News

Distinguished Humanities Scholars recognised

8 December 2008

Byline:	Media Release
Source:	Te Whainga Aronui The Council for the Humanities

Dr Katerina Te Heikoko Mataira of Ngāti Porou received the Pou Aronui award for distinguished service to the humanities-aronui at a ceremony at the University of Auckland marking the election of Fellows to the New Zealand Academy of the Humanities-Aronui.

Professor Ken Strongman, Chair of Te Whainga Aronui The Council for the Humanities, emphasised the importance of public recognition of the quality, diversity, and international standing of the work of the Fellows in the arts and humanities in New Zealand.
He also congratulated Professor Dame Anne Salmond, who presented the awards and gave the annual Academy Lecture, on her election as a Fellow of the British Academy. . She is only the fourth New Zealander to be so honoured, and is internationally recognised for her scholarship on cross-cultural history and Maori and Pacific culture, he said.
The Fellows are: Professor Maureen Baker (Sociology), Professor Brian Boyd (English), Professor David Carnegie (Theatre), Associate Professor Manying Ip (Asian Studies), Professor Emeritus Mac Jackson (English), Professor Emeritus Lawrence Jones (English), Professor Emeritus Alan Musgrave (Philosophy), Professor Robert Nola (Philosophy), Professor David Norton (English), Professor Emeritus Erik Olssen (History), Professor Russell Poole (English), Professor Raylene Ramsay (French), Professor Kim Sterelny (Philosophy), Professor Mike Taggart (Law).
In her speech to the Academy, “In Praise of the Humanities”, Professor Salmond said that the scope of the humanities now extended beyond the European tradition to include the intellectual and artistic richness of all cultures, making possible new ways of thinking about humanityʻs place in the wider world. Referring to the work of the Fellows, she said, “this kind of questioning amounts to a search for wisdom, transforming societies and opening up new pathways.”