About the School of Humanities

We have the strongest concentration of award-winning humanities scholars in New Zealand, venturing beyond traditional boundaries to explore what makes us human.

Our school is renowned for its breadth of research interests, as we delve into the questions of who we are, where we came from, and how we think about and structure our societies.

Our location in Aotearoa New Zealand and the broader Pacific gives us a unique perspective in our contributions to world-wide scholarly dialogues. Our Māori and Pacific staff and students give us a particular distinctiveness in these contributions.

Our international colleagues have a genuine interest in what scholars in Aotearoa New Zealand have to say, as we approach a range of issues with a particular knowledge of our history and contemporary context.

We are the home to internationally-acclaimed scholars such as Distinguished Professor Brian Boyd, Distinguished Professor Stephen Davies and Professor Barry Reay, the Keith Sinclair Professor of History. We are also proud to be home to the New Zealand Poet Laureate, Associate Professor Selina Tusitala Marsh.

We offer opportunities for study and research in areas as diverse as New Zealand art, history and literature, the culture of classical antiquity and European philosophy.

Our school actively engages with other institutions both within New Zealand and overseas, hosting visiting scholars and encouraging student exchanges. We enjoy links to organisations such as the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice, the Michael King Writers' Centre and the British School at Rome.