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
Publications
Freeman, C., Latai Niusulu, A., Schaaf, M., Taua'a, T. S., Tanielu, H., Ergler, C., & Kivalu, M. (2022). Kinship and belonging: Pacific children’s perspectives on the diaspora. Childhood, 29(4), 612-627. doi: 10.1177/09075682221121681
Schaaf, R. M. (2022). Covid 19 Talanoa: The significance of Pacific community engagement in enabling University of Otago Humanities Pacific students to navigate the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Proceedings of the Talanoa Oceania Conference: Restorying te ao moana. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/a/nomoa.com/talanoa/2022
Freeman, C., Latai Niusulu, A., Schaaf, M., Taua'a, T. S., Tanielu, H., Ergler, C., & Kivalu, M. (2022). Identity, belonging and place attachment amongst Pacific Island children: A photographic analysis. Children's Geographies. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/14733285.2022.2039900
Freeman, C., Latai, A., Schaaf, M., Tauaa Tuiloma, S., Tanielu Mallo, H., Ergler, C., & Kivalu, M. (2020). The Pacific diaspora and transnational families: Pacific children's perspectives. Proceedings of the New Zealand Geographical Society (NZGS) Biennial Conference. (pp. 87-88). Retrieved from https://nzgsconference2020.gitlab.io
Finigan, A., Vakaoti, P., Richards, R., Schaaf, M., Colombo, M., Taumoepeau, M., & Moata'ane, L. (Eds.). (2020). Proceedings of the Pacific Postgraduate Symposium: Pacific Voices XVII. Dunedin, New Zealand: Pacific Islands Centre, University of Otago. 48p. Retrieved from https://www.otago.ac.nz/pacific
Schaaf, M. (2011). Navigating the competing worlds and lived realities of a PhD candidate. In M. Waring & K. Kearins (Eds.), Thesis survivor stories. (pp. 203-211). Auckland, New Zealand: AUT Media.
Chapter in Book - Research
Saisoa'a, M. (2004). Ngā hekenga hou : Pacific peoples in Aotearoa/New Zealand. In T. M. Ka'ai, J. C. Moorfield, M. P. J. Reilly & S. Mosley (Eds.), Ki te whaiao: An introduction to Māori culture and society. (pp. 227-243). Auckland: Pearson.
Chapter in Book - Research
Schaaf, R. M. (2017). The Pacific body and racism. In H. Randell-Moon (Ed.), Incarceration, migration and indigenous sovereignty: Thoughts on existence and resistance in racist times. (pp. 44-50). Dunedin, New Zealand: Department of Media, Film and Communication, University of Otago.
Chapter in Book - Other
Freeman, C., Latai Niusulu, A., Schaaf, M., Taua'a, T. S., Tanielu, H., Ergler, C., & Kivalu, M. (2022). Identity, belonging and place attachment amongst Pacific Island children: A photographic analysis. Children's Geographies. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/14733285.2022.2039900
Journal - Research Article
Freeman, C., Latai Niusulu, A., Schaaf, M., Taua'a, T. S., Tanielu, H., Ergler, C., & Kivalu, M. (2022). Kinship and belonging: Pacific children’s perspectives on the diaspora. Childhood, 29(4), 612-627. doi: 10.1177/09075682221121681
Journal - Research Article
Brown, C., Lao, C., Lawrenson, R., Tin Tin, S., Schaaf, M., Kidd, J., … Elwood, M. (2017). Characteristics of and differences between Pasifika women and New Zealand European women diagnosed with breast cancer in New Zealand. New Zealand Medical Journal, 130(1467), 50-61. Retrieved from http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal
Journal - Research Article
Schaaf, R. M. (2022). Covid 19 Talanoa: The significance of Pacific community engagement in enabling University of Otago Humanities Pacific students to navigate the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Proceedings of the Talanoa Oceania Conference: Restorying te ao moana. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/a/nomoa.com/talanoa/2022
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Freeman, C., Latai, A., Schaaf, M., Tauaa Tuiloma, S., Tanielu Mallo, H., Ergler, C., & Kivalu, M. (2020). The Pacific diaspora and transnational families: Pacific children's perspectives. Proceedings of the New Zealand Geographical Society (NZGS) Biennial Conference. (pp. 87-88). Retrieved from https://nzgsconference2020.gitlab.io
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Kivalu, M. J., Freeman, C., Schaaf, M., Ergler, C., Latai, A., Tauaa, T. S., & Tanielu, M. H. (2019). Childhood in a changing Pacific. In A. Finigan, P. Vakaoti, R. Richards & M. Schaaf (Eds.), Proceedings of the Pacific Postgraduate Symposium: Pacific Voices XVI. (pp. 17). Dunedin, New Zealand: The Pacific Islands Centre, University of Otago. Retrieved from https://www.otago.ac.nz/pacific
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Schaaf, M. (2018). The Pacific sport's body and physicality: Body size/shape: Surviving fatness and browness. Proceedings of the Public Health Summer School Presentations: Emerging Issues for Te-Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa. Retrieved from https://www.otago.ac.nz/wellington/otago671659.pdf
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Schaaf, R. M. (2014). A place to stand and belong. Proceedings of the Combined Association of Social Anthropologists of Aotearoa New Zealand and Australian Anthropological Society (ASAANZ/AAS) Conference: Cosmopolitan Anthropologies. (pp. 52-53). Retrieved from http://www.otago.ac.nz/anthropology/conf/publications.html
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Schaaf, M. (2009). Experiences of postgraduate supervision: A supervisee's perspective. In C. Matthewson & M. Taumoepeau (Eds.), Proceedings of the Pacific Postgraduate Symposium: Pacific Voices VI. (pp. 43). Dunedin, New Zealand: Pacific Islands Centre, University of Otago. [Abstract]
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Schaaf, R. M. (2006). Notions of the Pacific Island female body and the impact on Pacific participation in the sport of Netball. In C. Matthewson & M. Taumoepeau (Eds.), Proceedings of the Pacific Postgraduate Symposium: Pacific Voices III. (pp. 39). Dunedin, New Zealand: Pacific Islands Centre, University of Otago. [Abstract]
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Finigan, A., Vakaoti, P., Richards, R., Schaaf, M., Colombo, M., Taumoepeau, M., & Moata'ane, L. (Eds.). (2020). Proceedings of the Pacific Postgraduate Symposium: Pacific Voices XVII. Dunedin, New Zealand: Pacific Islands Centre, University of Otago. 48p. Retrieved from https://www.otago.ac.nz/pacific
Conference Contribution - Edited volume of conference proceedings
Finigan, A., Vakaoti, P., Richards, R., & Schaaf, M. (Eds.). (2019). Proceedings of the Pacific Postgraduate Symposium: Pacific Voices XVI. Dunedin, New Zealand: The Pacific Islands Centre, University of Otago. 48p. Retrieved from https://www.otago.ac.nz/pacific
Conference Contribution - Edited volume of conference proceedings
Finigan, A., Taumoepeau, M., Richards, R., & Schaaf, M. (Eds.). (2017). Proceedings of the Pacific Postgraduate Symposium: Pacific Voices XIV. Dunedin, New Zealand: Pacific Islands Centre, University of Otago. 49p.
Conference Contribution - Edited volume of conference proceedings
Schaaf, M. (2018, February). Introduction to Pacific diasporas. Verbal presentation at the Public Health Summer School Presentations: Emerging Issues for Te-Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa, Wellington, New Zealand.
Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs
Schaaf, M. (2017, November-December). Destination Dunedin: Pacific memories in the sands of time. Verbal presentation at the Oceanic Memory: Islands, Ecologies, Peoples, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs
Schaaf, M. (2016, February). The legacy of P.A.C.I.F.I.C.A Inc.: Rendering the prominence of Pacific female leadership in Dunedin. Verbal presentation at the Making Women Visible Conference: A Conference in Honour of Barbara Brookes, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs
Schaaf, R. M. (2005, November). Pacific Island women, body image and sport. Verbal presentation at the 7th World Indigenous Peoples' Conference on Education Conference, Hamilton, New Zealand.
Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs
Schaaf, M. (2018, September). Working together: Female champions of Dunedin's Pacific Grassroots communities. Department of History & Art History, University of Otago, Tuitū Otago Settlers Museum, Dunedin, New Zealand. [Research Presentation].
Other Research Output
Schaaf, M. (2010, October). Navigating the competing worlds and lived realities of a PhD candidate. University of Otago Te Tumu, School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies Seminar, Dunedin, New Zealand. [Department Seminar].
Other Research Output
Schaaf, R. M. J. (2011). Pacific participation in Aotearoa/Niu Sila netball: Body image, family, church, culture, education and physical education (PhD). University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Awarded Doctoral Degree
Saisoa'a, R. M. (1999). Tama'ita'i wilson mai o moata'a: The role of Sāmoan women as facilitators of learning University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Awarded Masters Degree
