The Role of Australia in the South Pacific and Relations with New Zealand

I always forget how much I love history. Really. I think that a lecture on the history of this part of the world before a lecture on relations with other countries would provide a better base of knowledge, but as it stands, this lecture contained a lot of history. As a side note, something I'm noticing is that Australians seem to be more into the Simpsons than Americans are--and this isn't just coming from Greg Pemberton's constant relations of Aussie politics to "that one episode of the Simpsons."

I'm a bit nervous about writing a big, long reaction to this lecture--I'm still hurting from the last one. But the big points of the lecture hit on ugly, white, paternalism in the South Pacific, colonialism and neo colonialism has really shaped the bilateral and multilateral relationships in this neck of the woods, and Australians identify nationally as being offensive.

If you're interested in more, just ask.