History lecturer receives Royal Society Te Apārangi award
A lecturer in the School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations, Dr Loader (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Whakaue, Te Whānau-a-Apanui) specialises in nineteenth-century materials written in Māori.
Her scholarship offers major new interpretations of works written in Māori between 1840 and 1930 by such figures as Tāmihana Te Rauparaha along with other less well-known figures, including women, who were using the medium of paper, writing and print for their own social, political and intellectual purposes.
Rather than reviewing these texts as historical sources to answer a thematic question, Arini looks at them in terms of what the creators of the texts were doing: why they were writing, whom were they writing for? The result provides a wholly new insight into works, their creators and the readers the creators imagined.
Working across both te reo Māori and the English language, her research resists simple definition and this flexibility has seen her emerge as a scholar whose work sits equally well in the fields of English literature, History and Māori Studies.
While there are extensive public and private archival holdings of texts written in te reo Māori by Māori ancestors, sadly few scholars can read, comprehend and therefore access these works. Arini seeks to repatriate these voices, which lie ‘buried’ in the archives, to Māori and to the rest of the world.
The new award recognises innovative Māori research by promising early career researchers. The selection committee noted that, as an early career academic, her innovative research is of a very high standard and is already shifting boundaries and setting new directions.
“Her ability to apply new methods to Māori history challenges historical paradigms and centres mātauranga Māori as a method for unlocking the context behind these texts to better illuminate these taonga as a source of understanding 19th century Māori society.”
On receiving the award, Arini said: “This award validates the importance of centering Māori methodologies and frameworks including language in order to refresh the history of Aotearoa New Zealand.”