Image caption: From the front cover of Polynesia 900-1600: ‘Reading the Swell’, an artwork by John Bevan Ford, 1993. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū.
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 Māori and links back to Polynesia. The histories of ҕl are more accurately situated in a Polynesian context.
By examining the period of Polynesian arrival and settlement in ҕl, 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 ҕl historian Dr Madi Williams’ 2021 bookPolynesia, 900-1600(Canterbury University Press, $24.99),her upcoming Tauhere ҕl Connect public lecture explores notions of identity and connection in ҕl history. InReframing History in ҕl & Polynesia,Dr Williams will take a longer view of the history of these islands and place them in their Pacific, Polynesian context.
: “Perhaps Williams’ 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.”
About the speaker:
Dr Madi Williams (Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Kōata) is a lecturer in Aotahi – School of Māori and Indigenous Studies at the ҕl. Dr Williams’ research focuses include iwi histories, philosophy of history, and historical perspectives. Her first bookPolynesia, 900-1600: An overview of the history of ҕl, Rēkohu, and Rapa Nui,looks at the European Middle Ages in South Polynesia.She is currently working on transforming her PhD thesis into a book entitledNgāti Kuia: Stories About the Past.
- Tauhere ҕl Connect public lecture:Reframing History in ҕl & Polynesia, Presented by History Lecturer Dr Madi Williams, Aotahi – School of Māori and Indigenous Studies, Toi Tangata | Arts, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | ҕl, 7pm – 8pm, Wednesday 5 October 2022, in C1 Central Lecture Theatres, Ilam, Christchurch. Register to attend free at:canterbury.ac.nz/ucconnect. Tauhere ҕl Connect public talks are also livestreamed on the ҕl Facebook page, and available afterwards on YouTube.
More information
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