Course Content

This paper will consider the Treaty of Waitangi in various contexts, including an examination of the Treaty from constitutional, historical, social, political and post-colonial perspectives. It will examine in turn the various meanings that have been (and continue to be) given to the Treaty by each of these particular perspectives. The paper will also consider the various interpretations of the Treaty offered by contemporary commentators, from such diverse groups as the media, governments officials and protest groups. We will explore how the Treaty has been and continues to be ascribed different meanings in public and official discourses and the discourses of protest alike.

We will also question the status of the Treaty as a national and cultural icon: its place not only as a 'developing social contract', but as museum centrepiece and defining moment in New Zealand history. The class will be encouraged to consider such issues critically and to evaluate the current status of the Treaty in relation to its significance in the past. The paper will conclude with an examination of the Treaty claims process and the role of the Waitangi Tribunal from the perspective of the post-colonial present, seen in the context of current political efforts for Maori self-determination and autonomy.

Please contact Giselle Byrnes for further information. This course will be held on Tuesdays from 2:00-4:00pm in the Wood Seminar Room, OK406.

Assessment

A combination of internal assessment and final examination

Recommended Readings

• Giselle Byrnes, The Waitangi Tribunal and New Zealand History, Oxford, 2004
• Ken S. Coates and P.G. McHugh, Kokiri ngatahi/Living Relationships: The Treaty of Waitangi in the New Millenium, Wellington, 1998.
• Mason Durie, Te Mana Te Kawanatanga: The Politics of Maori Self-Determination, Oxford, 1998
• Claudia Orange, The Treaty of Waitangi, Wellington, 1987
• Andrew Sharp, Justice and the Maori: The Philosophy and Practice of Maori Claims in New Zealand since the 1970s, 2nd ed., Auckland, 1997