W H Oliver
This lecture explores the place of conversations between Maori and non-Maori in the second half of the 19th century, challenging the bicultural school of history, which emerged from the 1960s and has been reinvogorated in the work of the Waitangi Tribunal. These conversations ranged from the intimate to the formally diplomatic. They show race relations as dynamic records of interaction and engagement, aspects often overwhelmed by the desire to tell to separate stories of New Zealand’s history – making Maori and making Pakeha. This lecture builds on recent interest in the spaces in between these two worlds. Understanding the way dialogue occupied these spaces is crucial to developing new ways of understanding indigenous relationships with Empire.
Refreshments will be served following the lecture.
This public lecture commemorates the contribution of Bill Oliver, foundation Professor (pictured above ) of History at Massey University, to the development of the humanities at Massey University and in New Zealand.