Arts & Culture
Spotify killed the CD star: How has streaming impacted the music industry?
Sam Smith explores how the growth in music streaming has impacted the music industry.
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Remapping the order of knowing: The idea of ‘Latin America’ revisited ▶
Is ‘Latin America’ part of ‘the West’? Why ask this question and what do these terms mean for understanding the world today? In this lecture, Professor Walter Mignolo will ask what role the Americas played in forming the colonial matrix of power, introduced by Spain and Portugal in the 16th century.
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The gospel of kindness: Animal welfare and the making of modern America ▶
Janet Davis talks about the historical and political significance of animal welfare advocacy and the profound challenges of global animal protection.
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Memes, manifestos, murder: fascist radicalisation online, and how we can stop it ▶
In a talk given at the University of Auckland, Emmi Bevensee talks about her doctoral research into fascist radicalisation online.
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Taking issue: is social media good or bad for democracy?
We asked three academics to address the question of whether social media is democratising or eroding democracy.
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Black Lives Matter, Otherwise all lives do not matter ▶
In a lecture given at the University of Auckland, Professor Onwubiko Agozino attempts to demonstrates the theory that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. By treating Black Lives as if they do not Matter, the lives of human beings everywhere are threatened and so all should rally in support of Black Lives in the interest of humanity.
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Q+A: Believing the ‘unbelievable’: What are conspiracy theories? How do they flourish?
Post-truth. Alternative facts. Fake news. We are living in a world where conspiracy theories are allowed to flourish. With every mass shooting, terrorist attack, and new political policy announcement it seems like a new conspiracy theory will be dreamt up somewhere both on and offline to explain the reasoning behind an event. But what exactly is a conspiracy theory, why do they flourish, and how dangerous are they?
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The meme politics of white supremacy: how does fascist radicalisation happen on the internet?
The devastating anti-Muslim attacks carried out in Christchurch in March this year were part of a trend of disaffected white men, radicalised into fascist politics through social media meme culture according to Emmi Bevensee.
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Q+A: Why is the United States so polarised?
What are the fault lines that have fractured politics in America? Julian Zelizer has analysed the historical roots of the present-day political turmoil, divisions, and partisanship in the US for his new book Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974.
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What is the ‘Alt-Right’?
After the horrendous attacks in Christchurch, many people understandably have questions about the motives and ideology of the alleged attacker. Damon Berry analyses the role the alt-right might have played in the attacks.
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Q+A: How are political ideologies labelled?
The political spectrum is often a model that puts political ideologies on a scale of left to right – hence why we hear the term ‘left-wing’ and ‘right-wing’. The terms date back to 1789 and the French Revolution, when radicals sat on the left side of the National Assembly, the aristocracy on the right. But how are political ideologies labelled and how are political spectrums formed?
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Where is the music industry’s #MeToo movement?
Sam Smith explores why a #MeToo type movement has not taken off in the music industry to the extent it has in the film industry.
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Q+A: How influential is the presidency of the United States?
How much does the U.S. presidency matter for the direction of the United States, and for the rest of the world? Maria Armoudian speaks with William F. Grover and Joseph G. Peschek about the power of the U.S. presidency and what they term the “unsustainable presidency.”
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How does culture affect mental health? 🔊
How does culture shape our understanding and treatment of mental illness? Maria Armoudian speaks with Roberto Lewis-Fernandez, Tanya Marie Luhrmann, and Andrew G. Ryder about culture and its impact on mental health.
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How does the media weaponise far-right conspiracy theories?
Heather Woods and Leslie Hahner discuss how mainstream media helps to weaponize far-right conspiracy theories.
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Should looted artefacts be returned to the cultures that made them?
Returning looted artefacts will finally restore heritage to the brilliant cultures that made them according to Mark Horton.
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Broken survivors: With them through hell
The thousands of New Zealand men who fought in the First World War went through hell. And right beside them was another fighting force. Anna Rogers explores the story of New Zealand’s medical services in WWI.
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Q+A: Artists, Israel, and BDS: To play or not to play?
Sam Smith spoke with Mark LeVine about the impact of the BDS movement and the ongoing issue facing musicians on whether or not they should perform in Israel.
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Was the slave trade ever really abolished?
Slavery was never abolished – it affects millions, and you may be funding it as Catherine Armstrong explains.
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125 years of women’s suffrage: A small country leading the world?
Raewyn Dalziel, Emeritus Professor of History, celebrates a moment when New Zealand was at the forefront of world-leading reform.
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