ABOUT US

Te Whāinga Aronui The Council for the Humanities

The way ahead for the Humanities

Objective:

To promote recognition of the value of the humanities-aronui in the creation, conservation and transmission of knowledge essential to personal well-being and the cultural, social and economic development of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Definition of Scope:

Humanities-aronui signifies a distinctive body of cultural knowledge created from interaction between the many cultures and languages of people resident in Aotearoa New Zealand and anchored by the bilingual text of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The humanities-aronui are bodies of knowledge and modes of enquiry and reflection concerning what it is to be human. In the Western tradition, the humanities have been identified with literacy and with value-laden knowledge, the core requirements for establishing and maintaining a civil society. They connect the texts of the law with those of religion, philosophy, ethics, economics, history, science, technology, the arts and architecture. In the more holistic Maori world view te kete aronui (the basket of secular or profane knowledge), one of nga kete wananga (the three baskets of knowledge), may encompass theoretical and practical knowledge about the sciences as well as the humanities.

The creation, transmission, collection and preservation of the humanities-aronui depend on the institutions responsible for the collective memory of our society – libraries, archives, galleries, museums, whare wananga, the media, schools and universities.

Treaty Partnership:

Te Whāinga Aronui The Council for the Humanities acknowledges Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of our nation and as our guide for establishing any institutional arrangements with tangata whenua of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Consequently the Council is committed to recognising the importance of matauranga Maori as an indigenous taonga and its unique role in establishing and supporting the contemporary strategic development of the humanities in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Council is further committed to facilitating the ongoing involvement by Maori scholastic communities in achieving the mission and goals of the Council.

The Humanities Trust of Aotearoa New Zealand

Te Whāinga Aronui The Council for the Humanities is a charitable trust. The Trust Board includes among its members leaders in academic, cultural and public sector organisations. The Trustees are:

Professor Ken Strongman (Chair)
Pro-Vice Chancellor, College of Arts, University of Canterbury

Jonathan Mané-Wheoki (Deputy Chair)
Director Art and Collection Services, The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Associate Professor Lydia Wevers (Treasurer)
Director, Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies, Victoria University of Wellington

Professor Rob Allen
Pro Vice Chancellor, Learning & Teaching and Dean, Faculty of Applied Humanities, Auckland University of Technology

Penny Carnaby
Chief Executive / National Librarian, National Library of New Zealand

Professor John Drummond
Dean of the School of Language, Literature, & Performing Arts, University of Otago

Associate Professor Charlotte Macdonald
School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations,
Victoria University of Wellington

Professor John Morrow
Dean of Arts, University of Auckland

Associate Professor Jan Pilditch
Associate Dean Academic Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, University of Waikato

Haami Piripi
Chief Executive, Te Taura Whiri I Te Reo Maori Maori Language Commission

Helen Renwick
Associate University Librarian, University of Auckland

Professor Warwick Slinn
Head, School of English and Media Studies, Massey University

Dame Cheryll Sotheran
Director, Creative Industries Sector, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise

Professor Mike Taggart
Faculty of Law, University of Auckland

Te Kenehi Teira
Kaihautu, New Zealand Historic Places Trust

Executive Director
Dr Brian Opie

Our Images: About John Edgar

John Edgar is a New Zealand sculptor with a strong interest in the way in which work with stone can explore the meanings of cultural signs, especially the role they play in establishing, sustaining and critiquing relations to land, nation, and ethnicity. His sculptures, both large and small scale, are characterised by an astonishing formal precision and a deep sensitivity to the qualities of the stone with which he works.
The Council expresses its gratitude for his willingness to permit images of some of his works to be adapted and presented on this website. The works are:
About Us: ‘Code’ 2001, media: marble, granite
Academy: ‘Vein’ 1995, media: granite, jasper
Associates: ‘Recess’ 2003, media: granite, serpentine, marble
Awards: ‘Red Cross’ 1999, media: andesite, granite
Contact: ‘Calculus’ 2001, media: stone, marble
Our work: ‘Cross country’ 1996, media: granite, marble, glass
They can be inspected on his website.