`Race', culture, and nationhood are continually reproduced in both daily activities and key events, through embodied social meanings and practices. Our research project explores little-studied acts of commemoration/celebration that express nation and community. Waitangi Day, Anzac Day, Matariki, Chinese and Gregorian New Year build and divide, acknowledge and deny, include and exclude and are focal points where we represent ourselves to each other and the world. They are rich in meaning, wairua and emotion for all citizens, whether participating directly or not and have major implications for identity, wellbeing and social cohesion. Our research will focus on the affective politics evoked as people relate, engage and grapple with cultural observances and often charged acts of remembrance in Aotearoa/New Zealand. We will produce new conceptual knowledge around wairua and emotion as neglected dimensions of relationships between Maori and non-Maori.

This three year Whariki project examines the pathways by which the current representations of Maori & Maori issues in the print media, radio and tv are established and maintained.