From 2014 to 2020 I taught Global, South Asian and Migration History at the University of Otago. Please see detailed descriptions below of the undergraduate courses.
I also supervised several Honours students and one Masters thesis to completion.
While in the History Department I undertook various other teaching opportunities, including:
guest lectures for Asian Studies
an annual week-long ‘Hands-On History’ programme for secondary school students
a 6-week course on Migration to 3rd year Medicine students as part of the Humanities requirement for their degree
Undergraduate Courses
Global History: East meets West (100 level)
Years taught: 2016, 2018 ; student numbers: 100-120
Built around the long history of interactions between Asian and European cultures on the Silk Roads, this course examined the development of overland and maritime routes and their role in facilitating long-distance trade, the creation of empires, the transference of religious and technological innovation, and the spread of disease.
Moving Stories: Migration in 20th Century New Zealand (200-300 level)
Years taught: 2015, 2017; student numbers: 30-40
Taking a transnational approach to the peopling of New Zealand, this course explored non-British migrations from the late 19th century to the present. Built around analysis of migrant stories, the perspectives of those ‘coming in’ were foregrounded by beginning at their origin point before tracing narratives to their places of arrival. We looked at migrations from Europe, Asia and the Pacific, as well as considering child and refugee mobilities. Students had the opportunity in tutorial assessments to analyse their own family migration histories, and were encouraged to think broadly about migration studies as applicable to domestic mobilities too.
Modern India (300 level)
Years taught: 2014-2019; student numbers: 40-60
This course, which assumed no prior knowledge of Indian history, examined the transformation of life in South Asia from the eighteenth century through to the dawn of the twenty-first. Although a central theme was political change (especially under the Mughals, the British Raj, Indian nationalisms and post-colonial developments), we devoted considerable effort to exploring key aspects of South Asian culture, using a range of primary sources, non-fiction works and films to address central issues such as gender and the family; religion and identity; inequality and violence; and cinema and popular history.
Topics in Intellectual History: Colonial India (400 level)
Years taught: 2015-2017; student numbers: 8-12
This course examined the history of ideas pertaining to South Asian society under British rule. We began by establishing a foundation in the politics of colonial India, and then applied scholarly debates to a range of topics relating to society (race, religion, caste) and material culture (tea industry, railways, clothing and photography). In doing so, we brought intellectual debates – which are often preoccupied with elites in South Asian studies – to bear on social and cultural developments that have a direct relevance to South Asian peoples in the past and in the present.
Photograph: University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:University_of_Otago_in_Dunedin,_NZ.jpg
