New Zealand Studies

This course introduces Kapa Haka, the Māori performing arts. It explores the origins of Kapa Haka through Māori histories and narratives. It also examines the development of Kapa Haka over time, with a focus on contemporary competition formats such as Whakataetae, as well as the fundamentals of Kapa Haka, including group singing, hand and foot coordination, and choreography, preparing learners to perform as members of a Kapa Haka group.

This course examines migration to New Zealand from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales between 1800 and 1945, situating it within the broader context of British and Irish migration and New Zealand’s role in the Age of Mass Migration. It covers factors in Britain and Ireland that encouraged emigration, conditions in New Zealand that attracted immigrants, and the migration and settler experiences of specific groups.

This course introduces the foundational concepts, histories, and contemporary realities of Māori, Pacific, and other Indigenous peoples. It explores Indigenous philosophies and worldviews, with a focus on relationships to land, language, culture, resources, development, and political systems across settler-colonial contexts, Pacific nations, and beyond. It also examines how Indigenous communities respond to climate change by drawing on ancestral knowledge and practices to advocate for environmental justice and resilience.

This course examines the ways in which Pacific peoples frame their contemporary world in the context of globalization. It also examines factors which shape contemporary Pacific life and popular culture as well as some of the challenges emanating from how Pacific peoples construct and make sense of their own and others’ historical, political, socio-cultural, economic and religious worlds.

The course examines New Zealand’s relations with major countries, its policies in key regions, and its position on contemporary issues in international politics. It explores how a small state navigates complex global environments where optimal outcomes are not always possible. It also provides an insider’s perspective on how strategic decisions are made, drawing on conversations with senior political leaders, diplomats, and national security officials. It analyzes how New Zealand evaluates options, develops policy, and responds to global challenges in ways that safeguard its defense, economy, and societal interests.

This course is an introduction to theoretical and practical components of weaving kete. Students learn to weave kete and critically examine traditional techniques, along with modern day applications.

This course examines empowering notions of Pacific wellbeing for Pacific individuals, families and communities. Students explore definitions of Pacific wellbeing and the cultural concepts, models, practices and worldviews that have enhanced the overall positive wellbeing experiences of Pacific peoples across the Pacific region.

This is an independent research course with research arranged between the student and faculty member. The specific research topics vary each term and are described on a special project form for each student. A substantial paper is required. The number of units varies with the student’s project, contact hours, and method of assessment, as defined on the student’s special study project form.

This course examines the sociology of gangs, focusing on the historical development of gangs in New Zealand and the methods which have been taken to control them.

This course examines a wide range of Maori writing in English, and situates these works within a vast and vibrant whakapapa of Maori creative production in Aotearoa and beyond. Key themes within the course include: purakau and their contemporary retellings, Maori futurism(s), representations of kai and palate politics, the relationship between birds, writers, and the written word, and narrative sovereignty.