Rawinia Higgins | |
---|---|
![]() Higgins in 2020 | |
Awards | Pou Aronui award (2020) FRSNZ (2021) |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | University of Otago |
Thesis | He tanga ngutu, he Tuhoetanga te Mana Motuhake o te ta moko wahine (2004) |
Doctoral advisor | Michael Reilly |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Victoria University of Wellington |
Doctoral students | Elizabeth Kerekere [1] |
Rawinia Ruth Higgins is a New Zealand academic whose research focuses on Māori language and culture. [2]
Higgins' Master's thesis at the University of Otago was on the nature of transmission of oral histories, [3] while her 2004 PhD thesis – He tanga ngutu, he Tuhoetanga te Mana Motuhake o te ta moko wahine needs translation – was on the identity politics of female chin tattoos. [4] [5] She was the Head of School at Te Kawa a Māui, School of Maori Studies at Victoria University and was appointed Deputy Vice Chancellor Māori at Victoria University of Wellington in 2016. [6] [7]
Higgins has written Māori material for Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. [8] She has been a member of the Waitangi Tribunal [9] since 2013, [10] and is on the board of Te Māngai Pāho, the Māori Broadcast Funding Agency. [11] She is currently Chair of the Māori Language Commission. [12] Higgins has also served on the following boards, Te Kotahi a Tūhoe and the Tūhoe Fisheries Charitable Trust Board. [6] Higgins provided the translation for the Māori name of the New Zealand Veterinary Association – Te Pae Kīrehe – which the organization adopted on 29 May 2023. [13]
In November 2020, the Royal Society Te Apārangi awarded Higgins the Pou Aronui award for dedicated service to the humanities–aronui over a sustained period. [14] In March 2021, Higgins was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi, recognising "her scholarly contributions have made a significant impact in sharing new discourse, insights and understanding of mātauranga Māori and challenging cultural norms". [15]
Higgins is of Tūhoe descent. [5]: viii–ix
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