Image caption: From the front cover of Polynesia 900-1600: 鈥楻eading the Swell鈥, an artwork by John Bevan Ford, 1993. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhet奴.
While this is an important feature of our colonial history, focusing on this alone neglects the wealth of other connections and serves to erase the vast and rich histories of M膩ori and links back to Polynesia. The histories of Aotearoa are more accurately situated in a Polynesian context.听
By examining the period of Polynesian arrival and settlement in Aotearoa, the rich history of the people and land prior to the arrival of Europeans is illuminated. What insight is gained by reframing our history in this way?
Based on 茄子视频app官网 historian Dr Madi Williams鈥 2021 book听Polynesia, 900-1600听(Canterbury University Press, $24.99),听her upcoming Tauhere UC Connect public lecture explores notions of identity and connection in Aotearoa history. In听Reframing History in Aotearoa & Polynesia,听Dr Williams will take a longer view of the history of these islands and place them in their Pacific, Polynesian context.
: 鈥淧erhaps Williams鈥 greatest feat is the alchemic way she takes base history, and turns it into something that challenges, informs, provokes, and ultimately, shapes our thinking on the subjects she addresses. And in an age with an appetite for instant answers, and a growing fetish with the eternal present, this considered view of a long history, carefully curated, and wonderfully articulated, is just the sort of cultural corrective we need at this moment.鈥
About the speaker:
Dr Madi Williams (Ng膩ti Kuia, Ng膩ti K艒ata) is a lecturer in Aotahi 鈥 School of M膩ori and Indigenous Studies at the 茄子视频app官网. Dr Williams鈥 research focuses include iwi histories, philosophy of history, and historical perspectives. Her first book听Polynesia, 900-1600: An overview of the history of Aotearoa, R膿kohu, and Rapa Nui,听looks at the European Middle Ages in South Polynesia.听She is currently working on transforming her PhD thesis into a book entitled听Ng膩ti Kuia: Stories About the Past.
- Tauhere UC Connect public lecture:听Reframing History in Aotearoa & Polynesia, Presented by History Lecturer Dr Madi Williams, Aotahi 鈥 School of M膩ori and Indigenous Studies, Toi Tangata | Arts, Te Whare W膩nanga o Waitaha | 茄子视频app官网, 7pm 鈥 8pm, Wednesday 5 October 2022, in C1 Central Lecture Theatres, Ilam, Christchurch. Register to attend free at:听canterbury.ac.nz/ucconnect. Tauhere UC Connect public talks are also livestreamed on the UC Facebook page, and available afterwards on YouTube.
