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History Book Launch

28 April 2012

Last month saw a shared book launch for two History staff, Professor Charlotte Macdonald with Strong, Beautiful and Modern. National Fitness in Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Canada, 1935-1960 and Senior Lecturer Glyn Parry with The Arch Conjuror of England: John Dee.

History Book LaunchHistory Book Launch

Charlotte Macdonald's book Strong, Beautiful and Modern tells the history of the first adult fitness programmes in the British world: a story of the popular body beautiful movement of the 1930s, of recoil from government involvement in the bodies of healthy citizens in the 1940s, and the remarkable power of links between Britain and 'the white dominions' in the mid twentieth century. Discussion is based on extensive archival work across Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Strong, Beautiful and Modern is published by Bridget Williams Books (Wellington) and UBC Press (Vancouver). Her book is also available at vicbooks. An interview with Charlotte on Radio New Zealand’s 'Nine to Noon' show can be found through the Radio New Zealand website.

Glyn Parry's book is the first full-length primary historical biography of outlandish alchemist and magician, political intellingencer, apocalyptic prophet and converser with angels, John Dee (1527-1609), one of the most colourful and controversial figures of the Tudor world. He explores Dee's vast array of political, magical and scientific writings and finds that they cast significant new light on policy struggles in the Elizabethan court, conservative attacks on magic and Europe's religious wars. Ronald Hutton, Independent on Sunday, comments that "In Glyn Parry, [Dee] has at last attracted a biographer with a talent for uncovering fresh archival material, who has conducted thorough research both into his life and the circles in which he moved…this book makes an admirable contribution both to an understanding of his career and of the Elizabethan age." His book is published by Yale University Press and also available through Amazon UK and shortly available through Amazon US. See also the article on the Yale Books website.

Head of Programme, Steve Behrendt, commented at the launch that these books represent over ten years of research for both Charlotte and Glyn. Congratulations on the successful and critically-acclaimed results!

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Kathryn Sutherland Appointed as Co-editor of IJAD for Australasia

3 April 2012

The International Consortium for Educational Development (ICED) Council is pleased to announce that Dr Kathryn Sutherland, Associate Dean (Students, Teaching & Learning) in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences has been appointed as Co-Editor of the International Journal for Academic Development (IJAD). For more information on ICED and the appointment, please go to their website.

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Wai-te-ata Press celebrates 50th anniversary

28 March 2012

Dr Sydney Shep with 1813 Stanhope Press

A space to explore books and print in all their myriad forms, the Wai-te-ata Press boasts a collection of 15 working printing presses dating from 1813 to 1963. Originally located in two garages on Wai-te-ata Road, the Press moved to Victoria University’s main Library on the Kelburn Campus in 2008.

Wai-te-ata Press was founded in 1962 by Professor Emeritus D F McKenzie, and has provided generations of students with the opportunity to learn the process of hand printing and fine design. It thrives on a rich legacy of preserving historic printing equipment, teaching the intricacies of print, communication and culture, undertaking special printing and publishing commissions, and as a centre for traditional and digital historical research.

Dr Sydney Shep, Senior Lecturer in Print and Book Culture and Director of Wai-te-ata Press says the Press is a place to make books as well as study them. “Our students really respond to getting their hands on something tangible and making something that looks like nothing else out there.”

The first acquisition by Wai-te-ata Press was an 1813 Stanhope Press which remains on indefinite loan from Cambridge University Press, UK and takes pride of place. One of only 16 left in the world, it is the oldest printing press in New Zealand and is still being used.

Several significant New Zealand’s writers including Alistair Campbell, Vincent O’Sullivan and Bill Manhire were first printed and published by Wai-te-ata Press during the 1960s and 1970s, a key period for the development of New Zealand literature.

The Press is also used by professional designers wanting an aesthetic edge to their designs. Most recently the lead designer of Te Papa’s exhibition Oceania visited Wai-te-ata Press to photograph individual wooden types which were then digitised and reassembled for the exhibition displays.

"I cannot wait to see how new technology and print continue to evolve side by side for the next 50 years," Dr Shep says.

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Dean's List Announced

29 February 2012

The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences congratulates the students making the 2011 Dean's List. The Dean's List is a formal and published record of students who achieve academic excellence in their current year of study in an undergraduate degree programme.

Further information, including a pdf of the current FHSS Dean's List, can be found on the Dean's List page.

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The Victorias Award Winners

31 January 2012

Victorias Award winners in FHSS for 2011 are:

Most Popular Lecturer

  • Kate Schick, School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations

Most Popular Tutor

  • Rebecca Burke, Te Kawa a Māui

Most Popular Supervisor

Most Popular General Staff Person

PGSA Life Membership Award

  • Tanja Schubert-McArthur, School of Social and Cultural Studies

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Research Excellence Award Winners

31 January 2012

Research Excellence Award winners in FHSS for 2011 are:

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FHSS Teaching Excellence Award Winners

31 January 2012

Teaching Excellence Award winners in FHSS for 2011 are:

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