Department of History, The University of Auckland

Kia ora koutou,

Before we enter exam season, we just wanted to let prospective students know about our Semester 2, 2026 undergraduate History courses. See the attached poster for a single list of courses taught by History staff (and which all may be counted towards the History major).

We're including the poster for a exciting reboot of one of our Aotearoa NZ Stage 2/3 courses as well!

We hope this gives students better visibility for their course choices and we look forward to seeing many of you next Semester! Good luck on your assignments and exams!

Semester 2, 2026 History offerings:

HISTORY 104 Pacific History: An Introduction
HISTORY 107 Titiro Whakamuri: Histories of Aotearoa
HISTORY 239/339 Medieval Cultures
HISTORY 250/350 Global Cold War
HISTORY 252/352 New Zealand Cultural History
HISTORY 300 Thinking History
ANCIENT 214/314 Ancient Barbarians and Others

Kia ora koutou,

For our final History Seminar of the semester, we welcome back an Auckland alumna, Dr Emma Wordsworth. Join us on 4 June to hear Emma speak on "The Moral Politics of ‘Natural’ Disasters: Colonial Double Standards in British Framings of Famine Causation in India, China, and Asia Minor, 1873-1879".

Thursday 4 June 4-5 pm
Humanities Tea Room (206-523)
All welcome!

Abstract: Conceptualisations of a problem’s causes fundamentally shape how people respond to said problem. This paper examines how British elites’ framings of famine causation in Bengal (1873–1874), Asia Minor (1873–1875), Madras (1876–1878), and North China (1876–1879), respectively, differed and why they did so. Despite each famine having broadly similar structural causes, these Britons characterised Indian famines as so-called ‘natural disasters’ whilst interpreting the Ottoman and Chinese famines as symptoms of governmental failure. This paper explores why British elites invoked the specific frames of ‘natural disaster’ and ‘governmental failure’ to explain famine causation in British colonial territories and extraimperial areas of interest, respectively. By extension, I consider how these Britons used each framing to justify and mobilise specific forms of British intervention in different geopolitical contexts.

About our speaker: Dr Emma Wordsworth attained a PhD in History from the University of Cambridge in 2026 and is currently working as a historical researcher at Te Tari Whakatau. Emma is an alumnus of Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland, having completed BA, BA (Hons), and Master’s degrees in History between 2016 and 2021.

Kia ora koutou,

A reminder that with this week's History Seminar on Thursday 21 May, we will be hosting a colleague from Northeastern University (Boston, MA, USA) who is presently Visiting Faculty, Te Wāhanga Ture o Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland Law School. Please join us to welcome Professor Kara W. Swanson (Professor of Law/Affiliate Professor of History, Northeastern University), who will be speaking on "Invention of a Slave: Race, Patents, and Memory in the United States, 1858-2026".

Thursday 21 May, 4-5 pm
Humanities Tea Room (206-523)
All welcome!

Abstract: In 1858, the US Attorney General declared that inventions by slaves were not patentable. Within a few years, legal changes rendered the opinion obsolete and, to legal scholars, “forgotten.” I argue, however, that it was continuously remembered by Black Americans as part of civil rights campaigns in the post-Emancipation United States. This remembering teaches us the surprising and unique role the patent system has played in those campaigns. It also teaches us the costs of law’s selective memory. I argue that understanding this story as part of the living present of race and law has implications for the patent system and our ongoing national conversation about paths to citizenship.

About our speaker: Kara W. Swanson, JD, PhD, is Professor of Law /Affiliate Professor of History at Northeastern University, Boston, MA. Her scholarship examines historical intersections among law, science, medicine, and technology. Her first book, _Banking on the Body: The Market in Blood, Milk and S***m in Modern America_ (2014), is a medicolegal history of human body property. Her book-in-progress is _Inventing Citizens: A Surprising History of US Inventors, Patents, and Civil Rights_.

Kia ora koutou,

Please join us for this week's History Seminar on Thursday 7 May, when we will be hosting our very own Dr Alexandra Forsyth March. Alex completed her PhD earlier this year and her presentation this week is entitled, ' "Strengthen against fluxions of the blood": Lapidary Medicine in the Portraits of the Valois Dauphines'. All welcome!

Thursday 7 May, 4-5 pm
Humanities Tea Room (206-523)

Abstract: In Jean Hey’s c.1490 portrait of Marguerite of Austria, the young princess is adorned with a dazzling pelican pendant set with a pearl and ruby, projecting her majesty and beauty. Yet the wearing of healing stones in the form of jewellery also allowed an individual to display concern for their health and wellbeing. In this case, Marguerite materialised her commitment to ensuring her health and future reproductive capacity. Drawing on medical texts, portraits, and inventories, this paper examines the significance of pearl and ruby jewellery in the iconography of Valois dauphines and young queens. By applying the lens of lapidary medicine to royal portraits, this paper offers fresh insight into how dauphines and young queens sought to ensure the future arrival of an heir to the Valois dynasty, thus securing their position at court.

About our speaker: Dr. Alexandra Forsyth has recently completed her PhD in History at Waipapa Taumata Rau, titled “Age Fertility, and Childlessness of the Valois Dauphines, 1350-1559.” She is a research assistant in the School of Humanities and has a forthcoming chapter on late medieval botanical-based fertility remedies.

Kia ora koutou,

As we prepare to return to classes from the mid-semester period, a quick reminder that we are delighted to announce not one but two talks of interest to our History community!

First, on Tuesday 21 April, the Classics and Ancient History Seminar series features our very own A/P Lisa Bailey, who will present on "The fame and fortune of Balthild, slave-queen". Lisa's talk will be at 4pm on Tuesday 21 April, with reception to follow. You may also join this talk via Zoom [https://auckland.zoom.us/j/91846902743]

Second, on Thursday 23 April the History Seminar Series is delighted to host Dr. Nick Thompson (THEOREL) and Jo Birks (He Māra Mahara | Cultural Collections) speak about "The Medieval Manuscript, the Incunable and the Graduate: Stories of a Book". All Welcome! 4-5pm Thursday 23 April in the Humanities Tea Room (206-523). This talk is in-person only (no Zoom, sorry!)

For more information (including abstracts and speaker bios) please view the attached posters!