Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
A Kiwi sent me this just-posted “Shape of Dialogue” video, which, although quite long for me (2 hours!), has an explanation of mātauranga Māori (MM) by a part-Māori scholar and musician, Charles Royal. Royal’s webpage shows that he’s not only an expert in “indigenous knowledge”, but also “Advise[s] and Lead[s] Projects and People, particularly to … Continue reading A Māori scholar/musician explains mātauranga Māori
Let’s go back for a tick to the fracas in New Zealand over the government’s plan to teach Mātauranga Māori (henceforth MM) or Māori “ways of knowing”, as co-equivalent to modern science in public school science classes. Universities are following the schools’ lead, and touting MM as an almost untouchable but diverse collection of practical knowledge, myth, theology, … Continue reading Another weak defense of Mātauranga Māori
Karen Finn, labeled below as a “PhD. candidate, University of Auckland,” is also identified in this short article as “a geography teacher and a teacher editor” who’s “researching decolonizing school geography in Aotearoa New Zealand for a Ph.D. in Education.” The short piece appears on Ipū Kirerū, the blog of the New Zealand Association for … Continue reading A New Zealand geography teacher calls for giving Mātauranga Māori “equal status” in the classroom
As I’ve written many times, Mātauranga Māori (MM)—considered the “way of knowing” of the indigenous Māori, who arrived in what is now New Zealand from Polynesia in the 13th century—has been the subject of some kerfuffle in NZ. That’s because there’s a movement, promoted not just by the Māori but by many white “allies”, to … Continue reading Is Mātauranga Māori really a “way of knowing”?
I won’t explain in detail the “way of knowing” of the indigenous Māori people of New Zealand, the “traditional knowledge” of Mātauranga Māori (henceforth MM), as it’s defined in Wikipedia. You can read all my posts about MM and its issues here (including one post yesterday). Suffice it to say two things. MM is a … Continue reading A sensible way to reconcile Mātauranga Māori and science
Below is the entirety of an article from the New Zealand Herald, and is relevant to our continuing discussion of Mātauranga Māori (MM), the Māori “way of knowing,” a mixture of practical knowledge (often acquired by trial and error), legend, word of mouth, ideology, theology, morality, and spiritualism. My beef is the continuing demand that … Continue reading Advocates of Mātauranga Māori request over $100 million dollars, part of which may be for woo
Suddenly I am inundated with emails from disaffected Kiwis who take issue with the New Zealand government’s and academia’s new push to teach mātauranga Māori , or Māori “ways of knowing” as coequal with real science in high-school and university science classes. Many of these people are worried that the country is being swept with … Continue reading More news from New Zealand about the big science vs. indigenous “knowledge” ruckus
Unless you’re a first-time reader here, you’ll know about the fracas involving indigenous ways of knowing in New Zealand, Mātauranga Māori (“MM”), which the government says is to be taught in science classes as coequal with modern science. MM is also likely to receive money commensurate with government grants given to modern science. The problem … Continue reading An avocate of Mātauranga Māori claims that it should get precedence over modern science because indigenous knowledge came first
I’ve been describing the big kerfuffle in New Zealand (well, it’s not a huge kerfuffle as the Kiwi public seems to know little about it) involving whether mātauranga Māori, (henceforth MM), which loosely translates to “Māori ways of knowing,”. should be taught as science alongside modern science in both secondary-school; and college science classes. In … Continue reading What are Maori “ways of knowing”, and should they be taught in science class as coequal to modern science?
Just a short note about what’s going on with the Royal Society of New Zealand’s Inquisition. As you may recall seven professors at the University of Auckland wrote a letter to a magazine called The Listener objecting to the government’s and universities’ plans to teach mātauranga Māori , or “Maori ways of knowing” as coequal to science … Continue reading The Royal Society of New Zealand takes down its statement damning the Satanic Seven
