MEDIA RELEASE 30 April 2008
Professor Belich kicks off ‘New Work, New Zealand’ series
Victoria University Professor of History, James Belich, will next week explain why English speaking societies grew much
faster than others in the long 19 th century.
His talk, entitled ‘The Settler Revolution in the Long Nineteenth Century’, is the first in a series of seminars by
Victoria’s Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies.
“This new seminar series is an exciting initiative. It’s about time we exported one or two ideas from New Zealand, and
put New Zealand research into a global context. My seminar is going to be at Te Herenga Waka Marae, which will be a bit
of a homecoming for me. I used to be an honorary lecturer in M a ori at Victoria University,” says Professor Belich.
The ‘New Work, New Zealand’ series, which aims to showcase new approaches to New Zealand studies, will be on Wednesdays
during May and June 2008.
Professor Belich recently joined Victoria University’s Stout Research Centre, which is a leading centre for innovative
New Zealand studies research. He is currently writing a book about transnational settler histories, due out in 2009.
“While the book is anglo-focussed, it tries to understand historically the reasons for this growth rather than assuming
it is intrinsic superiority of any kind,” says Professor Belich.
Professor Belich’s seminar will be at Te Herenga Waka Marae, 46 Kelburn Parade, Wellington, on 7 May 2008, 4.10-5.30pm.
Tea and coffee will be served from 3.45pm.
Ends