Bob Edlin: Understanding Romans through a Maori lens

The smart way of learning about the Romans is to come to NZ and apply a Maori lens to your studies

The University of Canterbury had us checking to see if we had correctly read a media statement headline. It said:

Understanding Roman society through Māori values.

The first sentence of the statement raises a teasing question:

Bicultural competency in education is fundamental, but what does that look like when you teach a subject focused on a society nearly 3000 years old?

We are being told that bicultural competency in education is fundamental, not monocultural competency or multicultural competency. Is this an incontestable truth with a universal application?

But let’s skip that not insignificant issue and find out what’s going on at the University of Canterbury.

We learn that:

UC 2024 Teaching Medallist Associate Professor Alison Griffith has enjoyed an extensive career in Classics education. Currently an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Arts at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha University of Canterbury (UC), she has held various leadership roles at UC over the years.

Born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the United States, Associate Professor Griffith says framing her concepts through local, Aotearoa perspectives is integral to learning.

This establishes that Griffith is American-born but now she is doing her academic thing at the University of Canterbury. We wonder if she will be inclined to hasten back to her homeland, after the recent presidential election.

Her current work explores religion, family and power dynamics in ancient Rome, as well as work looking specifically at myths and legends where violence against women is part of the story.

She has been awarded the UC Teaching Medal award. The criteria for this emphasise a nominee’s long-term excellence “in teaching, substantial contributions to colleagues and community development, leadership in teaching across multiple disciplines or regions, culturally responsive practises aligned with Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and significant support for UC’s strategic goals in accessible, flexible education”.

How can a study of religion, family and power dynamics in ancient Rome be aligned with “culturally responsive practises aligned with Te Tiriti o Waitangi”.

The press statement gives the answer: Griffith has dipped into her academic toolbag and brought out a Maori lens:

“Understanding Romans through a Māori lens makes it much easier to grasp Roman politics. Concepts like mana and tangata whenua bring new depth to historical analysis,” she says.

It is astonishing that this this has not been widely publicised, not just in this country but around the world. Forget about having to get to grips with dusty old stuff like Latin; much better, by the looks of it, to study te reo.

And if the application of a Maori lens makes it easier to grasp Roman politics, it should make it easier – surely – to grasp other society’s politics.

It may well help us grasp what has happened in the United States, where Donald Trump has been elected President for the second time.

Certainly it paves the way for a raft of new courses at the University of Canterbury – and other universities – as a Maori lens is applied to studying whatever comes to mind among those who decide what will be taught by whom.

Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE.