College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Te Kura Pūkenga Tangata
Meet our staff
Professor Cynthia White
Pro Vice-Chancellor
Cynthia White is an internationally recognised scholar in applied linguistics. She is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of New England and a member of the Marsden Fund Council where she chairs the Humanities panel. Cynthia is President of the Applied Linguistics Association of New Zealand and member of the International Committee of the International Applied Linguistics Association.
Professor Bill Fish
Research Director
Bill Fish is a Professor of Philosophy, and his research focuses on issues in the philosophy of mind and perception. He is particularly interested in defending naïve realism in the philosophy of perception and exploring whether this view can be extended to theories of consciousness more generally.
Professor Glenn Banks
Head of School of People, Environment and Planning
Glenn Banks’ research is focussed on the socio-economic and cultural dimensions of large-scale, private sector investment in the extractive industries in Papua New Guinea.
Associate Professor Alison Kearney
Head of Institute of Education
Alison Kearney is co-director of the Equity Through Education Research Centre, and editor of New Zealand educational journal Kairaranga. Alison’s research focuses on social justice, education equity and inequity. Before working at Massey, Alison was a primary school teacher.
Professor Kerry Taylor
Head of School of Humanities, Media and Creative Communication
Kerry Taylor works in New Zealand history, specifically the history of the socialist left and Labour movement. He has published mostly on the history of the NZ communist movement.
Professor Mandy Morgan
Head of School of Psychology
Mandy Morgan is a Professor of Feminist Psychology. She has particular interests in theoretical debates concerning the relationships between feminisms, poststructural theories and psychologies. As well as these theoretical interests, she’s involved in a programme of studies on the ways that domestic violence service and intervention providers and clients understand their experiences.
Professor Hēmi Whaanga
Head of School Te Pūtahi-a-Toi
Hēmi Whaanga specialises in mātauranga, indigenous methodologies, linguistics and te reo Māori, ethics and technology. His background includes research, leadership and teaching, and he has contributed at disciplinary, institutional, national and international levels.
Departments
Find out more about the departments that make up the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
School of Humanities, Media and Creative Communication
Te Pūtahi-a-Toi - School of Māori Knowledge
Partnerships
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences has partnerships with the following organisations:
Accreditation
Planning at Massey is accredited by the New Zealand Planning Institute Te Kokiringa Taumata.
Massey is ranked in the world's top 200 universities for education in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings.
Massey is ranked in the world's top 200 universities for geography in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings.
Massey is ranked in the world's top 250 universities for psychology by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).
Massey is ranked in the world's top 250 universities for sociology by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).
Massey is the first university in the Southern Hemisphere to partner in a UNESCO UNITWIN initiative: the Global Network on Teacher Education for Social Justice and Diversity in Education.
Awards
British Theatre Challenge
Associate Professor Elspeth Tilley has won the British Theatre Challenge three times in a row, for her short plays addressing social justice issues such as climate change and animal rights.
Marsden Fast-Start
Dr Barbara Andersen has been awarded a Marsden Fast-Start grant of $300,000 for 'Housing and Everyday Security in Papua New Guinea'.
Marsden Fast-Start
Historian Dr Rachel Bell has been awarded a Marsden Fast-Start for 'Staying on the Land? Surviving the Reform of New Zealand Agricultural 1984 – 1987'.
Marsden Fast-Start
Dr Jodie Hunter has been awarded a Marsden Fast-Start grant of $300,000 for 'Exploration of Pāsifika funds of knowledge in mathematics'.
Marsden Fund
Dr Philip Steer has been awarded a Marsden Fund grant of $657,000 for ‘Settler Literature and Environmental Change in Colonial New Zealand and Australia'.
Clinics
Our leading academics and scientists ensure their cutting-edge research works hard in the real world, not just in the classroom or laboratory. Find out more about our clinics, where you can benefit from the latest research and expertise from Massey's College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Massey psychology clinics
Massey University’s psychology clinics offer psychology services to the general public. We also do research, train psychology students, and offer services for practising psychology professionals. We have clinics on each campus:
Speech Language Therapy Clinic
Our clinic at Massey University’s Auckland campus provides services for communication and swallowing disorders in children and adults. Student clinicians assess and treat clients under the supervision of highly qualified and experienced clinical staff.