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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Epistemology and power inequity regarding research

Let me start this reflection with a comment going back to the second week of this semester when Patrick Tomsen explained the importance of genealogy, that "it is iterative, living, and shifts with the lived experiences of the researcher in relation to the society they...

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...

The Hypocrisy of Social Justice in the French Revolution

To what extent does popular rule achieve social justice? Modernist scholars romanticize the French Revolution, where the common people rose and overthrew a corrupt establishment. A social pinnacle, where the foundations of feudalism and old order were torn up to...

Knock, knock! Who’s there?

Sometimes before you can start a conversation with someone you have to knock before entering, and man is one of the most nerve-wracking things to do. Nicole’s words of reflexivity resonated with me, acknowledging that when you start your research you can either be...

What would draft resistance look like today?

        There’s an obvious reason why people evaded the draft in the Vietnam War- the belief that the war was pointless and thus pointless to participate in, pointless to risk one’s life in. However, this is not what I want to talk about. Society’s view on draft...

Age through sex: considering masculinity, maturity, and music

Jennifer Frost’s response to the predictably brilliant question posed by Antonia Grant about how the reasoning that fuelled support for the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – that citizens too young to vote were old enough to fight – applied to women – led me...

Marriage or the internet – which matures a 19-year-old more?

Frost's discussion of the fight for youth voting rights encapsulated many talking points about civil rights, democracy, protest and strength in diversity. What grabbed my attention the most, however, was one throw-away line in the middle of her lecture. “Youth today...

Are We Living Through A Revolution?

I must confess that when I sat down for our lecture on the French Revolution, I was confused. I felt determined to figure out how this idea of a revolution was impacting my everyday life. So, I began where most people would begin - by googling the definition of a...

Revising Rosie: The Myth that Encompasses the Riveter

She dominates our perception of female empowerment – the face of modern feminism. Unfortunately, Our perception of Rosie the Riveter is doused in myth, distorting our view of feminist history …

Conflict in modern societies

I’m a scientist at heart, and something I find interesting is that we believe we’re ‘pacifists’ compared to other organisms. One of our focus questions this semester was that all animals except humans have conflict for resources - why are we determined to prove...

Auckland Domain

I am interested in the Auckland Domain for several reasons. Personally, it is a place which holds many dear memories for me: Befriending the swans at the pond, visiting the memorial, the museum, Wintergarden, or just going out for drinks at Wintergarden’s Café. Before...

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The Wicked Witch of the West

The Wicked Witch of the West

After Jeremy Armstrong’s lecture, something that stuck with me was his initial description of Eastern vs. Western war during his recorded lecture. From what I understand, this initial 10 minutes of his talk was a presentation of the ‘stereotypes’ that these terms...

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Art’s Appeal to Humanity

Humans, as a species, are a peculiar one at that. A species overly aware of their own mortality and place in the universe, consequently bent upon obsessive overthinking, and because of this we’ve found ways to fabricate our own reality in a harsh world. We’re...

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When does the war actually end?

When does the war actually end?

  It is easy to think of war as a past tense. While we aren’t exposed first hand to current situations like war in Afghanistan, we can recognize this horror across media and news updates. Then we can turn the tv off and look away. We don’t need to look any...

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The Call for Duty!

When looking at the various depictions of war that we’ve seen thus far – in art, literature, music and even sand -, there is a notable exception: the humble videogame. Ever since rising to prominence in the 1980s, videogames have been seen entertaining millions, but...

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