title: Brown bodies, white coats: Postcolonialism, Māori women, and science

authors: McKinley, Elizabeth

abstract: This project investigates the historical construction of 'Māori woman' and the constitution of the subjectivities of Maori women scientists today. The central question that is raised by the thesis is 'Do discourses of 'race' and gender found in Enlightenment science at the time of Aotearoa New Zealand's colonization continue to affect the contemporary subjectivity of Māori women scientists, and if so, how?' I have used literary historical techniques and feminist narrative interviews to collect the research data. Deconstruction, and its technique of 'double reading', has been applied through out the thesis to both the literary historical texts (imperial archives) and the transcripts of the interviews. I have argued that a poststructuralist view of the 'splitting the subject' to enable multiple positions must be read alongside the postcolonial view of a contemporary 'colonized subject' of an already 'split' subjectivity. 
This thesis is divided into two sections. Section A investigates Māori women as the objects of science. I argue that in Aotearoa New Zealand journeys of discovery and colonization were also scientific journeys that brought 'Māori woman' under the intellectual control of the emerging 'scientific' academy. At the same time, drawing on the 'imperial archives', I show that stereotypical signifiers are incorporated within scientific discourses and shape the fictions that these texts represent. In Section B I draw on open-ended interviews with 16 Māori women scientists who were asked to discuss their identity in relation to their schooling and workplaces. I explore the conditions by which the subject 'Māori women scientist' emerges and how the Maori women experience these conditions in relation to how they see themselves. I conclude by arguing that the identity of 'Māori woman scientist' appears to be 'impossible fiction' due to the fragmented nature of the sign - 'Māori, 'woman' and 'scientist' - that can be 'traced' to the historical construction of the signs.

text: Brown bodies, white coats: Postcolonialism, Māori women, and science This project investigates the historical construction of 'Māori woman' and the constitution of the subjectivities of Maori women scientists today. The central question that is raised by the thesis is 'Do discourses of 'race' and gender found in Enlightenment science at the time of Aotearoa New Zealand's colonization continue to affect the contemporary subjectivity of Māori women scientists, and if so, how?' I have used literary historical techniques and feminist narrative interviews to collect the research data. Deconstruction, and its technique of 'double reading', has been applied through out the thesis to both the literary historical texts (imperial archives) and the transcripts of the interviews. I have argued that a poststructuralist view of the 'splitting the subject' to enable multiple positions must be read alongside the postcolonial view of a contemporary 'colonized subject' of an already 'split' subjectivity. 
This thesis is divided into two sections. Section A investigates Māori women as the objects of science. I argue that in Aotearoa New Zealand journeys of discovery and colonization were also scientific journeys that brought 'Māori woman' under the intellectual control of the emerging 'scientific' academy. At the same time, drawing on the 'imperial archives', I show that stereotypical signifiers are incorporated within scientific discourses and shape the fictions that these texts represent. In Section B I draw on open-ended interviews with 16 Māori women scientists who were asked to discuss their identity in relation to their schooling and workplaces. I explore the conditions by which the subject 'Māori women scientist' emerges and how the Maori women experience these conditions in relation to how they see themselves. I conclude by arguing that the identity of 'Māori woman scientist' appears to be 'impossible fiction' due to the fragmented nature of the sign - 'Māori, 'woman' and 'scientist' - that can be 'traced' to the historical construction of the signs.

year: 2003

title: Māori and Psychology Research Unit (MPRU) annual report 2018-2021

authors: Masters-Awatere, Bridgette

subjects: Māori and Psychology Research Unit

abstract: Annual report of the Māori and Psychology Research Unit (MPRU) 2018-2021. The unit was established in August of 1997. The unit is designed to provide a catalyst and support network for enhancing research concerning the psychological needs, aspirations, and priorities of Māori. The MPRU is well situated to draw together skilled and experienced interdisciplinary research groups by networking and establishing working relationships with staff and students within the Division of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Science, the University, and the wider community.

text: Māori and Psychology Research Unit (MPRU) annual report 2018-2021 Annual report of the Māori and Psychology Research Unit (MPRU) 2018-2021. The unit was established in August of 1997. The unit is designed to provide a catalyst and support network for enhancing research concerning the psychological needs, aspirations, and priorities of Māori. The MPRU is well situated to draw together skilled and experienced interdisciplinary research groups by networking and establishing working relationships with staff and students within the Division of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Science, the University, and the wider community.

year: 2022-09-02

title: Evaluating an online learning community: Intellectual, social and emotional development and transformations.

authors: Khoo, Elaine G.L.

subjects: online teaching

abstract: Developing online learning communities is a promising pedagogical approach in online learning contexts for adult tertiary learners, but it is no easy task. Understanding how learning communities are formed and evaluating their efficacy in supporting teaching-learning involves a complex set of issues that have a bearing on the design and facilitation of successful online learning experiences. This paper presents findings of a case study of a semester-long online graduate course designed to facilitate a learning community at a New Zealand tertiary institution. It adopts a sociocultural analytical framework and argues for a multiple developmental analytical approach to evaluating learning that considers lecturer and student intellectual, social and emotional development and transformations. Implications are presented for online lecturers, course designers and institutional administrators.

text: Evaluating an online learning community: Intellectual, social and emotional development and transformations. Developing online learning communities is a promising pedagogical approach in online learning contexts for adult tertiary learners, but it is no easy task. Understanding how learning communities are formed and evaluating their efficacy in supporting teaching-learning involves a complex set of issues that have a bearing on the design and facilitation of successful online learning experiences. This paper presents findings of a case study of a semester-long online graduate course designed to facilitate a learning community at a New Zealand tertiary institution. It adopts a sociocultural analytical framework and argues for a multiple developmental analytical approach to evaluating learning that considers lecturer and student intellectual, social and emotional development and transformations. Implications are presented for online lecturers, course designers and institutional administrators.

year: 2011