistant

Help with class administration and collecting materials.

Requirement/Grading

Participation in discussions: 40%

Presentations: 30%

Mid-term abstract & final essay: 30%

For the final essay, you have to choose a topic and propose a research plan in a mid-term report. In order to pass your essay you need to demonstrate that:

You understand the information presented to you during the lectures and in your required reading.

You are able to conduct independent academic research, by correctly referring to linguistic studies that are not part of the course materials or reference materials.

You are able to write a well-structured essay in English.

Grading scale

	100-90	89-85	80-84	79-70	69-60	50-59	50-0
	A+	A	A-	B	C	D	E
Graduate	Pass				Fail
Undergrad	Pass					Fail

Textbook & Reference

A list of required and optional readings will be made available at the beginning of the semester.

Reference works:

Adelaar, K. Alexander & Nikolaus P. Himmelmann (eds.). 2005. The Austronesian Languages of Asia and Madagascar. London: Routledge.

Bellwood, Peter. 1997. Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago, Revised Edition. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.

Blust, Robert. 2013. The Austronesian Languages, Revised Edition. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. URL: http://pacling.anu.edu.au/materials/Blust2013Austronesian.pdf

Foley, William A. 1986. The Papuan Languages of New Guinea. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Mühlhäusler, Peter. 1996. Linguistic Ecology: Language Change and Linguistic Imperialism in the Pacific Region. London: Routledge.

Urls about Course

Attachment