Lesley Hall

Lecturer
BA (Hons), PhD

Lesley Hall is a feminist and oral historian. Her academic interests include feminist theories and methodologies; the construction of knowledge, in particular the primacy of western science; feminist critiques of science and medicine; politics and the family; feminist analyses of sexual violence and media representation of women and gender relations.   Lesley is currently President of the National Oral History Association of New Zealand (NOHANZ), Co-President (Academic) of the Association of Victoria University Women and is an active committee member of the New Zealand Women's Studies Association.

Better Red Than Wed: Gender Relations and the Role of Women in the Communist Party of New Zealand, Lesley’s PHD research, used oral histories to examine how women members mediated political activity and family responsibilities.  Gender relations and the role of women in the Party were examined in historical, political and social contexts.

In 2006 Lesley was involved with Butterflies, Boffins and Black Smokers Lecture Series held at the National Library, Wellington in October 2006.  The first, “Einstein – E=mc2”, was a panel discussion with Paul Callaghan, Hamish Campbell and Matt Visser, and the second was with publisher Christine Cole Catley (“Women and science in New Zealand”).  She gives other public (and radio) talks about women and science.

Lesley supervises PhD students and Honours research projects. The Victoria programme in Gender and Women's Studies attracts postgraduate students from throughout New Zealand and overseas. Recent PhD graduates have gained academic posts and post-doctoral scholarships.

Administrative Responsibilities

Acting Programme Director of Gender and Women's Studies (until end of June 2008).

Current Research Projects

Lesley’s current research involves gender analysis of science and science culture in Aotearoa/New Zealand.  It is a pilot oral history project that examines gender relations in the field of science with reference to factors such as educational experience, family background, mentoring, the benefits and limitations of positive discrimination, the impact of current funding regimes, and possible strategies for the future.  She has also been working on an associated project with the Royal Society (Wellington Branch) coordinating an oral history project recording the stories of Wellington scientists.  Initial interviews are with emeritus members of the Royal Society.

Selected publications

Hall, Lesley Confidence Tricks: Re-Visiting Ethics in Interviewing Situations NOHANZ Journal , Wellington: National Oral History Association of New Zealand, Te Kete Korero-a-Waha 0 Te Motu, 2008 (forthcoming)

Hall, Lesley with Richard Hall.  “Einstein and the eternal railway carriage” in The Elegant Universe of Albert Einstein, Tom Barnes, Paul Callaghan, Hamish Campbell, Richard Hall, Robert Hannah, John Stenhouse, Matt Visser; introduction by Rebecca Priestley, Wellington: Awa Press, 2006

Hall, Lesley “Family life among members of the Communist Party of New Zealand” in Sustaining Women: Regenerating Feminisms Conference Papers and Workshops, Wellington: Women’s Studies Association of New Zealand, 2006

Hall, Lesley “The political is also personal: politics and the family” NOHANZ Journal Wellington: National Oral History Association of New Zealand, Te Kete Korero-a-Waha 0 Te Motu, 2005 

Hall, Lesley “Confidentially speaking – an ethical dilemma for interviewers” in Anna Green and Megan Hutching (eds) Oral History in New Zealand, Auckland: Oxford University Press, 2004

Hall, Lesley (2004) “The research journey” in Third Degree: Journal of the Victoria University of Wellington Post-Graduate Students’ Association, October, Victoria University of Wellington Post-Graduate Students’ Association.

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