Humanities Lectures

Professor Jon Hall, Classics, gives the graduation address at the Arts, Music and Theology graduation ceremony on 14 December 2016.

A Public Lecture with Rev. Peter Harris, Anglican Minister, Conservationist, and Co-Founder of Christian Conservation Organisation A Rocha. 24 November 2016

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit addresses the World Council of Churches Central Committee’s recent ‘Statement on Religion and Violence’ (28 June 2016), which addresses the persistence and spread of extremist violence in the world, and its ambiguous connections with religion. 7 October 2016.

Professor Kevin Clements delivers the 2016 Archibald Baxter Memorial Lecture. 28 September 2016

As an environmental planner, Claire Freeman’s research focuses on the intersection of the natural and built environment. She examines how environmental relationships can be enhanced through more effective planning policy, design and practice. In particular, she looks at how planning can help create urban environments that work better for children and young people, and for nature. It links across three major disciplinary fields; the social sciences, biological science and planning. Some current and recent projects she is involved with are: “Natural neighbourhoods for city children”, a Marsden-funded study exploring how children in Dunedin, Auckland and Wellington connect with nature in their daily lives; “the Dunedin Garden Study,” which investigates householders’ relationships with native biodiversity in their gardens; “Children and young people’s experiences following the Christchurch earthquake”; and a study of “Children’s experiences of neighbourhood” in New Zealand, Fiji and Kiribati. 20 September 2016

In this Inaugural Professorial Lecture, Professor Jacinta Ruru anchors her research journey within this Māori proverb to help bring alive the endurance and 'foreverness' of the Māori world in Aotearoa. Professor Ruru shares the ways in which she has sought to contribute towards challenging the law to more respectfully recognise and embrace Indigenous peoples’ authority, laws, values, rights and responsibilities to own, govern and manage land and water. 12 September 2016

Rev Dr Doug Gay is the Stuart Residence Halls Council Distinguished Visitor for 2016. In this public lecture, he traces the outline of an ecumenical political theology incorporating the Catholic, Reformed and Anabaptist traditions of narrative, discipline and witness, with particular reference to the political and economic environment and events leading to the post 2008 economic crisis. 6 September 2016.

Professor Kevin Clements gives a recorded presentation to the Adam Curle Symposium held at the University of Bradford

Imam Afroz Ali is the founder and president of Al-Ghazzali Centre for Islamic Sciences & Human Development in Sydney, Australia, and an Australian Ambassador for the Charter of Compassion. He is also is a founding member of the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change and served as managing director for SeekersHub Global. This is the 13th annual peace lecture, organised by the Otago Tertiary Chaplaincy and the Dunedin Abrahamic Interfaith Group. 24 August 2016

The Faculty of Law presents this public lecture by Professor Graham Virgo, 2016 NZ Law Foundation Distinguished Visiting Fellow, 2016 FW Guest Memorial Lecturer. In 1516 Sir Thomas More published 'Utopia', which identifies an attractive vision of law and society. As Lord Chancellor, More helped to develop Equity as a mechanism to secure justice which was not provided through the rigid interpretation of the Common Law. From the start, the equitable jurisdiction was founded on conscience. By tracing the historical development of conscience it is possible to identify the theoretical structure which justifies and explains the equitable jurisdiction and shows how it should develop in the future.

The Department of Theology and Religion presents lecture three of the 2016 Thomas Burns Memorial Lecture series. Given by Professor Choon-Leong Seow, Vanderbilt Divinity School, this presentation covers the topic 'Job in Modern Literature'. 4 August 2016

The Department of Theology and Religion presents lecture three of the 2016 Thomas Burns Memorial Lecture series. Given by Professor Choon-Leong Seow, Vanderbilt Divinity School, this presentation covers the topic 'Job Through the Eyes of Artists'. 3 August 2016

Professor Etienne Nel of the Department of Geography, delivers his Inaugural Professorial Lecture: “Dealing with Difference: Responses to uneven geographical development”. Etienne has authored, co-authored or edited 10 books, and has written nearly 30 book chapters and more than 100 articles, primarily on economic development in Africa. 2 August 2016

The Department of Theology and Religion presents lecture three of the 2016 Thomas Burns Memorial Lecture series. Given by Professor Choon-Leong Seow, Vanderbilt Divinity School, this presentation covers the topic 'Job as a Contested Classic'. 2 August 2016

This forum reflects on some of the global lessons to be learned from the Chilcot report. The report systematically and comprehensively demolishes Tony Blair and George Bush’s justifications for embroiling the UK in the most disastrous war of the modern era. It also raises some fundamental questions about international criminal accountability for acts of aggression and wider questions about where the responsibility for war should lie in Westminster-style democracies. The panel includes Professor Robert Patman (Politics), Associate Professor Lisa Ellis (Philosophy) and Mr Stephen Smith (Law), chaired by Professor Kevin Clements (NCPACS). 1 August 2016

'My intention in this lecture is to urge critical reflection upon current US practices of targeted killing by considering, not just whether acts of targeted killing can be legally justified, but also what sort of state we are turning into when we organize the use of lethal force in this way -maintaining a list of named enemies of the state who are to be eliminated in this way.' A prolific scholar, Jeremy Waldron teaches legal and political philosophy at NYU School of Law. Until recently, he was also Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory at Oxford University (All Souls College).

The Department of Theology and Religion presents lecture three of the 2016 Thomas Burns Memorial Lecture series. Given by Professor Choon-Leong Seow, Vanderbilt Divinity School, this presentation covers the topic 'Theological Conversations in Job'. 28 July 2016

The Department of Theology and Religion presents lecture two of the 2016 Thomas Burns Memorial Lecture series. Given by Professor Choon-Leong Seow, Vanderbilt Divinity School, this presentation covers the topic 'The Artistry of the (Hebrew) Book of Job'. 27 July 2016

The Department of Theology and Religion presents lecture one of the 2016 Thomas Burns Memorial Lecture series. Given by Professor Choon-Leong Seow, Vanderbilt Divinity School, this presentation covers the topic 'Job in the Cradle of World Literature'. 26 July 2016

The 2016 University of Otago Fellows: Victor Rodger (Robert Burns Fellow), Miranda Parkes (Frances Hodgkins Fellow), Chris Gendall (Mozart Fellow), val smith (Caroline Plummer Fellow in Community Dance), and Barbara Else (University of Otago College of Education/Creative New Zealand Children’s Writer in Residence) discuss their work and aspects of the creative process. Chaired by Nicholas McBryde, the Director of the Otago Festival of the Arts. 17 July 2016

Professor Poia Rewi of Te Tumu - School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies, delivers his Inaugural Professorial Lecture, "Hoka: Motivators of Time". Professor Rewi (Tūhoe, Ngāti Manawa, Te Arawa) works on a regional and national level in multiple areas of Te Reo promotion, teaching and research. 14 July 2016.

Professor Roger Clark is a graduate of Victoria University of Wellington and of Columbia Law School in New York. He began his teaching career at Victoria in 1964 and has taught at Rutgers Law School in New Jersey since 1972. He represented Samoa at the International Court of Justice in the Advisory Proceedings on the Legality of the Use or Threat of use of Nuclear Weapons in 1995 and is currently a member of the team representing the Marshall Islands in its ICJ cases on nuclear weapons. The team has been nominated by the International Peace Bureau for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. In this conversation with Professor Kevin Clements (NCPACS), Professor Clark will discuss the influences that have determined the course of his life and career.

Venerable Robina Courtin has spent much of her life working for peace in various ways, initially as a left-wing feminist activist, and later as a Buddhist nun. In conversation with Joe Llewelyn she shares some of her wealth of knowledge and experience, including her work with prisoners and teaching around the world.

Colin Smith, Chairman on the Pike River Families Group Committee and the Pike River 29 Legacy Trust, talks about the Pike River disaster and asks how could this happen in this day and age? Find out why the Pike River Families have fought so hard and for so long. Colin Smith is a law graduate from the University of Otago and is a partner with the Greymouth Law Firm Hannan & Seddon.

Public Lecture with Professor Jonathan Boston from the School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington. He discusses the role of governance in sustainability and how to move from a short term focus at a governmental level to a longer term focus.

Civil pecuniary penalties are an increasingly common feature of regulatory legislation such as the Commerce Act 1986 and the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. They have been both welcomed as a pragmatic “third way” between purely civil remedies and criminal charges and condemned as incompatible with human rights and the principles which underpin the criminal justice system. This lecture considers both sides of the debate and whether it is possible to reconcile the competing views. Presented by Jenny Cooper, who graduated from Otago in 1995 and now practices in Auckland as a commercial barrister with specialist expertise in company and securities law and fair trading and competition law.

Professor Jon Hall, Head of the Department of Classics, delivers his Inaugural Professorial Lecture: “Murderous Politeness in Ancient Rome”. Jon's research focuses on Cicero – in particular, Cicero's letters and speeches. Recently Jon completed a book on Cicero’s use of showmanship in the Roman law courts. 3 May 2016

De Carle Lecture series The Law and the Relational Self Professor Jonathan Herring, DM Wolfe-Clarendon Fellow in Law, University of Oxford and 2016 De Carle Distinguished Lecturer presents the fourth of four public lectures in the Relational Law series.

James and Jean Davis Prestige Visiting Fellow, Professor Don McRae C.C delivers a public lecture on 'The Evolution of International Law: Challenges and Prospects'. The lecture focuses on the changes that have occurred in the field of international law over the past 50 years, and the challenges that these developments pose for both the theory and practice of international law including its legitimacy.

De Carle Lecture series The Law and the Abused Self Professor Jonathan Herring, DM Wolfe-Clarendon Fellow in Law, University of Oxford and 2016 De Carle Distinguished Lecturer presents the third of four public lectures in the Relational Law series.

De Carle Lecture series The Law and the Caring Self Professor Jonathan Herring, DM Wolfe-Clarendon Fellow in Law, University of Oxford and 2016 De Carle Distinguished Lecturer presents the second of four public lectures in the Relational Law series.

De Carle Lecture series The Law and the Vulnerable Self Professor Jonathan Herring, DM Wolfe-Clarendon Fellow in Law, University of Oxford and 2016 De Carle Distinguished Lecturer presents the first of four public lectures in the Relational Law series.

Professor Stuart Young's Inaugural Professorial Lecture is entitled "We need new forms": Playful Adventures from Chekhov to Verbatim Theatre. Professor Stuart Young is currently Head of the Department of Music (which incorporates the Theatre Studies programme and the Bachelor of Peforming Arts programme). His research interests include Documentary/Verbatim Theatre; Russian drama, in particular Chekhov, and its reception abroad; Translation Studies and translation for the theatre; Modern British drama and theatre; New Zealand drama and theatre; Gay and queer drama. 8 March 2016

Between 1900 and 2015, campaigns of nonviolent resistance were about twice as effective as violent insurgencies. In this talk, Professor Erica Chenoweth will review the impressive historical record of civil resistance in the 20th century and discuss the promise of unarmed struggle in the 21st century. She will expand upon her book (co-authored with Maria Stephan) 'Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict', which won the 2013 Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order. Erica Chenoweth is Professor & Associate Dean for Research at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver.

Erica Chenoweth is Professor & Associate Dean for Research at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Professor Chenoweth is an internationally recognised authority on political violence and its alternatives, in 2014 she received the 2014 Karl Deutsch Award, given annually to the scholar under the age of 40 who has made the greatest impact on the field of international politics or peace research. In this conversation she discusses her life, influences and research with Dr Charles Butcher from the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies.

An open lecture by Erica Chenoweth, Professor & Associate Dean for Research at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Professor Chenoweth is an internationally recognised authority on political violence and its alternatives.

Dr. Joakim Kreutz, Assistant Professor at the University of Uppsala, is an expert on how wars end, and what causes them to end. His research has focused on trends in war termination over the past 60 years, and more recently has examined the Colombian peace process and EU engagement in humanitarian intervention. This public conversation will explore Dr. Kreutz's pathway into this research area, some of the main findings in recent research on war termination, and how these insights might be applied to contemporary conflicts. 3 November 2015

Sir Tipene O’Regan is best known as a long serving chairman of the Ngai Tahu Maori Trust board and as a key figure in the leadership of the Ngai Tahu claim to the Waitangi tribunal and he has been very influential in many other roles. Here he illuminates very important aspects of our places’ past, present, and its future and reflects on key cultural and historical issues of particular pertinence of all New Zealander’s including history, knowledge and tribal identity. 1 October 2015

Professor Richard Jackson talks to Dr Najibullah Lafraie, Department of Politics, who discusses a range of issues he is concerned about. Dr Lafraie discusses his family and growing up in Afghanistan, the effect of religion in his life and his early education through his study. After leaving Afghanistan for a short time, he returned to carry out his PhD study and continued on to join the resistance against the Soviet Union and continues with how he stayed in the country, in hiding, when the Taliban were present, to finally coming to live in New Zealand. 28 September 2015

In this talk Professor Tom McLeish, Professor of Physics at Durham University. Tom discusses themes from his recently published book ‘Faith and Wisdom in Science’ (Oxford University Press, 2014). In this book, Tom takes a scientist’s reading of the Old Testament’s Book of Job and uses this ancient text as a centrepiece to make the case for science as a deeply human and ancient activity, embedded in some of the oldest stories told about the human desire to understand the natural world. Drawing on stories from the modern science of chaos and uncertainty, alongside medieval, patristic, classical and Biblical sources, Faith and Wisdom in Science challenges much of the current “science and religion” debate as operating with the wrong assumptions and in the wrong space. There are immediate consequences for how we treat science in government, the media, in education and in churches. 22 September 2015

Professor David Tombs, Director, Centre for Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago, speaks about the US Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Torture (2014), which has strongly criticised the interrogation programme overseen by the CIA in the aftermath of 9/11. He connects this to studies of torture practices under authoritarian regimes in Latin America, and suggests that it is also relevant to the field punishment of Archibald Baxter, and other conscience objectors, in World War I. 21 September 2015

The twelfth annual peace lecture, organised by the Otago Tertiary Chaplaincy and the Dunedin Abrahamic Interfaith Group, is given by Rabbi Fred Morgan, Professorial Fellow, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne. In this talk Rabbi Fred Morgan will address a number of questions – Does the notion of pursuing peace have to be modified according to the time in which we find ourselves? How do the dynamics of pursuing peace change from one context to the other? What is the role of religions in times of peace and times of war? And how do the dynamics of pursuing peace under different circumstances impact on interfaith relations? 9 September 2015

Professor David Tombs holds the Howard Paterson Chair in Theology and Public Issues and is Director of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues at the University of Otago. His Inaugural Professorial Lecture discusses Latin American liberation theology and its ongoing legacy. 8 September 2015

In this talk Professor Peter Danchin, Professor of Law and Director of the International and Comparative Law Program at the University of Maryland School of Law discusses the three key concepts in modern religious freedom discourse – neutrality, universality and legality. What is increasingly recognised, however, is the extent to which these concepts are inextricably entangled, historically and substantively, with theological concepts and categories. In drawing out these connections and assessing their implications for three central questions concerning the subject, object and justification of the right to religious liberty, this talk asks whether there can be a unified theory of religious freedom and in what sense we can say the right is independent of religious traditions and the contested notions of freedom within them. 19 August 2015

Katherine Runswick-Cole, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK, discusses her research project ‘Big Society? Disabled people with learning disabilities and civil society’ which she completed in collaboration with Dan Goodley of the University of Sheffield, UK. In this paper they seek to develop an understanding of social policy driven by a commitment to the politics of disability, especially the politics of people labeled with learning disabilities. 12 August 2015

This presentation given by Paul Gibson, Disability Rights Commissioner, follows on from Katherine Runswick-Cole’s talk on her research project ‘Big Society? Disabled people with learning disabilities and civil society’. In this talk he focuses on the journey of understanding, and the role of research in making disability rights real. 12 August 2015

Professor Tony Ballantyne, former Head of the Department of History and Art History, University of Otago, Chair of the Hocken Collections Committee and Director of the University’s Centre for Research on Colonial Culture has been engaged in a long-running research project on the production of colonial culture. This lecture explores the nature of archives, the possibilities of digitisation, and the role of both archival collections and historical writing in the making and remaking of cultural memory. 6 August 2015

Dr. David P. Gushee is a Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics and Director of the Centre for Theology and Public Life at Mercer University. His research interests focus on the ethical teachings of Jesus Christ and the Christian theological-ethical tradition, together with its contemporary implications for Christian discipleship and public witness. In this talk he speaks on his personal journey toward a change of his own heart and mind in becoming an advocate for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender inclusion in the Church, and his recent book ‘Changing Our Mind’ and the impact that it is having. 30 July 2015

Professor Jeremy Waldron, Professor of Law at New York University speaks on the topic of ‘Profound Disability and Distinctive Human Dignity’. What does it mean to say we are all one another’s equals? Does a sense of equality distinguish humans from other animals? On what is this human equality based? Is it a religious idea? Is it a practical commitment? Is it just a matter of human rights? Is there supposed to be some shared feature that all human beings have in common? And if we take that approach, what are we to say about our brothers and sisters who suffer from profound disability—whose human claims seem to outstrip any particular description that they satisfy or any capacity that they have? 28 July 2015

What’s Magna Carta — legal icon, myth, or misconception? When was Magna Carta —1215, say the historians, the lawyers (were they to agree) might say 1297. In this talk Dr Nigel Jamieson, Faculty of Law at the University of Otago discusses what Magna Carta might mean for us today — being in Latin most modernists would shrug it off; some cynics say it means nothing much, since it’s only called the Great Charter because in 1215 they couldn’t text it down to twenty words; others say it’s not for us today because we’re far more up with the political play; and then there are those today who extol it to divert our attention away from the fact that they’re fiddling the books behind our backs. 21 July 2015

Professor Jim Allan is the Garrick Professor of Law at the TC Beirne School of Law, University of Queensland and previously belonged to the University of Otago Faculty of Law for 11 years. In this talk Professor Allan discusses four key points, what an unwritten constitution amounts to, the point of written constitutionalism and what you are being promised when offered a written constitution. Finally he explains why a written constitution has limited choice and the process of making a decision between a written and unwritten constitution. 15 July 2015