Whaddarya? Defining young Kiwis’ identities
A Massey sociologist is seeking participants aged between 18 and 29 for a study of young New Zealanders’ views of
culture and identity. Dr Avril Bell is particularly interested in talking to New Zealand-born individuals of
European-descent.
“There’s quite a lot of research being done with migrant communities, which is great, but so far no one’s been asking
the majority culture for their views and experiences,” she says.
“There’s been a lot of talk about culture and race in the media lately. Questions have been raised about Mäori identity,
and there has been talk of ‘mainstream’ New Zealand and ‘bedrock’ New Zealand values.” Dr Bell says that although these
questions are typically raised by politicians, the conversations continue among young people at home, at work and in
public places.
“What do they think about our current immigration policies? What do they think about Treaty issues? I’m also really
interested in what they think about New Zealand culture and identity generally and their own place and identity within
it.”
Participants will take part in small focus group discussions around these topics, for about two hours over a light meal
in Palmerston North.
People interested in participating can conta ct Dr Bell via email (s.a.bell@massey.ac.nz
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