Contact details +6492136846
Dr Amy Whitehead BA, PhD, FHEA
Senior Lecturer
Doctoral Supervisor School of People, Environment and PlanningI am an Anthropologist of Religion/Religious Studies scholar. I gained my PhD at the Open University in the UK. My primary areas of research concern the material and performance cultures of religions, the onotological turn, and the ‘turn to things’ in the study of religions, the development of new approaches to animism and ‘the fetish’, Indigenous religions, the social lives, of plants, ritual studies, festivals, healing and Earth Traditions (Paganisms, Goddess movements). My regional expertise includes Spain, the UK, the Appalachia religion of the southern US, and Cuba. I am interested in how material cultures articulate political and social processes/dynamics. I am currently writing a book called Plants and Religion: A Planthropology (forthcoming Bloomsbury, 2026), and I invite inquires from potential doctoral students regarding these areas of interest (or related).
I gained my PhD from the Open University in the UK in 2011 in the Study of Religions. I have since become a Social Anthropologist of Religion with regional expertise in Spain, Cuba, the UK, and the Appalachian region of the southern US. My research areas include material cultures, rituals and performances, human-enviornment relations, including the personhood of plants and other non-human beings, healing traditions, and Indigenous religions.
Professional
Contact details
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Ph: +64 (09) 414 0800 ext, 43846
Location: AT2.26, Atrium Building
Campus: Auckland
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Arts - University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (1997)
- Doctor of Philosophy - The Open University (2011)
Fellowships and Memberships
- Member, Higher Education Academy (Associate Member/Fellow) (2024)
Certifications and Registrations
- Licence, Supervisor, Massey University
Prizes and Awards
- Strategic Research Excellence Fund - College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Massey (2021)
- Judge for the ‘Leonard Norman Primiano book Prize on Vernacular Catholicism’ - American Folklore Society (2023)
Research Expertise
Research Interests
My areas of expertise broadly include the material and performance cultures of religions, indigenous religions, vernacular and lived religions, ritual, and the personhood of religious 'objects'. I am concerned with things as they sit at the heart of communities, and around which traditions take place and are maintained.
Area of Expertise
Field of research codes
Cultural Studies (200200):
Cultural Theory (200204):
Curatorial and Related Studies (210200):
Curatorial and Related Studies not elsewhere classified (210299):
Heritage and Cultural Conservation (210202):
History And Archaeology (210000):
Languages, Communication And Culture (200000):
Materials Conservation (210203):
Museum Studies (210204):
Other Philosophy and Religious Studies (229900):
Philosophy And Religious Studies (220000):
Religion and Religious Studies (220400)
Keywords
Religion and Material Cultures, Ritual and Performance Studies, Vernacular Religion, Indigenous Religions, New Religious Movements/Alternative Religions, Human-environment Relations, New Animism Research, Plants and Culture
Research Outputs
Journal
[Journal article]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
Book
[Chapter]Authored by: Whitehead, A.Edited by: Whitehead, A.
[Chapter]Authored by: Whitehead, A.Edited by: Whitehead, A.
[Chapter]Authored by: Whitehead, A.Edited by: Whitehead, A.
[Edited Book]Authored by: Whitehead, A.Contributed to by: Whitehead, A.Edited by: Whitehead, A.
[Chapter]Edited by: Whitehead, A.
[Chapter]Authored by: Andrews, R.Edited by: Whitehead, A.
[Chapter]Authored by: Whitehead, A.Edited by: Whitehead, A.
[Chapter]Authored by: Whitehead, A.Edited by: Whitehead, A.
[Edited Book]Contributed to by: Whitehead, A.Edited by: Whitehead, A.
[Chapter]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Chapter]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Chapter]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Chapter]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Chapter]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Edited Book]Authored by: Whitehead, A.Edited by: Whitehead, A.
[Chapter]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Chapter]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Chapter]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Authored Book]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
Conference
[Conference Paper]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Conference Paper]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Conference Paper]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Conference Paper]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Conference Paper]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Conference Paper]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Conference Paper]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Conference Paper]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Conference Other]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Conference Paper]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Conference Paper]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Conference Paper]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Conference Paper]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
Other
[Internet publication]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Internet publication]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
[Internet publication]Authored by: Whitehead, A.
Consultancy and Languages
Consultancy
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May 2017 to February 2018
- The Open University
Research Consultant for the project 'Making Spiritual Communities' in England and Scotland
Languages
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Spanish
Last used: Today
Spoken ability: Average
Written ability: Excellent
Teaching and Supervision
Summary of Doctoral Supervision
Position | Current | Completed |
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Main Supervisor | 1 | 0 |
Co-supervisor | 2 | 0 |
Current Doctoral Supervision
Main Supervisor of:
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Jacqueline Watt
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Doctor of Philosophy
The Whakapapa of Fire Poi: The Genealogy and Relationships of Fire Poi in Aotearoa New Zealand
Co-supervisor of:
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Maria Ross
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Doctor of Philosophy
Turning off the plastics tap in Aotearoa New Zealand? Supermarket responses to multilevel plastic pollution policy and legislation governing single-use plastic packaging. -
Kris Finlayson
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Doctor of Philosophy
Performing Identities: An Ethnographic Analysis of Afrikaner Identity in NZ
Media and Links
Media
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28 Oct 2022 - Newspaper
Real New Zealand witches say this not the true Hal
Expert Contributor -
14 Apr 2022 - Newspaper
Why is Easter’s mascot a bunny? And where did it g
Stuff news article expert contributor