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BA BCom DipArts MA PhD (Otago)
Tongan and Samoan

Associate Dean (Pacific) Humanities
Master of Indigenous Studies Programme (MIndS) Co-ordinator

Contact

Office 4S5 Richardson Building, South Tower
Tel +64 3 479 8805
Email michelle.schaaf@otago.ac.nz

Research

Michelle's research interests include Pacific Islands women and education, and the representation of Polynesian female body image with particular reference to sport in New Zealand.

Teaching

  • PACI 301 Gafa o Tagata Pasifika – Pacific Diaspora in New Zealand
  • PACI 201 Contemporary Pacific Island Issues
  • PACR 101 Pacific Realities and University Learning

Guest lectures in various papers including:

Supervision

Current

  • Raphael Richter-Gravier, PhD (with Michael Reilly), Manu narratives of Polynesia. A comparative study of birds in 300 traditional Polynesian stories
  • Shona Kapea-Maslin, PhD (with Michael Reilly), Kākahu: The Threads that Bind them all
  • Ravana Saifofoi, MIndS, Pillars of Success: An Analysis of Pacific Students' Success within Tertiary Education in Canberra, Australia
  • Stormey Wehi, MIndS (with Karyn Paringatai), Māori Memes and Money: the commodification of Māori Bodies
  • Eirenei Tau'ai, MIndS, Living with kidney disease: A Thirteen Year Journey

Completed

  • Olataga Efu, PhD (with Murray Rae and Colin Gibson), The Language and Theology of the Samoan Methodist Hymn Book: Circumscribing Hymnal Translation from a Postcolonial Perspective (2018)
  • Sophie Karangaroa, MIndS,  Effective Retention and Completion Strategies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander University Students at Australian Universities (2017)
  • Isabel Radka, MIndS, Progress Towards the Revival of te reo Māori in the Rural Aotearoa/New Zealand Education System of the 21st Century (2017)
  • Erica Anderson, PhD (with Michael Reilly), Domestic Violence and the law in Rarotonga: The psychological impacts on Cook Islands Women (2015)
  • Malia Lameta, MA, I Am The Apple Of My Brother's Eye: An investigation into the evolving roles of Samoan women with particular reference to religion and gender relations (2015)
  • Ane Tatu, BA(Hons), Are you Dongan or Tongan? (2015)
  • Marsa Dodson, PhD (with Michael Reilly), (2014)
  • Delyn Day, PhD (with Poia Rewi and Jim Williams), A Kui mā, a Koro mā: he wānanga I te momo iranga I ētahi kōrero Māori o nehe: The function of gender in ancient Māori narratives to create codified and metaphorical meaning (2012)
  • Esmay Eteuati, MIndS (with Associate Professor Henny Bryant-Tokalau), E te sau ma ou fa'aniusila na…You bring with you your New Zealand ways. Roots migration and its impact on Samoan identity affirmation (2010)
  • Charis Brown, MIndS, Cultural Appropriation: Use of Minority Culture Within a Commercial Environment (2006)
  • Julie Segi, MIndS, What is Feagaiga? Understanding a Samoan Practice with a Particular Reference to the Sister Role (2004)
  • Malia Lameta, BA(Hons), The changing role of Samoan women in Samoan society (2006)

Research grants

  • Health Research Council of New Zealand and Pasifika Medical Conference.  Sponsorship Travel Grant $918.76 (2006). Project title: Notions of the Pacific Island Female body and the impact on the Pacific participation in the sport of netball
  • Schaaf, M. (2002). Division of Humanities Research Grant, University of Otago, ($1,500.00). Project title: Pacific Island Women, Body Image and Sport
  • Schaaf, M. with Hilary Rader, Erika Wold, Ojeya Cruz Banks and Natalie Poland (2012). Division of Humanities Research Grant, University of Otago, ($5,975.00). Project title: The Art of Shigeyuki Kihara: A Research Symposium
  • Schaaf, M with Claire Freeman, Christine Ergler, Michelle Schaaf, Anita Latai (2018), UORG 2018 ($27, 368.00). Project title: Childhood in a changing Pacific

Distinctions

  • Nominated for OUSA Teaching Award 2016 and 2017
  • Recipient of OUSA Inaugural Summer School 2016 Teaching Excellence Awards: Most Inclusive Teacher

Publications

Radclyffe, C. J. T., Vakaoti, P., Rakuita, T., Levy, B., Nanau, G. L., Kalavite, T., Faatoese, A., Schaaf, M., & Fortin Cornejo, M. (2026). Transformative leadership, regional solidarity, and the role of universities in a changing world. Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies Thought Pieces: Centre for Pacific Thought (CPacT) Annual Pacific Lecture 2025, Panelists responses and Discussion. Retrieved from https://pacificdynamics.nz/2026/05/21/transformative-leadership-regional-solidarity-and-the-role-of-universities-in-a-changing-world/ Other Research Output

Freeman, C., Ergler, C., McAnally, H., & Schaaf, M. (2026). Unseen citizens: Preschoolers' perspectives on the city and their power to imagine, represent, and design urban environments. Cities, 176, 107205. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2026.107205 Journal - Research Article

Schaaf, R. M. (2025). Voices of the Dunedin Catholic Samoan Community (Inc): An insight into a Pacific way of doing justice and research co-productively. In C. Ergler, F. van Beusekom, J. Misera, J. Melchert & T. Bork-Hüffer (Eds.), Symposium Proceedings: Doing Research Co-Productively, Inclusively or Participatorily: Motivations, Practices, Challenges. (pp. 19-21). Dunedin, New Zealand: University of Otago. [Full Paper] Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Full paper

Ergler, C., Freeman, C., Schaaf, M., Latai Niusulu, A., Tauaa, T. S., Tanielu, H., Kivalu, M., Hola, A., & Buttery, Y. (2023). Young Pacific Islanders' perspectives on cities and wellbeing. Proceedings of the State of Australasian Cities (SOAC) Conference. (pp. 183). Retrieved from https://apo.org.au Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Te Awhe-Downey, L., Thompson-Fawcett, M., & Schaaf, M. (2023). Ko wai au? Encouraging sense of belonging amongst Māori diaspora: A whānau-based rangahau. Proceedings of the Graduate Research Student Symposium. (pp. 25-26). Retrieved from https://www.otago.ac.nz/graduate-research Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

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