Dr. Kirsty Dunn

My main research interests lie within the field of Māori and Indigenous literatures; my PhD thesis completed in 2022 is a study and celebration of Māori writing in English wherein I use various invocations of whakapapa and draw upon pūrākau to read a range of contemporary texts featuring representations of the more-than-human. Inspired by Indigenous literary scholars and decolonizing research methodologies, I situate these texts in an expansive whakapapa of creative production; I therefore have related research interests in Māori and Indigenous art, art history and curation, taonga tuku iho and museum studies, Critical Indigenous Studies, Indigenous ecopoetics, and Māori and Indigenous research methodologies more generally.  

My current research, funded by a Marsden fast-start grant awarded in 2023, is based upon our taniwha relatives.  As part of this kaupapa, myself and co-researcher Dr Madi Williams along with Pouarataki Curator Māori Chloe Cull curated "Whāia Te Taniwha" - an art exhibition at Te Puna o Waiwhetū Christchurch Art Gallery (Sept 2025-Feb 2026).  We are currently working on an illustrated book based on this research.

I also have an interest in Critical Animal Studies and multispecies justice; my MA thesis involved a study of contemporary fictional representations of meat production and consumption in the West.   This work prompted research into Māori and Indigenous food sovereignty, mahi māra (gardening), and Indigenous plant-based food ethics.  I am a member of the NZ Centre for Human Animal Studies (NZCHAS) based at UC.