Aotearoa – Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whanaunga; ‘Avaiki Nui – Manihiki
BA
Contact
Office 2S7, Richardson Building, South Tower
Tel +64 3 479 8624
Email leighton.williams@otago.ac.nz
Research
Leighton’s research interests sit across several interlinking themes relevant to Indigenous realities in Aotearoa and the Pacific: Indigenous identities and futurities; the impact of colonial historiographies on the Indigenous imaginary; Indigenous queer and feminist theories; Māori and Pacific pedagogical practices in tertiary teaching; Indigenous sex and sexuality, and; historical linguistics in the Pacific.
Leighton’s masters research explores an Indigenous response to the colonial archive through the prism of Māori imaginaries of sexuality. This research argues for the ways that understanding sexuality through negotiating colonial and Māori archival modes can help to shape a more generous approach to engaging the ‘archive’ in Indigenous Studies.
Teaching
Publications
Williams, L. (2025, June). Pacific Studies and Māori Studies meeting at the shoal. Panel discussion at the Australian Association for Pacific Studies (AAPS) Conference, Sydney, Australia. Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs
Berger, L., Leilua, D., & Williams, L. (2024). Global perspectives on building exchanges between African-American and Māori Studies [Panel]. Proceedings of the New Zealand International Education Conference (NZIEC): Ki Tua. Retrieved from https://www.nziec.co.nz/programme Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Williams, L. (2024). Confronting colonial grammars of Māori sexuality in Aotearoa (New Zealand) [Panel: Indigenizing archives]. Proceedings of the Victorian Diversities Research Network Symposium: The Indigenous Nineteenth Century. Retrieved from https://victoriandiversities.co.uk/the-indigenous-nineteenth-century/ Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Williams, L. (author) (2024). Te Whawhai Mutunga-kore mō te Rangatiratanga. In L. Paterson & A. Wanhalla (Eds.), Raupanga: Ngā Pito Kōrero o te Pakanga Tuarua nō te Hau Kāinga. (pp. 218-221). Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press. Chapter in Book - Research
Williams, L. (2021, March). The endless struggle for Rangatiratanga. Te Hau Kāinga: The Māori Home Front. Retrieved from https://www.maorihomefront.nz/en/whanau-stories/endless-struggle-for-rangatiratanga Other Research Output