Scholars' Library: Damon Salesa on 'An Indigenous Ocean: Pacific Essays'

9 August 2024 - 07:00-08:00 NZT / 20:00-21:00 BST

This event is free and open to the public.

In our August event, in conversation with Nayana Niji (Lifelong Programmes Officer, Rhodes Trust), Professor Damon Salesa (New Zealand & Oriel 1997) will discuss his book 'An Indigenous Ocean: Pacific Essays'

Read more about the book.

Damon Salesa is the Vice-Chancellor of the Auckland University of Technology. He is an interdisciplinary scholar who works on Oceania, especially history, politics and culture.

Damon is a prizewinning author who specializes in the interdisciplinary study of the Pacific, and has published on race, politics, history and society. Alongside a disciplinary background in history, and a career in the interdisciplinary formations such as Pacific Studies, his work draws insight from indigenous Pacific, particularly Samoan, culture and practice. He is also actively engaged with critical work in education, innovation and pedagogy, and is a publicly engaged scholar around questions of inequality, politics and education.

Damon has worked, studied and collaborated in New Zealand, across the Pacific, in Australia, the USA and the UK. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, has received major funding awards (such as a Marsden) and remains active in some professional engagements, including service as a Kaitiaki of the Alexander Turnbull Library and on the editorial board of the Journal of Pacific History.

Nayana Niji joined the Rhodes Trust in 2023 and currently works as the Lifelong Programmes Officer. Prior to the Trust, Nayana worked in research and development aimed at minority communities in South Asia. She holds a BA in History and International Relations from Ashoka University, India and an MSc in Modern South Asian Studies from the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies, University of Oxford.

Q & A:

Please feel free to submit any questions in advance to alumni@rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk or you can use the Q&A function within Zoom to ask questions directly during the live event.

There is no cost to attend this event, and we hope that all will join us! If you would like to support The Rhodes Trust, please consider giving time through volunteering, or giving a gift to the Scholars Fund. If you are interested in our volunteering opportunities, they can be found on our website.

ALT TEXT: A light blue background within which says 'Scholars' Library series' in a bolder, darker blue. There is the Rhodes 'R' and inside of that there is a shelf of books of various colours. 

Part of the Lifelong Fellowship portfolio, The Scholars’ Library is a monthly book talk series, where Rhodes alumni can come together to present, discover and debate their literary works. If you’re interested in getting involved, please reach out to Georgie Thurston at alumni@rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk