One Ocean, Many Currents: Three Perspectives on Pacific Research Methodologies

In “Lo(o)sing the Edge”, the late Teresia Teaiwa (I-Kiribati) quoted Vince Diaz’s description of a “motley group” of Pacific Islanders at UC Santa Cruz as “[having] caught different waves, all of us, only to find ourselves, beached, temporarily, out here” (Teaiwa et al., 2021, p. 60). In this interdisciplinary panel at Green College, speakers explore the stories of three Pacific Islanders who found themselves similarly “beached” at UBC. This open-ended conversation will explore the panelists’ journey to UBC and how they carved out a space for themselves during three different decades of the University’s history, and their experiences of drawing on Pacific Research Methodologies (PRM) in their work and teaching.

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Airini completed her PhD at UBC in Curriculum and Instruction and has, since then, accumulated more than 20 years of experience in senior academic administration including as Dean of the Faculty of Education and Social Work at Thompson Rivers University, and currently as the Provost and Vice-President Academic at the University of Saskatchewan. She also services as Vice-Principal of Green College. Her leadership at the international level has focused on equity in higher education, Indigenous advancement, and translating research and policy into improved education outcomes. Airini currently advises the UN Food and Agriculture organization and her research and development initiatives have helped shaped education systems to close gaps in education success and have attracted $22.6 million dollars in funding since 2002.

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Sereana Naepi (Nakida/Naitasiri, Fiji, Palagi) completed her PhD at UBC in Educational Studies and conducts research into equity in higher education both nationally and internationally. As an emerging Pasifika researcher, she was the associate director of All My Relations, an Indigenous research centre at Thompson Rivers University (Canada) and co-founded the Indigenous research development program Knowledge Makers in Canada. She is a senior-lecturer at the University of Auckland, a councillor on the Royal Society Te Apārangi and board member on Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment’s Science Board. As a Rutherford Discovery Fellow she explores how neoliberalism and equity intersect in higher education. She has successfully applied for international and national research grants and has published in the fields of higher education and Pacific research methodologies (Masi Methodology).

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Alice Te Punga Somerville (Māori – Te Āti Awa, Taranaki) is a scholar, poet and irredentist with twin interest and expertise in Indigenous studies and Pacific studies. Her current book project ‘Writing the New World’ and podcast, focuses on published writing by Indigenous people from New Zealand, Australia, Hawai’i and Fiji between 1900-1975. She is the author of Once Were Pacific: Maori Connections to Oceania which won Best First Book 2012 from Native American & Indigenous Studies Association, and 250 Ways to Write an Essay About Captain Cook (2020). Her recent collection of poetry is called Always Italicise: How to Write While Colonised (2022). Alice has previously taught in Australia, Hawai’i and elsewhere in New Zealand.

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Rodney Stehr (Fijian – Kai Dewala/white), a former resident of Green College presently co-directs the Patchworks podcast through the College and recently graduated from the Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Program with a Master of Science from UBC. His thesis research focused on the mental health experiences of queer youth navigating the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in Vancouver, Canada. He has previously worked with queer youth in drop-in settings, helped set-up and coordinate programs across Metro Vancouver and has served on a variety of youth-led boards.