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

Like what we do? Find out more.

Bringing research closer to home

Okay, let me be honest with you for a hot minute... Sitting back and watching these guest speakers discuss their research journey throughout this semester has felt a little daunting to me. I have found myself thinking throughout this process, “how the heck am I ever...

Elephant Talk in the comments’ section

    "Comments, clichés, commentary, controversy… talk talk talk, it’s only talk!”     King Crimson’s classic Elephant Talk depicts perhaps the most accurate representation of any and all media relating to what’s gone in this truly incredible year....

Preparedness for Conflict in Domestic and Foreign analysis

When assessing preparedness for conflict, the institutions for peace conflict with the absence of historical precedent. Hence we must look beyond our borders to observe foreign response to conflict: in doing so we facilitate the transformation of livelihood and relationships in a domestic context of conflict.

Conflict and Community?

We are in the presence of history: a global conflict of sorts that our grandkids will learn about in school. This “conflict” against COVID-19 has got me thinking, and one question, inspired by a group’s reading of Malešević’s The Sociology of War and Violence has...

ANZAC – today and tomorrow

This year, amidst the lock down and the chaos, many New Zealanders are planning the long, arduous trek to the letter box to stand and honour the traditions of a nation, a stationary dawn parade for ANZAC day. Even while relegated to the confines of our properties,...

The Path of an Inside Outsider

My cultural identity has always stood at the forefront of my research interests. But I had neglected to consider the potential of it also becoming a barrier. Throughout the discussion, I had resonated with Dr Jemaima Tiatia-Seath when she recalled the challenges you...

Spinning yarns…

We talk about story telling through metaphors of handicrafts and war stories are no different. We often only associate knitting with women and the homefront, who waited and knitted and wept and waited and knitted some more - or so the stories go. Here is a story that...

Perception

As Halloween recently passed, my mind shifts to the commodification of culture. Nowadays you can purchase anything from toy guns to real guns, and murdering video games to watching WW2 in colour. (Greatest Events of WW2 in Color - Netflix). I feel less as if war is in...

Ancient Cosmetics and Beautification

The research of Erin Griffey and Victoria Munn was intensely interesting, illuminating an area of the public imagination surrounding beauty culture and makeup. It begged the question, how far back does this go? Do humans have an innate inclination to temporarily alter...

A Conceptual Analysis of Conflict

The eighth paperback Collins English dictionary defines conflict as: [An] opposition between ideas or interests. A struggle or battle. To be incompatible. The Latin root word of conflict is ‘confligere’, or ‘to combat’. While the Latin and second definition interest...

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...

read more
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...

read more

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...

read more
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...

read more

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...

read more