P-cubed Newsletters

Contents HeadsUp I trust everyone had a good break over Easter. I did. It came early this year so in a way it felt indulgent to be enjoying an extended run of days to soon into the year. Post-Easter, it does feel like we are seriously into autumn and a change in...

Contents HeadsUp A couple of days ago, the School took the big step of submitting paperwork to put our four new first-year courses (ENV 100, 101, 102, 103) ‘on the books’ for 2025. This is the ‘four course model’: the topic of much conversation, collaboration and...

Contents HeadsUp I recently lectured to an undergrad class for the first time in quite some months. The topic was geographical aspects of Covid-19. I encouraged students to reflect on their own Covid story from the times of lockdown. Such times seem both so recent and...

Contents HeadsUp There was a quintessentially kiwi song that was popular in the 1970s by John Clake under his performing name of Fred Dagg.  In a shamelessly local accent, he sang ‘we don’t know how lucky we are’. As we savour the last weeks of the best Auckland...

Contents HeadsUp As we start to emerge from a time of annual leave, writing and fieldwork and begin to engage in earnest with the business of the year, I trust you’ve all had a refreshing break. As opportunities to do so increasingly arise, I look forward to hearing...

Contents HeadsUp Kia ora tātou – I struggle with languages. Two years of Latin at high school was a drag and my yield from three years of high school French not much better. I got 51% in School Certificate. Still, a pass is a pass and it did prove enough to get...

Contents HeadsUp After busy weeks of having heads-down, I hope everyone is beginning to see a period of ‘heads-up’ on the horizon.  It’s the season of last-of-the-year meetings and end of year gatherings, and I especially look forward to seeing many if not most of you...

Contents HeadsUp Last week at the Pacific Postgraduate Students Colloquium we were treated to the rich tapestries of three of our postgrad students’ lives.  Crystal Fa’asolo, Tyler Flanagan and Talia Mather offered fascinating and inspiring narratives of how...

Contents HeadsUp It was both insightful and enjoyable to participate in the Siapo-making workshop led by Doron Semu which ran over the last two Wednesdays. Who thought we’d be applying glue with our fingers and using an iron in the Ontology Lab?  I found satisfaction...

Contents HeadsUp I spent the weekend participating in the Small Island, Big Ideas writers festival on Aotea/Great Barrier. Across three days, there was rich dialogue on the character of island life, the meaning of being surrounded by sea and what being part of an...