Interview with Dr Madi Williams: Re-centring South Polynesian pūrākau (ancestral narratives)

Dr Madi Williams (Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō, Rangitāne o Wairau) is a lecturer at the University of Canterbury where she researches the boundaries of history and the inclusion of Indigenous and non-Western perspectives in Aotearoa New Zealand and South Pacific histories. Her 2021 book, Polynesia, 900-1600: An overview of the history …

Interview with Dr Madi Williams: Re-centring South Polynesian pūrākau (ancestral narratives) Read More »

Professor Warwick Anderson awarded the 2023 Bernal Prize

The Pacific Circle warmly congratulates its former President, Professor Warwick Anderson (University of Sydney) on the award of the 2023 Bernal Prize. The Society for Social Studies of Science annually awards the Bernal Prize to an individual who has made distinguished contributions to the field of STS. It is the Society’s lifetime achievement award. Past …

Professor Warwick Anderson awarded the 2023 Bernal Prize Read More »

Interview with Dr Sophie Chao: Time Has Come to a Stop – Temporalities of Loss and Resistance on the West Papuan Plantation Frontier

This past March, Dr Sophie Chao presented on how Indigenous Marind communities in West Papua sense and make sense of the temporal transformations wrought by the agroindustrial expansion of oil palm plantations. Drawing on one of the chapters of her recent monograph, Dr Chao argued that Marind’s explicit disavowal of hope in the face of …

Interview with Dr Sophie Chao: Time Has Come to a Stop – Temporalities of Loss and Resistance on the West Papuan Plantation Frontier Read More »

Interview with Dr Sebestian Kroupa: On Bezoars and Other Healing Stones in Manila – Making Knowledge Across Indo-Pacific Worlds, c.1700

For the Pacific Circle’s opening lecture of 2023 this past January, Dr Sebestian Kroupa presented his research on the Indo-Pacific networks that underpinned the global circulation of bezoars and other healing stones in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This paper forms part of his current book project, titled Plants on the Move: The Making of …

Interview with Dr Sebestian Kroupa: On Bezoars and Other Healing Stones in Manila – Making Knowledge Across Indo-Pacific Worlds, c.1700 Read More »

Pacific Circle Online Lecture, 30 March 2023: Sophie Chao on Temporalities of Loss and Resistance on the West Papuan Plantation Frontier

The Pacific Circle would like to invite you to its next Online Lecture, which will take place via Zoom on Wednesday 26 January 2023 at 7am London time. Please click here to view a flyer with all the information. Time Has Come to a Stop: Temporalities of Loss and Resistance on the West Papuan Plantation …

Pacific Circle Online Lecture, 30 March 2023: Sophie Chao on Temporalities of Loss and Resistance on the West Papuan Plantation Frontier Read More »

Pacific Circle Online Lecture, 26 January 2023: Sebestian Kroupa on Making Knowledge Across Indo-Pacific Worlds, c.1700

The Pacific Circle would like to invite you to its next Online Lecture, which will take place via Zoom on Wednesday 26 January 2023 at 7am London time. Please click here to view a flyer with all the information. On Bezoars and Other Healing Stones in Manila: Making Knowledge Across Indo-Pacific Worlds, c.1700 Sebestian Kroupa(University …

Pacific Circle Online Lecture, 26 January 2023: Sebestian Kroupa on Making Knowledge Across Indo-Pacific Worlds, c.1700 Read More »

Image from Ernest Protheroe, "Every Boy's Book of Railways and Steamships" (London, 1911).

Interview with Dr Frances Steel: ‘The Miracle of Ice from Heat’: Mechanical Cold in Pacific History

This past September, Dr Frances Steel presented on her new research project concerned with the history of refrigeration in the modern Pacific. Dr Steel’s lecture examined how the industrial innovation of chilling or freezing perishable produce transformed relationships between climates, foods, and peoples. The core of the talk focused on the marketing, appeal and reach …

Interview with Dr Frances Steel: ‘The Miracle of Ice from Heat’: Mechanical Cold in Pacific History Read More »

Interview with Dr Ricardo Roque: ‘Scientific Occupation’ and the Timor Anthropological Mission in the Late Portuguese Colonial Empire

This past May, Dr Ricardo Roque presented on his research project concerned with the Timor Anthropological Mission in the late Portuguese colonial empire. Dr Roque’s lecture revolved around the concept of “scientific occupation”, a prominent approach in Portuguese late imperial policy, and considered the histories of the anthropometric and racialized projects undertaken by Portuguese imperial …

Interview with Dr Ricardo Roque: ‘Scientific Occupation’ and the Timor Anthropological Mission in the Late Portuguese Colonial Empire Read More »

Bulletin #48 Now Available Online

Hello Circle Readers, Far too long in coming, we have posted Circle Bulletin #48 here (PDF). We apologize for the unprecedented delay and will take measures to avoid this in the future. As with all other past issues, you may find a permanent link under the ‘bulletin’ tab at the top of this page.