title: Assemblage drawings as talking points: Deleuze, posthumans and climate-activist teachers

authors: Everth, Thomas

abstract: In this paper, we employ Deleuzian philosophy to explore the complex challenges confronting teachers and education systems posed by the climate emergency and the implications of the resulting posthumanist turn. Self-identified climate-activist teachers working in schools in Aotearoa New Zealand were asked to draw Deleuzian assemblages of their educational realities and of themselves while contemplating the climate emergency. Their thought-provoking drawings were used as semiotic artefacts during unstructured Zoom interviews, leading to rich conversations. Through this process, the drawings channel affect within the research assemblage, entangling the reader actively into the research process. Insights gained from the participants problematise the perspectives of teachers in response to the climate emergency and lead us to conceptualise the potential of teachers as Deleuze’s nomadic change makers toward posthuman futures.

text: Assemblage drawings as talking points: Deleuze, posthumans and climate-activist teachers In this paper, we employ Deleuzian philosophy to explore the complex challenges confronting teachers and education systems posed by the climate emergency and the implications of the resulting posthumanist turn. Self-identified climate-activist teachers working in schools in Aotearoa New Zealand were asked to draw Deleuzian assemblages of their educational realities and of themselves while contemplating the climate emergency. Their thought-provoking drawings were used as semiotic artefacts during unstructured Zoom interviews, leading to rich conversations. Through this process, the drawings channel affect within the research assemblage, entangling the reader actively into the research process. Insights gained from the participants problematise the perspectives of teachers in response to the climate emergency and lead us to conceptualise the potential of teachers as Deleuze’s nomadic change makers toward posthuman futures.

year: 2022-12-01

title: 2-D histories: media texts and the creation of the past

authors: Havemann, Leo

abstract: Why might it be desirable or possible for historians to analyse media texts? The objective of this paper is to outline some theoretical considerations which seem necessary to the planning and execution of such a research project. I will discuss the question of how both media and history relate to the past, examine the significance of narrative as a device that brings coherence to media and historical texts, and finally relate these points to the construction of national identity.

text: 2-D histories: media texts and the creation of the past Why might it be desirable or possible for historians to analyse media texts? The objective of this paper is to outline some theoretical considerations which seem necessary to the planning and execution of such a research project. I will discuss the question of how both media and history relate to the past, examine the significance of narrative as a device that brings coherence to media and historical texts, and finally relate these points to the construction of national identity.

year: 1996

title: “Whānau Vibes”: Reclamation of self, space and community within group fitness gyms.

authors: Metekingi, Cydney

abstract: Group fitness gyms are becoming more popular in Aotearoa, New Zealand. This thesis is an investigation of the lived experiences of Māori members within a commercialised fitness space called BFT Hamilton East, located in Kirikiriroa, Hamilton. Drawing on Indigenous anthropology and autoethnography, and grounded in Kaupapa Māori theory, this thesis firstly explores how the gym becomes a site in which Māori members seek to reclaim the narrative around their own bodies. I explore the colonial depictions, the politics of the Indigenous body and how Māori-owned clothing brands contribute to this reclamation. I then examine how Māori gym members use the gym space with a sense of purpose, balancing the values of culture and commercialisation. And finally, I investigate the importance of relational well-being and the use of whanaungatanga and manaakitanga to create a sense of belonging among participants in their search for connection. In foregrounding Indigenous ways of knowing, being and moving in a commercial group fitness gym, this thesis aims to contribute to the anthropological conversations that advocate for the inclusion of Indigenous methodologies into Anthropology, centring Indigenous agency and advocating for the decolonisation of fitness spaces.

text: “Whānau Vibes”: Reclamation of self, space and community within group fitness gyms. Group fitness gyms are becoming more popular in Aotearoa, New Zealand. This thesis is an investigation of the lived experiences of Māori members within a commercialised fitness space called BFT Hamilton East, located in Kirikiriroa, Hamilton. Drawing on Indigenous anthropology and autoethnography, and grounded in Kaupapa Māori theory, this thesis firstly explores how the gym becomes a site in which Māori members seek to reclaim the narrative around their own bodies. I explore the colonial depictions, the politics of the Indigenous body and how Māori-owned clothing brands contribute to this reclamation. I then examine how Māori gym members use the gym space with a sense of purpose, balancing the values of culture and commercialisation. And finally, I investigate the importance of relational well-being and the use of whanaungatanga and manaakitanga to create a sense of belonging among participants in their search for connection. In foregrounding Indigenous ways of knowing, being and moving in a commercial group fitness gym, this thesis aims to contribute to the anthropological conversations that advocate for the inclusion of Indigenous methodologies into Anthropology, centring Indigenous agency and advocating for the decolonisation of fitness spaces.

year: 2025