Research

Research in the Division of Humanities is characterised by excellence and diversity. The Performance Based Research Funding appraisal conducted in 2006 established that the Division is one of the top institutions in the arts, social sciences, and humanities in New Zealand. The following subject areas were rated top in the country: Education; English Language & Literature; History, Art History & Classics; and Law; while Philosophy and Theology & Religion were the top departments in their disciplines.

All courses offered by the Division are research-informed, with all lecturing staff being active researchers in their field. Many academic staff are engaged in international research collaborations. The Division has established a number of Research Clusters and Networks, designed to promote the integration of multi-disciplinary perspectives, as well as a number of more specialised Research Centres, such as the Educational Assessment Research Unit, the Centre for Research on Children and Families, the Centre for Theology and Public Issues and the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies. Two other Research Centres, the Centre for the Study of Agriculture, Food and Environment and the Centre for Research on National Identity, have achieved University-wide recognition.

Researchers in the Division have been successful in winning major externally funded research grants. Nationally funded research currently includes projects on children of indigenous women and World War Two American servicemen in the South Pacific; the impact of early Polynesian settlement on the New Zealand moa; and anonymity in early medieval literature. Previous nationally funded research has included a project to monitor educational assessment; studies on time in antiquity; the reconstruction of the New Zealand grasslands; the expression of identities of young adults growing up in the context of recent economic reforms in New Zealand; and the historical archaeology of Pakeha shore whalers.

The Division of Humanities also recognises the importance of creative innovation in art, music and literature with the annual Otago Fellowships.