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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Language in Religion

What language is the Bible in? There's no clear answer to this question, given that the Bible is constructed from many disparate parts that in places contradict each other, written in many languages and translated over and over again, through the many centuries the...

The Universal Stevie Nicks Experience

Nostalgia farming, in my understanding, is the act of seeking stimulus that connects oneself to memories and feelings in the past. Nostalgia farming has become increasingly more a part of peoples day-to-day lives recently, partly due to living through a pandemic and...

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...

Thinking about commemoration…75th Anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

And this popped up today. Critical thinking about images and to whom we give access is always interesting. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/06/world/asia/hiroshima-nagasaki-japan-photos.html

How Are We Talking About Racism?

A fair number of our lectures have had strong links to the topics of racism and colonialism, something that makes a lot of sense given their place as a local conflict in Aotearoa. Admittedly, these lectures likely stand out the most to me because of my lack of...

Multimedia Research: The Use of Song in the Research Process

Reflecting upon the lecture from Dr. Jennifer Frost brings up gratitude for my own placement in history. Voting is something I place a lot of importance on, and finally being able to participate in democracy has made me excited and motivated to make a difference. To...

Lost in between.

The research panel discussed the way power sits with those producing academic literature. The production of knowledge historically, and often still today, favours an established western system while side-lining or silencing ideas that are themselves deemed biased or...

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...

Positionality and Polarisation in American Politics

I had never realised how vast the qualities used to define your identity could be until we talked about positionality in class. How certain experiences, family legacies, and interests are stacked upon one another and used to position ourselves in the world. Now...

Redress: What Now?

Stephen Winter’s presentation on redress programs for those who suffered abuse while in state care piqued my interest because the history of the intersection of government and the underserved has been marred with suffering. In the past, those who were unlucky enough...

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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