Malo le soifua!
Since its inception, American Samoa Community College (ASCC) has made it its mission to promote an awareness of Samoa and the Pacific. ASCC’s Samoan Studies Institute (SSI) fulfills this mission through the various academic programs and outreach activities it offers. One component activity of SSI is the production, collection and archival of audio-visual media that may be used as a resource for teaching, research, and public viewing and appreciation.
I am pleased to introduce the 2011 Media Directory of Samoan Studies Institute. Here, listed and described are the current audio-visual materials in the SSI ethnographic audio-visual archive covering topics related to Samoan and Pacific history, culture, environment, health, politics, and social issues. The directory is divided into two main sections: final edited video programs and unedited material, which together comprise more than six hundred hours of video footage. The main emphasis of these materials is oral history and ethnography of both American Samoa and Samoa, included also is substantial documentation of ASCC programs and activities, as well as documentaries about other Oceanic cultures, stories from and Samoan diaspora, as well as Australian Aborigines.
Most of the materials are produced “in-house”, some with collaboration with other entities of ASCC (such as the Community and Natural Resources Division or the Art Department) or in partnership with KVZK-TV of American Samoa. Some have been acquired or donated from other organizations, such as Pacific Islanders in Communications (a consortium of The Corporation for Public Broadcasting).
This is only the beginning, and as Samoan Studies Institute research and production develops, we will continue to update this valuable resource for students, researchers, educators and the community at large to learn about cultural values and knowledge, ways of life, customs, social structures, histories, environments of Samoa and the Pacific.
On behalf of the Board of Higher Education, administration, faculty and staff I am happy to introduce these media resources to you.
Soifua,
