Course organiser:Peter Moody
Presenter:Various
Since the government announced there would be a new history curriculum taught in schools in 2023 there has been a renewed interest in New Zealand history. This course explores a few of the lesser known aspects of our history.
7 Jul:
Danielle Campbell, Deputy Director of the Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum and has previously worked in a range of archives, heritage, research and curatorial-based roles on 'Museums and their Role in Preserving History (and Beyond).'Her presentation will examine the role of museums in not only preserving history, but collecting, conserving, cataloguing, digitising and interpreting history. It will also cover the ways in which museums are attempting to make their collections more accessible.
14 Jul:
Nigel Murphy on 'Scotsmen and Chinamen: the History of Dunedin and the Chinese in Otago in the Nineteenth Century'.Nigel Murphy is an historian whose interests include the history of Chinese in New Zealand. He has published and lectured widely on this topic and is the author of “The poll tax in New Zealand: a research report.” Most of his career was spent as a librarian at the Alexander Turnbull Library and as a writer at the Waitangi Tribunal. His talk will cover the establishment of Dunedin as a commercial centre, as the most important city in New Zealand prior to 1865, the history and impact of the arrival of the Chinese in Dunedin and Otago, the reasons for government imposing a poll tax on Chinese immigrants and the impact and effect of the poll tax on the Otago Chinese population. It will also discuss the Dunedin Chinese Garden built to coincide with Dunedin’s 150th anniversary, and how the garden fits into the story of Dunedin and its history.
21 Jul:
Frieda Looser, formerly Senior Tutor in the History Dept., UC, tutoring and lecturing in a number of courses, and currently teaching in the UC Academic Skills Centre, on 'The Importance of History and Why it Should Be Taught in Our Schools'.History is essential for self-identity. From first words to final breath, a person’s
life, language and culture reflect their personal history, embedded in nation and
community. The histories of heritage, family and whakapapa are learned and
taught to the rising generation by elders, caregivers and kaiako. Understandings
and perspectives of history are not static but adapt with the novel experiences of
each generation in response to new knowledge and social awareness. This talk
will discuss the significance of History and the teaching of histories in school.
28 Jul:
Dr. Serena Kelly, Sen. Lecturer, The Politics of the European Union, UC and Deputy Director, National Centre for Research on Europe, on 'New Zealand, the EU and Brexit: A Timeline'.This presentation will examine New Zealand’s close colonial history with the United Kingdom and how this has impacted New Zealand’s relationship with the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Union (EU).
4 Aug:
Col. Colin Richardson, MSM (Ca) on 'New Zealand Defence Force'.The talk will deal briefly with the major developments and shifts that have occurred in the NZ Army's purpose, organistion, command and equipment over its 175 year history. These will relate to the key conflicts and tasks undertaken by the Army, but these will not be discussed themselves. The discussion will conclude with a description of the NZ Army Project 200, which is the Bi-Centennial project that Army is undertaking to capture and write its history.