

ʻATENISI INSTITUTE
An institute for critical education in the South Pacific

Relaxing after class
HUMANITIES
HST 303 – Modern European History (1500-1985)
Medieval Islamic and Indian cultures are credited with preserving classical interest in philosophy and mathematics, enabling the European Renaissance. The hegemony of Anglophone capital and liberalism in the late second millennium is comprehensively detailed whilst the challenges of Spain, France and Germany – and later Russia, Italy and Japan – are as well analysed, with particular attention paid to Luther, Calvin, the Inquisition, the French Revolution, National Socialism, Leninism, and Islamism. The course concludes with a survey of rising economic power in China and India.
PHIL. 350 – Ethics
A systematic study of valid social behaviour comprising meta-ethics (i.e., ethical theory), normative ethics (i.e., methods for determining moral action), and applied ethics (i.e., ethics appropriate for specific theatres or domains). The course will initially review the often opposing ethical thought of Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Bentham, Mill, Nietzsche, Sartre, and Camus, before focusing on political, scientific, and media ethics.
SOCIAL SCIENCE
PAC STUD 225 – History of Tonga
An account of the development of the Polynesian kingdom from Lapita settlement in the first millennium B.C. to its current transition towards parliamentary democracy. The course mediates the controversy regarding Tonga’s regional hegemony of the 14th and 15th centuries – i.e., empire or commercial coordinator? It next considers Tonga’s adaptation of selected European constructs, including fervent conversion to Wesleyan Christianity from the late 1820s. Special attention is paid to the nation-building of its first monarch, George Tupou I, including the abolition of serfdom in 1862 and introduction of constitutional government in 1875.
POL ST 330 – International Relations: Theory and Practice
The study of international relations attempts to answer the question, "Why do states behave the way they do in the international system?" To address the question, the course will follow the guideline proposed by Prof Stephen Walt in Foreign Policy in 1998, i.e., “The study of international affairs is best understood as a protracted competition between the realist, liberal, and radical traditions.” Students will assess these main traditions, testing theory against evidence of various state practice.
POL STUD 355 — Strategic Negotiation
The methodology of strategic negotiation is dispassionate and logical; it attempts to disarm conflict and discover the authentic requirements of each contender. From this perspective, the course analyses techniques of mediation and dispute resolution in the context of ethics, culture and economics. Particular attention is paid to resolution mapping, including holistic communication and problem-solving.
PSYCH/SOC 310 – Social Psychology
An interdisciplinary examination of the psychology of social groups. The course initially traces the history of psychology from ancient Greece (e.g., Plato’s tripartite psyche) to medieval Islam (e.g., al-Tibari, ibn Zakarīya Rāzi) to the psychiatric pioneers of the French Revolution (e.g., Pinel, Esquirol), leading to the more recent psychology of Freud and Jung. The birth of social psychology is attributed to Triplett and LeBon, whilst the Allport brothers and Lewin are primarily credited with its further development in the 1930s. The discipline generally studies concepts of the self within groups, as well as social perception and attitudes; these components are then presumed to interactively shape social conformity, affiliation, cohesion, and cooperation, as well as rebellion, alienation, aggression, and conflict. The course concludes by examining these building blocks of social psychology in the arenas of politics, the media, sports, law, business, and health.
SOC 315 – Sociology of Media
A survey of the effective deployment of mass media such as newspapers, magazines, books, radio, television, cinema, telecommunications, the Internet, posters and comic books. Deploying the perspective of Marshall McLuhan, each medium will be evaluated according to its capability to disseminate political, social, cultural, and commercial messages and personalities via compelling narrative, image and/or design.
CREATIVE ARTS
T.C. 100 – Tongan Faiva
An online tutorial introducing the student to Tonga’s traditional music and dance forms. Movement component focuses on simplicity of expression, fundamentals of performance, and recruitment of audience participation.
NATURAL SCIENCE
PHYS 150 – Introduction to Astronomy
The course launches with a history of the discipline. It next considers observational, spherical, and planetary astronomy, including supernovae, neutron stars, and black holes. Physical topics include gravitation, forces, optics, and radiation.