ANTH 216
Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
1.1 What’s an atoll? Find and print out or re-draw a map of the Marshall Islands in
relation to the nearest nation you’re familiar with, so that you can fit this place and
its story into your cognitive map of the world. Annotate this map as you read.
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Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
1.2 What is the US government’s emic perspective on the geography of the Marshall
Islands? How do the Marshallese perceive their islands?
ANTH 216
Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
1.3 What is meant by matrilineal inheritance? How is matrilineal inheritance
different in a Hawaiian kinship system than it is in a vertically-oriented lineage
system?
ANTH 216
Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
1.4 Leaving aside for the moment how this land was acquired, do you think people in
countries like the US would take better care of the land if they had less (much, much
less) of it, as do the Marshallese ? What do you think it takes for a society to prioritize
the welfare of future generations over the comfort and enjoyment of present
generations?
ANTH 216
Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
1.5 Consider the relationship between infrastructure, structure, and superstructure in
Marshallese traditional culture. First describe the elements of the model, then point
out and briefly describe links and feedback loops between the subsystems of the
cultural system. Draw a diagram, labeling the parts of your model.
ANTH 216
Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
2.1 Narrate the political history of the Marshall Islands, from first contact with
Europeans to the close of WWII.
ANTH 216
Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
2.2 In the late 1940s and through most of the 1950s US citizens (my parents’/your
grandparents’ generation) apparently accepted the US government’s decision to
explode nuclear weapons in a territory entrusted by the world to its care. Please
explain.
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Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
2.3 Why did the US fail to evacuate Marshall Islands residents prior to exploding the
largest thermonuclear weapon ever tested?
ANTH 216
Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
2.4 Barker has an interesting approach to the study of culture change: she pays
particular attention to how language records the experiences of a group of people. If
you were to examine US English over the past century for evidence of common
experience, what themes would you expect to see? Give some examples of linguistic
evidence for your themes.
ANTH 216
Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
2.5 “As an anthropologist working in the Marshall Islands, much of my work is
influenced by the work of anthropologists who preceded me” (Barker 2004:24).
Comment on the significance of Barker’s statement in light of current controversies
over the use by the US military of professionals, including psychologists and
anthropologists, and the concept of a “Human Terrain System.”
ANTH 216
Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
2.6 What are some of the topics explored by anthropologists working in the Marshall
Islands.
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2.7 What do you understand is meant by the term “cultural broker?” Think about and
include Susan Scrimshaw’s explanation from the Margaret Mead biography.
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Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
2.8 Describe the role and operation of the Nuclear Claims Tribunal.
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Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
2.9 Describe the different roles anthropologists have played in the Marshalls since
1940. What positive and negative consequences for the Marshallese can you identify?
ANTH 216
Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
2.10 What is the relationship between the US and the Republic of the Marshall Islands
at the present time? Why is it closer than that between the US and the other former
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands states?
ANTH 216
Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
2.11 How does the Compact address human and environmental consequences of
nuclear testing in the RMI?
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Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
2.12 What alternatives do you see for the RMI in place of its long-term, renewable
“marriage of convenience” with the US?
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Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
3.1 What strategic circumstances allowed and motivated the US to limit its liability
for damages to the four northern areas in the RMI?
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Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
3.2 Why was the fund provided for damage compensation in the 177 Agreement
inadequate?
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Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
3.3 How can we account for the medical exams without consent and resettlement of
populations in highly contaminated environments by the US government?
ANTH 216
Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
3.4 What important information was revealed when US government documents were
declassified by the Clinton administration Advisory Committee on Human Radiation
Experiments (ACHRE)?
ANTH 216
Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
3.5 Why didn’t the US evacuate Rongelap prior to the Bravo test?
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Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
3.6 Why did the US wait two days to evacuate Rongelap and Utrik?
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Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
3.7 Describe Project 4.1.
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Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
3.8 Why did the US resettle communities from Bikini, Utrik, Rongelap and Entewewak
on nuclear fallout contaminated lands? Use the four domains of truth strategy to
untangle this mess.
ANTH 216
Barker Discussion Name ________________________________________
3.9 Why did the people agree to return? Use the four domains of truth strategy to
explain.