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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“Western privilege” in a Therapeutic Setting

In Dr. Patrick Thomsen's lecture, I was struck by the theme of "Western privilege," and the role this privilege plays in the research process. In particular, I was challenged by Dr. Thomsen's statement, "Western scholars should look to self-critique their own...

Setting the Bull Free

For any of you who have heard me speak for more than five seconds, you would know by now that I am the self-proclaimed "biggest, fattest Taurus" you’ll ever meet in your entire life. I’m stubborn, opinionated and I can’t bear to be told that I'm in the wrong. What can...

“This is me, Eliza Thornberry, part of your average family.”

Weirdly enough my favourite show as a kid was ‘The Wild Thornberrys’ and I would be lying if I said it didn’t change my life. It aired from 1998 to 2004 on Nickelodeon and the movie came out in 2002.  If you haven’t had the wonderful experience of watching ‘The Wild...

Why it’s Important to Scrutinize the Outcomes of our Research

In reflection on the Youth Voting Rights and the 26th Amendment in the USA lecture, I appreciated that Dr. Jennifer Frost refused to accept the supposition that youth in the late 60's - early 70's America were disinterested in electoral voting. At their first...

Not strictly relevant to our theme

But we have had many anthems and this one was so important to my mum and therefore to me... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rptW7zOPX2E Vale Helen Reddy

So the Revolution is Being Televised, Now What?

Many of us are thinking about the new era of civil rights movements that are currently occurring. Footage of rioting and innocent people getting beaten and/or killed is something that our collective conscience is trying to deal...

dealing with your country’s colonial and colonized history

I believe it was Deborah who said, “history is thrust upon us and we’re expected to know it.” We learn in baby steps. We weren’t taught calculus at 13, we were taught linear algebra first. I wasn’t an immigrant six-year-old in ESOL studying Shakespeare’s use of iambic...

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...

“Gays are not real”

Dr Patrick Thomsen's research was my favourite out of all senior researchers. Solely because it was inspired by unexpected life experience, and it reinforces the idea that every, single, little, thing in our lives can become a topic of research. And these researches...

Kodak’s Little White Lie

‘All visions and stories and narratives come from bias.’ - Marcus Winter What are we as a culture if not a collection of widely understood images and narratives? After Marcus Winter’s lecture on his artistic practise of telling stories with sand, I wanted to...

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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