Arts Scholars

Koi te hinengaro, koi te arero, koi te mahi!
Sharp of mind, tongue, and work!

Keep up with the latest discussions and thoughts from our Arts Scholars whānau

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Development Without Conflict – The Tang Dynasty

When we spoke about how the development of a nation or a culture can only really be achieved through conflict, it left me feeling rather despondent. In all of human existence, was every major steppingstone in our cultural evolutions spurred on by a need to overcome...

East-Me Defined by West-Me

My 15-year-old cousin recently told me I’m such a ‘westernised Indian’ in such a flippant manner and I asked myself what is she trying to insinuate? I decided, for the most part, to really understand what ‘east defined by west’ meant for an Anglo-Indian like myself....

What’s the Tea?

Since being stuck at home, I’ve been drinking an excessive amount of tea. Somewhere around my hundredth cup of the day, I started thinking about how strange it was that such a warm, friendly drink could be the center of so many global conflicts. Tea-related violence...

Sex through the ages – considering orientation and Orientalism

Dr Patrick Thomsen’s examination of sexual identity in the context of Saïd’s Orientalism led me to consider how while the East-West dynamic certainly penetrates sexual discourse*, we should also consider how perceptions of sexuality change over time. The covert...

You and I, We Could Start Something

Wherein I help you cause violence.

Reparations for Slavery to End Systemic Racism is a Terrible Idea

There have been many proposed solutions to end systemic racism, reparations for slavery being one. Reparations are a terrible idea. Systemic racism is a problem that’s deeply embedded in the system, something that doesn’t go away with a check. Systemic racism is like...

Learning to Learn

While the panel on power inequity in research presented many ideas to consider, I was particularly drawn to think further about the risks of failing to be reflective about our own positions as researchers. As having the ability and resources to conduct a research...

Musicals! What are they good for?

When most people think of musicals, their first reaction is either ‘Oh God no’ or something much more positive. Neither of which is ‘wow this is my favourite medium to take in historical facts’. So, why are there so many musicals based on our history - specifically on...

The Ashes of Conflict: Reconsidering the Legacy of our Violent Past.

Throughout this course, we have been exposed to various legacies of the violence that has shaped our modern world. We have learnt of the violent nature by which our so-called "modern" nation-states have been constructed. We have learnt how revolutions have been...

An Anthro Nerd Talks War

I love Anthro106 (issues and history in popular music), so I thought it’d be awesome to bring my new knowledge into art schol. I wanted to explore the music created during wartime and how it was influenced in the aftermath. I decided to focus on World War II and how...

Gender and War

When we talk about war, so often it is in terms of the male soldier or male head-of-state. When women are mentioned, it is often in the lumped phrase ‘women and children’. As we’ve progressed through this term, it has left me wondering: where are the women?  Simply,...

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Hated in our Nations

Hated in our Nations

Spoilers  for episode 6 of season 3 of Black Mirror below.  Civilian casualties are as common as they are condemned. Numbers remind us that governments, be it democratic or authoritarian, kill large numbers of civilians as a military strategy. In his lecture, Thomas...

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Labels and Positionality

Labels and Positionality

Of all the sessions we had this year, one of the most impactful for me was Dr. Madhavi Manchi's session on research positionality. She answered a lot of the questions that I didn't know had been at the back of my mind since I started my Arts degree, the core of these...

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