Research aims and accolades

Much of our research and creative work is motivated by social justice, concerned with the critique of power and inequality, and investigates alternative ways of understanding and organising society.

Our research is global in scope, encompassing contemporary and ancient Pacific cultures, as well as American, Asian, and European political and military powers, and social structures in Aotearoa.

Respect for the Treaty of Waitangi, the rights of the tangata whenua and the ongoing struggle for tino rangatiratanga are a key basis of our research practice.

Our research has impact through shaping public debate, influencing policy and working with communities.

• Professor Annie Goldson, ONZM, was named an Arts Foundation, Te Tumu Toi Arts Laureate in 2023 and won an Aronui Humanities Medal from Te Apārangi, Royal Society of New Zealand in 2021. Annie has been described as "New Zealand's most awarded documentary filmmaker", having won over 50 national and international awards for her work.
• Professor Cris Shore was recognised as "the nation’s pre-eminent social scientist" by the Royal Society Te Apārangi in 2017, with the award of the Mason Durie Medal Award for advances in the frontiers of social science. Cris has pioneered anthropology of policy and institutional power.

Marsden Awards

The Marsden Fund is New Zealand’s most prestigious and competitive 'blue sky' research fund. Our high success rate is a testament to the excellent quality of our research.

Recent highlights include:

2025

• Professor Thegn Ladefoged: 'Ko te Rerenga o te Matuku (The flight of the bittern): Interfacing archaeology with history, philosophy, and mātauranga for thriving futures'.

2024

• Dr Ally Palmer: ‘The surplus animal problem: Understanding the issues for zoos in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally’.

2022

• Professor Steve Natthewman and Associate Professor Luke Goode:  'The Residential Red Zone (RRZ) as Futures Lab: Placemaking in the Anthropocene'.

2019

• Associate professors Sarina Pearson and Shuchi Kothari: 'Asian New Zealanders on Screen: visibility past and present'.
• Professor Susanna Trnka: 'Ka Hao te Rangatahi: Fishing with a New Net? Rethinking Responsibility for Youth Mental Health in the Digital Age'.

2017

• Associate Professor Alice Mills: '"Going Straight Home": a mixed-methods approach to explore the potential role of stable housing in turning ex-prisoners away from crime'.
• Dr Avril Bell: '"Learning the trick of standing upright here": exploring the views and experiences of non-Māori who work in Treaty partnership relations with Māori'.
• Associate Professor Ethan Cochrane: 'Uncovering the origins of the Polynesian chieftains: land agriculture in ancient Samoa'.

*QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025