Directions to enlarge our worlds? Social and cultural geography in New Zealand1

1 In this review, we refer to the nation by way of only its official name (New Zealand) rather than Aotearoa/New Zealand. The latter double naming of the country is used among some segments of the population and has been used by some geographers to reflect the politics and history of Maori and British colonial struggles and constructions of a the national state. However, for some Maori (especially Ngai Tahu tribal members), the term Aotearoa defines a distinct geographic area and not all of the country. Thus, in this paper the country is simply referred to by its common name, New Zealand, to acknowledge these different understandings of Aotearoa, and to record the ongoing ethnic dominance of Pakeha in many sectors of national identity.

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size

Notes

1 In this review, we refer to the nation by way of only its official name (New Zealand) rather than Aotearoa/New Zealand. The latter double naming of the country is used among some segments of the population and has been used by some geographers to reflect the politics and history of Maori and British colonial struggles and constructions of a the national state. However, for some Maori (especially Ngai Tahu tribal members), the term Aotearoa defines a distinct geographic area and not all of the country. Thus, in this paper the country is simply referred to by its common name, New Zealand, to acknowledge these different understandings of Aotearoa, and to record the ongoing ethnic dominance of Pakeha in many sectors of national identity.