title: ‘No rugby—no fear’: collective stories, masculinities and transformative possibilities in schools

authors: Pringle, Richard

subjects: masculinities

abstract: This paper contributes to the development of a critical pedagogy in physical education (PE) by illustrating how ‘collective stories’ can be used within schools to help raise awareness of the relationships between sport, PE and gendered identities. A collective story, a concept developed by Laurel Richardson, aims to give voice to those silenced or marginalised by dominant cultural narratives and promote transformative possibilities. Within this paper I present a collective story of eight men's school experiences of rugby union to illustrate the difficulty of negotiating comforting stories of self in the face of rugby's cultural dominance within New Zealand. I detail the representational issues associated with constructing the story and my experience of presenting it to school students to assess whether it encouraged an empathetic response and disrupted romanticised ways of conceptualising the links between sport and masculinities. I conclude by discussing how I used the collective story, as a pedagogical tool, to examine the viability of introducing Foucauldian strategies to help students think critically.

text: ‘No rugby—no fear’: collective stories, masculinities and transformative possibilities in schools This paper contributes to the development of a critical pedagogy in physical education (PE) by illustrating how ‘collective stories’ can be used within schools to help raise awareness of the relationships between sport, PE and gendered identities. A collective story, a concept developed by Laurel Richardson, aims to give voice to those silenced or marginalised by dominant cultural narratives and promote transformative possibilities. Within this paper I present a collective story of eight men's school experiences of rugby union to illustrate the difficulty of negotiating comforting stories of self in the face of rugby's cultural dominance within New Zealand. I detail the representational issues associated with constructing the story and my experience of presenting it to school students to assess whether it encouraged an empathetic response and disrupted romanticised ways of conceptualising the links between sport and masculinities. I conclude by discussing how I used the collective story, as a pedagogical tool, to examine the viability of introducing Foucauldian strategies to help students think critically.

year: 2008

title: Reply to the comment by Stephenson “Discussion of de Lange, W.P. and Moon, V.G. 2005. Estimating long-term cliff recession rates from shore platform widths. Engineering Geology 80, 292–301”

authors: Moon, Vicki G.

abstract: In his discussion, Stephenson raises several points, first and foremost being that the method we outline for determining long-term cliff recession rates from shore platform widths is not universally applicable. We agree fully with this and described the assumptions required for applying the method in our paper, viz.:
1. The seaward margin of the shore platform has remained relatively static;
2. Shore platform development only occurs when the mean sea level corresponds roughly (± 1 m) to the mean elevation of the shore platform; and
3. The shore platform is not polycyclic.
If these assumptions are breached then we believe the method outlined cannot give a good result. Thus, much of our paper was devoted to justifying these assumptions for the sites studied, and we note that the use of the method at other locations would require careful consideration of the validity of the assumptions for each specific environment.
Stephenson also questions the application of static and equilibrium models and the use of the terms soft and hard rock. These will be considered in turn.

text: Reply to the comment by Stephenson “Discussion of de Lange, W.P. and Moon, V.G. 2005. Estimating long-term cliff recession rates from shore platform widths. Engineering Geology 80, 292–301” In his discussion, Stephenson raises several points, first and foremost being that the method we outline for determining long-term cliff recession rates from shore platform widths is not universally applicable. We agree fully with this and described the assumptions required for applying the method in our paper, viz.:
1. The seaward margin of the shore platform has remained relatively static;
2. Shore platform development only occurs when the mean sea level corresponds roughly (± 1 m) to the mean elevation of the shore platform; and
3. The shore platform is not polycyclic.
If these assumptions are breached then we believe the method outlined cannot give a good result. Thus, much of our paper was devoted to justifying these assumptions for the sites studied, and we note that the use of the method at other locations would require careful consideration of the validity of the assumptions for each specific environment.
Stephenson also questions the application of static and equilibrium models and the use of the terms soft and hard rock. These will be considered in turn.

year: 2008

title: The Waikato invasion 1863-1864: A counter-insurgency approach

authors: Swears, Calum Robert

subjects: Counterinsurgency

abstract: Counter-insurgency as a strategy has only been explicitly espoused in American and British military tactical manuals in recent decades. It is anachronistic to military terminology before the last half century, but as this thesis illustrates counter-insurgency can be seen in embryonic form in the conflicts of the 1860s between Indigenous Māori and invading British forces in Aotearoa New Zealand. This thesis examines how early counter-insurgency strategy was evident in the tactical and strategic approaches used by Crown forces during the invasion of the Waikato in 1863-64. It asks: what evidence of counter-insurgency strategy can be seen in both British and Māori tactics at the time, and were they planned and intentional? 
Using two recent counter-insurgency tactical manuals - one American and the other British - this study compares present-day counter-insurgency principles, philosophies, and approaches to examples of Māori and British strategies during the 1860’s wars in Waikato, New Zealand. It illustrates how the Crown’s “suppression of rebellion” served as the contemporary political wording for its counter-insurgency campaign, which effectively repositioned Indigenous peoples as insurgents and “rebels” in their own territories and legitimated British colonial authority. Thus, this study argues that counter-insurgency in British military history arose from the various colonial invasions and occupations it undertook over several centuries. In Aotearoa, as this thesis argues, counter-insurgency tactics were used to establish legitimacy through civil-military operations such as land seizure, public proclamations and reports that vilified Māori and asserted British governing authority. The history of counter-insurgency as it is understood in British and American military thinking today, then, as this study contends is deeply connected to, and informed by, powerful colonial discourses, strategies, and experiences similar to those explored in this study of the Waikato invasion.

text: The Waikato invasion 1863-1864: A counter-insurgency approach Counter-insurgency as a strategy has only been explicitly espoused in American and British military tactical manuals in recent decades. It is anachronistic to military terminology before the last half century, but as this thesis illustrates counter-insurgency can be seen in embryonic form in the conflicts of the 1860s between Indigenous Māori and invading British forces in Aotearoa New Zealand. This thesis examines how early counter-insurgency strategy was evident in the tactical and strategic approaches used by Crown forces during the invasion of the Waikato in 1863-64. It asks: what evidence of counter-insurgency strategy can be seen in both British and Māori tactics at the time, and were they planned and intentional? 
Using two recent counter-insurgency tactical manuals - one American and the other British - this study compares present-day counter-insurgency principles, philosophies, and approaches to examples of Māori and British strategies during the 1860’s wars in Waikato, New Zealand. It illustrates how the Crown’s “suppression of rebellion” served as the contemporary political wording for its counter-insurgency campaign, which effectively repositioned Indigenous peoples as insurgents and “rebels” in their own territories and legitimated British colonial authority. Thus, this study argues that counter-insurgency in British military history arose from the various colonial invasions and occupations it undertook over several centuries. In Aotearoa, as this thesis argues, counter-insurgency tactics were used to establish legitimacy through civil-military operations such as land seizure, public proclamations and reports that vilified Māori and asserted British governing authority. The history of counter-insurgency as it is understood in British and American military thinking today, then, as this study contends is deeply connected to, and informed by, powerful colonial discourses, strategies, and experiences similar to those explored in this study of the Waikato invasion.

year: 2022