New book lifts curtain on Rapa Nui 'theatre' traditions
Tuesday, 9 August 2022
Haere Mai ki te Kete Aronui o te Whare Wānanga o Otago
Investigate the human world, what it is to be human, and how human beings relate to their diverse and changing environments. Our Division offers a wide range of programmes in the creative and performing arts, law, humanities, and the social sciences.
News, events, podcasts
Current research
Research in the Division of Humanities at Otago encompasses various disciplines in humanities, social sciences and performing arts.
Read our research newsletter.
Research profiles
Dr Rosemary Overell’s research ranges from extreme death metal music in Japan to how ‘hoarders’ are represented on television.
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Our people
“Video games are full of Spartans. Hercules and Xena have their own TV shows. They are great characters and great stories.”
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Humanities at Otago
Humanities at Otago covers the arts and the social sciences as well as professional programmes such as Law, Teaching, Social Work and Theology.
The arts and social sciences comprise subjects that explore the processes and systems of the human world, and the ways in which people interpret and represent their experience of it.
Visit our school and programme websites for more information about their teaching and research.
We offer a wide range of exciting subjects and degrees
The Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree gives students the flexibility to major in a wide range of humanities subjects or the choice from one of our professional programmes in Law, Social Work, Teaching and Theology.
A humanities education develops the essential lifelong learning skills that employers seek such as critical thinking, communication skills, interpersonal and teamwork skills, and analytical and problem-solving skills.
Research and teaching excellence
The Division of Humanities is proud of our excellence in teaching and research. All teaching is research-informed, and annual student surveys have confirmed that student satisfaction with the quality of Otago Humanities courses and teaching is very high.
Recently released results from the New Zealand Government’s Performance Based Research Fund (PBRF) Quality Evaluation confirmed the Division as one of the country’s top research institutions in the arts, social sciences, and humanities.
