Next Week In Focus

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Fortnightly newsletter for University staff | 28 March 2016

Diary Monday 28 March Easter Monday

Tuesday 29 March University holiday

Wednesday 30 March Faculty of Arts seminar Associate Professor Jonathan Markley, California State University Fullerton: Hollywood history: Learning the ropes of being a TV historian. 11am-12noon, Room 340, Level 3, 1-11 Short Street.Jonathan Markley is a graduate in Classics and Ancient History from the University of Auckland, and a leading international proponent of ‘Big History’. His proximity to Hollywood, his strange New Zealand accent, and his excellence as a historian have also led him to becoming a ‘talking head’ on the History Channel, appearing in nearly 20 different episodes to date. In 2016 this involvement with Hollywood has stepped up a notch, and he will soon appear as host and narrator for a new documentary series. In this seminar he shares his experiences and the insights he has gained into how history documentaries are made. Fermata lectureDrake Medal Presentation. Ivan Mouraviev: The Synchretic Network: Exploring Relationships between Music, Narrative and Emotion in the Video Game Journey. 5.30pm, Music Theatre, School of Music, 6 Symonds St, Auckland Central. Journey is a PlayStation 3 video game with a minimalist approach to narrative and gameplay that subverts many video game conventions. Music, emotion and interactivity become central to players’ experiences of the game, as they are tasked with controlling the game’s sole protagonist from a third-person view to overcome simple challenges. Primarily through theory set out by Michel Chion, Jochen Kleres, and Jean-Jacques Nattiez, this study argues that the alignment of sounds

and images in Journey necessarily involves an attachment of emotional meaning to the game’s soundtrack, composed by Austin Wintory. The inherent narrativity of emotions therefore allows Wintory’s score to take on narrative qualities through what can be called a synchresis of narrative affect. In other words, this study proposes that in the abstract gameworld of Journey - lacking dialogue, language and other characters - as players interact with and become emotionally involved with the soundtrack, the music also begins to take on important narrative functions.

Fast Forward lecture Julie Stout, Mitchell Stout Architects: Victories and the Vanquished. 6.30pm Library B10. Julie Stout is an architect and adjunctprofessor and co-founder of Mitchell Stout Architects (1989) which has undertaken a broad range of wellknown and award-winning projects including many houses and educational buildings, the NEW and Lopdell House galleries, the New Zealand entry to theXIV Biennale di Venezia, and large scaleurban planning in New Zealand and China. Stout has particular interest incommunity buildings and public sdvocacy. She was chair of the NZIA Auckland Urban Issues Group [2002-04], appointed to the Auckland Mayor’sUrban Task Force on Urban Planning[2005], awarded the President’s Award for Services to the NZIA [2005], and the Chrystall Excellence Award for her influence on architecture [2014]. Stout leads Urban Auckland, a pressure group with a record of significant planning influence which, last year, successfully took the High Court action against the Council for granting consent for thelatest Ports of Auckland expansion into the Waitemata Harbour. Stout will look at the battles and skirmishes that Auckland architectshave waged over the years in trying tomake Auckland a better city. Queries to creative@auckland.ac.nz

Thursday 31 March English, Drama and Writing Studies seminarPeter Swaab, University College London: Elizabeth Bishop and the art of exclamation. 3pm, Pat Hanan Room 501, Arts 2.

In 1977 Ploughshares published an interview between George Starbuck and Elizabeth Bishop. It ended like this: GS: Would you like to say something mysterious? EB: ! This talk explores Bishop’s creative ways with exclamation. Peter Swaab is a Professor of English at University College London. His main field is the Romantic period and he has published the first editions of Sara Coleridge’s poetry and critical prose. He has written a BFI Film Classics book on Bringing Up Baby (2010) and several pieces on Edward Lear. He is currently working on a book about Sylvia Townsend Warner. Hood Lecture in Anthropology Professor Geoff Bailey, University of York: Dynamic landscapes, sea-level change and human evolution. 4-6pm, Fale Pasifika, 26 Wynyard Street. Human life on this planet has evolved amidst a tumult of more or less rapid geological changes – earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, sea-level changes, and earth deformation at plate boundaries and in rifts, changes that continue to affect our present livelihood and our future prospects. In this lecture, I will illustrate the intimate relationship between geological instabilities and the human evolutionary trajectory, the powerful and often beneficial impact they have had in shaping our evolutionary origins and subsequent dispersal across the globe, and the challenges they now pose for new investigations of the archaeological record on land and under water.

Friday 1 April Lunchtime Concert Series1-2pm, Music Theatre, School of Music, 6 Symonds Street, Auckland. A public concert series showcasing talented School of Music students in both individual and ensemble settings. Free. Queries to creative@auckland.ac.nz School of Social Sciences seminar Tom Robinson, Auckland and Waitemata DHBs: Evaluating the outcomes of health services when you can’t do an experiment - how about a quasi-experiment? 3-4pm, Room 104, Fale

The University of Auckland | 2

Pasifika Complex (273-104) Queries to b.milne@auckland.ac.nz Composition Workshop Dr Rebecca Turner: Extended cello technique. 4pm, Music Theatre, School of Music, 6 Symonds Street, Auckland Central.

Saturday 2 April University Metrogaine Event 10am-1pm. John Hood Plaza, Owen G Glenn Building courtyard, 12 Grafton Road. University Metrogaine was created to link the three University campuses – City, Grafton and Newmarket. Metrogaining is a sport of urban cross-country navigation, involving both route planning and navigating between check points. Teams of 4 will be given a map and challenged to get around as many checkpoints as they can within their given time limits. Features of this event are teamwork, endurance, competition and appreciation for the University environment.The event is open to both students and staff with 90 minute and 3 hour options available.Visit http://www.universitysport.auckland.ac.nz/en/metrogaine.html

Sunday 3 April Kevin Field DMA Recital 7.30-9.30pm, Studio One, Kenneth Myers Centre, 74 Shortland Street, Auckland Central. Hosted by the School of Music. Pianist and composer Kevin Field has collaborated with some of the top international names in jazz including guitarist Nir Felder, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Obed Calvaire, who all feature on his New York album The A List (Warner Music). He has performed in the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand and features on over 30 albums by artists including Nathan Haines, Whirimako Black, Caitlin Smith and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Kevin has also released several of his own albums including the celebrated Field of Vision, also on the Warner Music label. Kevin is a member of the jazz ensemble Dr Dog, winners of Best Jazz Album at the 2015 NZ Music Awards, and is currently a Senior Lecturer in Jazz Studies at the University of Auckland. Free admission. Queries to creative@auckland.ac.nz

Monday 4 April Sustainability Week 10am-8pm, Owen G Glenn Building, 12 Grafton Road. Runs until 8 April. Staff, students, alumni, friends and the wider business community are invited to attend a fascinating, informative and inspiring week of events related to business sustainability, coinciding with the University-wide Eco-Fest. Each day is dedicated to a current sustainability issue facing our business community.

Topics to be discussed: Sustainability of our Food System; Business, Finance and Investment; Social Sustainability and Diversity; Environmental Footprint, Transport and Waste; Energy and Climate Change. High-profile business sustainability leaders will present and participate in panel discussions throughout the week, including: Phillip Mills, CEO of Les Mills International and founder of Pure Advantage; Captain David Morgan, Air New Zealand chief flight operations and safety officer; Chris Morrison, Co-founder of All-Good Organics and Karma Cola; Malcolm Rands, CEO and co-founder of Ecostore. Find out more at http://www.business.auckland.ac.nz/en/for/alumni-and-friends/seminars-and-events-10/sustainablity-week.html

Tuesday 5 April Architecture and Planning Expert Series 2016 12noon, Exhibition Studio, Level 3, School of Architecture and Planning, 26 Symonds St, Auckland Central. 1) Matt Liggins: School of Architecture and Planning and Matt Liggins Studio: The way I approach designing houses.

2) Bill McKay: School of Architecture and Planning: New Zealand state housing: From modest to modern.Hosted by the School of Architecture and Planning. Free. Queries to creative@auckland.ac.nz Development Studies, Politics and International Relations seminar Agus Wandi, UN Global Mediation Team and Adviser to UNDP in Solomon Islands: Future challenges of nation building: Reflections from Solomon Islands, Syria and Afghanistan. 2.30-3.30pm, Anthropology Tea Room 804, HSB (201E-804) Reviving fragile states that are on the brink of collapse is a difficult task, even for a determined international community. Complexity of local context, a lack of understanding of ‘local communities’, historical baggage, and a security-dominated approach add to these challenges. In carrying out state-building efforts, it remains true that ‘good intentions are wasted without positive effects.’ What is the alternative to current approaches to nation building? Can any external interventions work? How do local populations make sense of these interventions? This talk is from the perspective of a practitioner who has traveled and worked extensively in various fragile contexts including Solomon Islands, Syria, Afghanistan and Indonesia. Agus Wandi is a former fellow of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University and has worked with

various international organizations and civil society groups in the last 15 years.

Wednesday 6 April Four Futures Runs until 16 April. 11am-4pm, George Fraser Gallery, 25a Princes Street, Auckland. An exhibition showcasing four exceptional 2015 Masters of Architecture (Professional) thesis projects which represented the University of Auckland’s School of Architecture and Planning at the 2015 NZIA Cadimage Student Design Awards. On display will be the work of graduates Katy Turner, Chirag Jindal, Robert Pak and Tessa Forde. Stephenson & Turner will be announcing the winner of their award for excellence and innovation in design communication, selected from one of the projects presented in the 4 Futures exhibition. Hosted by the School of Architecture and Planning. Free. Queries to creative@auckland.ac.nz

Thursday 7 April CDES Innovation and Technology Career Expo 2016 10.30am-2.30pm, Engineering Atrium, Faculty of Engineering, 20 Symonds Street. One of the largest events on our careers calendar, the CDES Innovation and Technology Career Expo attracts over 25 organisations, wanting to meet students from all years and faculties. So, if you are considering a future career in an Innovation and Technology related field, this is a MUST attend! To find out more visit https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/for/current-students/career-development-and-employment-services/events/2016-events/cdes-innovation-and-technology-careers-expo.html Queries to careers@auckland.ac.nz

Friday 8 April Lunchtime Concert Series 1-2pm, Music Theatre, School of Music, 6 Symonds Street, Auckland. A public concert series showcasing talented School of Music students in both individual and ensemble settings. Free. Queries to creative@auckland.ac.nz