Māori culture at the digital interface : a study of the articulation of culture in the online environment : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Visual and Material Culture at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
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Date
2014
DOI
Open Access Location
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Massey University
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Abstract
Once
lit,
the
digital
ahikā
have
burnt
brightly
for
Māori.
With
the
increasingly
multimodal
internet
arguably
becomes
the
first
port
of
call
for
students,
academics,
and
the
general
public
alike.
How
Māori
culture
is
articulated
has
never
had
to
be
considered
in
the
face
of
such
a
potential
global
audience.
This
thesis
examines
Māoridom
in
the
digital
space,
its
central
question
is:
How
is
the
online
environment
being
used
to
articulate
Māori
culture?
Examining
three
contemporary
case
studies
of
Māori
online
presence
on
websites
that
are
either
created
and
run
by
Māori
or
had
significant
Māori
input
and/or
content,
this
thesis
questions
whether
the
case
studies
dispositions
toward
the
online
environment
manifest
themselves
within
the
digital
space.
And
whether
this
effects
their
articulation
of
Māori
culture
through
that
medium.
With
particular
attention
given
to
the
specificities
of
the
digital
environ,
as
to
how
it
alters
or
determines
the
effectiveness
of
this
articulation,
this
study
highlights
specific
Maori
practices
and
how
utilising
the
digital
space
in
accordance
with
its
own
unique
attributes
is
producing
certain
representations
of
Māori
culture.
Moreover,
taonga
as
uniquely
active
agents
in
Māori
conceptuality
and
a
common
thread
that
runs
across
the
sites
examined,
receive
special
focus
with
respect
to
their
digital
embodiments.
Incorporating
a
comparative
approach,
attempts
are
made
to
explicate
the
intricacies
of
particular
examples.
This
research
contends
that
embracing
the
specificity
of
the
digital
space
enables
those
within
it
to
produce
a
more
effectual
articulation
of
Māori
cultural
identity.
More
so,
a
failure
to
do
so
produces
a
questionable
representation
of
Māori
culture.
The
results
reveal
an
increasingly
dynamic
utilisation
of
digital
media
within
Māori
culture.
But
perhaps
most
importantly
it
is
a
timely
reminder
that
in
the
rush
to
digitise
and
open
museum
collections
to
an
increasingly
skilful
and
astute
online
audience,
the
cultural
sector
of
Aotearoa
New
Zealand
needs
not
to
forgo
their
intention
of
being
forums
of
change
and
substitute
quality
for
quantity.
Description
Keywords
Māori culture, Digital media, Māori cultural identity, Cultural identity online, Taonga