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:
- INDV 301 Māori and Indigenous Development: Governance and Ethics
- MAOR 102 Māori Society
- MFCO 318 Indigenous Media
- PACI 101 Pacific Societies
- POPH 192 Population Heath
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