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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Separating Strength and Sexuality: How We Interpret Women in Power

Historically, images of female power and sexual agency were incompatible. From goddesses to servicewomen, regulation of sexuality counteracted …

Having a yarn not having a yawn.

Ok, so I’m about to summarise some truth handed down from Patrick Thomsen. So this man rocks up onto the stage and immediately I’m enthralled. Was he talking about a data set vaguer than UoA’s marking schemes? No. He came onto the stage and started yarning, chewing...

Seasons change but people don’t, honey; suggestions on changing the unchanging human race

It’s not a secret political, racial, cultural conflict has been occurring for centuries. In the foray of my first 5 weeks of academia, I have never been more keenly aware of the recurring patterns of humanity. Xenophobia is at large in moments of historical importance...

To What Extent is Science “Cultural”?

  Research is inherently scientific, whether us Arts students would like to admit it or not. However, common-sense understandings of research are inherently based on a Western construction of “science”, thus, can scientific reasoning produce appropriate results...

Removing My Blinders

Patrick Thomsen’s story, and ultimately his research, was personal to him. His exposure to multiple cultural perceptions as a gay man led to his investigation of a Korean gay man’s navigation of race, culture, religion, and sexual invisibility. Although not Korean...

The World of Fantasy

*content warning* mentions of sexual assault   After Brooke and Hela mentioned Percy Jackson and The Hunger Games during their (amazing!) presentations, it got me rethinking some of the books that I loved growing up, and the increasingly problematic aspects of...

The Problem with Perfect

Perfection. A myth. An unattainable goal. And yet, something so many of us strive for.   My first issue is the definition. In my opinion, every instance in which we deem something ‘perfect’, it’s a lie. The idea of perfection is completely unique within the mind...

Classics, classics, everywhere

Classical mythology has been consistently inspiring art and entertainment over the years for a nearly inconceivable amount of time. As a die hard classics student (and all around nerd), I am always excited to find new adaptations to these familiar stories and see just...

Poets of Resistance

I know we began this course by saying we wouldn’t bring up war poets, and though I’d love to spare everyone the Dulce et decorum est, I feel like in order to understand the human aspect of conflict, we need to look to poetry. Poetry is a genre typically bound by...

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...

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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