title: Indigenous Wellbeing and Colonisation [Editorial]

authors: Axelsson, Per

abstract: Among countries in the circumpolar north1 there are persistent and substantial differences in health and wellbeing. Norway, for example, was at the top of the global 2015 Human Development Index compiled by the United Nations, while Russia ranked just 50th (United Nations Development Programme 2015). In addition to differences in human development and wellbeing between countries, there are also significant regional and sub-population disparities within countries. One of the most enduring areas of inequality relates to the circumstances of Indigenous peoples. The recent Arctic Human Development Report (AHDR-II) underscored the disproportionate burden of preventable death and disease borne by Indigenous peoples in the region. However, other than urging policymakers and health service providers to monitor and pay attention to the issues, it did not make any clear recommendations on actions to address the situation, either regionally or within specific countries (Nymand Larsen & Fondahl [eds.] 2014).

text: Indigenous Wellbeing and Colonisation [Editorial] Among countries in the circumpolar north1 there are persistent and substantial differences in health and wellbeing. Norway, for example, was at the top of the global 2015 Human Development Index compiled by the United Nations, while Russia ranked just 50th (United Nations Development Programme 2015). In addition to differences in human development and wellbeing between countries, there are also significant regional and sub-population disparities within countries. One of the most enduring areas of inequality relates to the circumstances of Indigenous peoples. The recent Arctic Human Development Report (AHDR-II) underscored the disproportionate burden of preventable death and disease borne by Indigenous peoples in the region. However, other than urging policymakers and health service providers to monitor and pay attention to the issues, it did not make any clear recommendations on actions to address the situation, either regionally or within specific countries (Nymand Larsen & Fondahl [eds.] 2014).

year: 2016

title: Limitations and possibilities: Representations of gender transition in Western fiction, 1928-2018

authors: Bowden, Chelsea Anne

subjects: Gender

abstract: This thesis seeks to understand how fictional texts encounter queer genders and what they have to say about what it means to be trans* or have nonconforming gender. Identifying and critiquing the tropes and conventions at work in a selection of Western fictional transition narratives ranging in publication from 1928 to 2018, this thesis operates as a journey of pursuit and discovery, searching for texts that destabilise hegemonic understandings of gender. With a focus on the value of challenging stereotypes, resisting binaries and embracing notions of fluidity and multiplicity, this thesis begins by interrogating texts that fail to disturb the status quo. The thesis then compares popular genre fiction novels with twentieth-century literary fiction to reveal the complex possibilities available for exploring and representing gender identity, asking the questions, “what is failing in popular fiction representations?”, “how is it failing?” and “why is it failing?”
This thesis offers careful analysis of contemporary popular genre fiction narratives published since 2000. All these texts focus on moments and processes of transition. The limitations of these narratives are then juxtaposed with Armistead Maupin’s nine-book series Tales of the City and the twentieth-century literary fiction of Angela Carter and Virginia Woolf. By interrogating the patterns of representation emerging from contemporary popular genre texts and comparing them with Maupin’s attempts at subversion and the complexity at work in Woolf’s and Carter’s writing, this thesis reveals that texts failing to resist dominant ideologies are too concerned with offering safe and sympathetic portrayals that follow the rules of literary tradition and reinforce social expectations of gender. These texts pathologise trans* experience, rely on closed narrative conventions and repeat interchangeable messages about safety, conformity and congruence. Overall, this thesis reveals a pattern of increasing conservatism over time. The inclusion of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando and Angela Carter’s The Passion of New Eve exemplify possibilities for queering both narrative and representation when, instead of being concerned about issues such as social acceptance and political correctness, texts focus on the power of experimentation, destabilisation and subversion. 
Gender, like concepts of the self, is an ongoing process – it is capable of being fluid and multiple, of disrupting hegemonic expectations of consistency and congruence. This thesis argues that this complexity can best be explored in fictional representations that seek to deconstruct not just gender but also literary tradition itself.

text: Limitations and possibilities: Representations of gender transition in Western fiction, 1928-2018 This thesis seeks to understand how fictional texts encounter queer genders and what they have to say about what it means to be trans* or have nonconforming gender. Identifying and critiquing the tropes and conventions at work in a selection of Western fictional transition narratives ranging in publication from 1928 to 2018, this thesis operates as a journey of pursuit and discovery, searching for texts that destabilise hegemonic understandings of gender. With a focus on the value of challenging stereotypes, resisting binaries and embracing notions of fluidity and multiplicity, this thesis begins by interrogating texts that fail to disturb the status quo. The thesis then compares popular genre fiction novels with twentieth-century literary fiction to reveal the complex possibilities available for exploring and representing gender identity, asking the questions, “what is failing in popular fiction representations?”, “how is it failing?” and “why is it failing?”
This thesis offers careful analysis of contemporary popular genre fiction narratives published since 2000. All these texts focus on moments and processes of transition. The limitations of these narratives are then juxtaposed with Armistead Maupin’s nine-book series Tales of the City and the twentieth-century literary fiction of Angela Carter and Virginia Woolf. By interrogating the patterns of representation emerging from contemporary popular genre texts and comparing them with Maupin’s attempts at subversion and the complexity at work in Woolf’s and Carter’s writing, this thesis reveals that texts failing to resist dominant ideologies are too concerned with offering safe and sympathetic portrayals that follow the rules of literary tradition and reinforce social expectations of gender. These texts pathologise trans* experience, rely on closed narrative conventions and repeat interchangeable messages about safety, conformity and congruence. Overall, this thesis reveals a pattern of increasing conservatism over time. The inclusion of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando and Angela Carter’s The Passion of New Eve exemplify possibilities for queering both narrative and representation when, instead of being concerned about issues such as social acceptance and political correctness, texts focus on the power of experimentation, destabilisation and subversion. 
Gender, like concepts of the self, is an ongoing process – it is capable of being fluid and multiple, of disrupting hegemonic expectations of consistency and congruence. This thesis argues that this complexity can best be explored in fictional representations that seek to deconstruct not just gender but also literary tradition itself.

year: 2022

title: ‘Let’s Get Wild’: Sensuous Geographies of Kāwhia Kai and Hokitika Wildfoods Festivals in Aōtearoa New Zealand

authors: Modlik, Melanie

subjects: Food Festivals

abstract: Food Festivals allow communities to celebrate local food and drink. This original thesis examines the mutual relationship between food festival organisers, festival attendees and festival spaces. Two unique New Zealand regional food festivals – Kāwhia Kai on the West Coast of the North Island and Wildfoods Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island - are critically examined. The research addresses three questions. First, how do these food festivals construct their locations and vice versa? Second, in what ways do food festivals contribute to place identity? And, third, how do food festival attendees sensually experience the festivals?
The concept of embodiment provides the overarching framework for this research. With academic interests in both tourism and geography, I weave understandings of culinary tourism, festivals, tourist embodied experiences, sensuality, visercality and abjection to address my research questions. I use this theoretical ‘toolbox’ alongside qualitative methodological approaches which enable research participants to express their embodied experiences and emotions. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with festival organisers and food stall holders. Participant ‘sensing’ was carried out in both Kāwhia and Hokitika. In thinking about the social, cultural and ‘felt’ aspects of food, I also use my own body as an instrument of research. Promotional texts were collected and all data analysed using critical discourse analysis.
The empirical material is divided into two themes. The first theme focuses on location and place identity. Concepts of ‘place attachment’ and ‘sense of belonging’ construct food festival regions. The formation of ‘new colonial’ and ‘new Māori’ traditions is another way in which these food festivals created unique place identities. The second theme highlights the embodied experiences and spaces of both food festivals. Bodily senses, place and spaces are created through visceral and abject reactions to food experiences.
Food festivals have the potential to enhance the economic, social and cultural wellbeing of regional communities. The success of food festivals, however, is dependent on multi-sensual embodied experiences.

text: ‘Let’s Get Wild’: Sensuous Geographies of Kāwhia Kai and Hokitika Wildfoods Festivals in Aōtearoa New Zealand Food Festivals allow communities to celebrate local food and drink. This original thesis examines the mutual relationship between food festival organisers, festival attendees and festival spaces. Two unique New Zealand regional food festivals – Kāwhia Kai on the West Coast of the North Island and Wildfoods Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island - are critically examined. The research addresses three questions. First, how do these food festivals construct their locations and vice versa? Second, in what ways do food festivals contribute to place identity? And, third, how do food festival attendees sensually experience the festivals?
The concept of embodiment provides the overarching framework for this research. With academic interests in both tourism and geography, I weave understandings of culinary tourism, festivals, tourist embodied experiences, sensuality, visercality and abjection to address my research questions. I use this theoretical ‘toolbox’ alongside qualitative methodological approaches which enable research participants to express their embodied experiences and emotions. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with festival organisers and food stall holders. Participant ‘sensing’ was carried out in both Kāwhia and Hokitika. In thinking about the social, cultural and ‘felt’ aspects of food, I also use my own body as an instrument of research. Promotional texts were collected and all data analysed using critical discourse analysis.
The empirical material is divided into two themes. The first theme focuses on location and place identity. Concepts of ‘place attachment’ and ‘sense of belonging’ construct food festival regions. The formation of ‘new colonial’ and ‘new Māori’ traditions is another way in which these food festivals created unique place identities. The second theme highlights the embodied experiences and spaces of both food festivals. Bodily senses, place and spaces are created through visceral and abject reactions to food experiences.
Food festivals have the potential to enhance the economic, social and cultural wellbeing of regional communities. The success of food festivals, however, is dependent on multi-sensual embodied experiences.

year: 2015