Tohu Paerunga Ao WhānuiPostgraduate Global Studies

My research interests focus on the historical memory of authoritarianism and colonialism as it is expressed in visual, material and narrative culture, with a particular focus on contemporary Italy and global comparative contexts.

Historical memory and "difficult" heritage, the visual and material culture of fascism and political violence, public monuments, memorials, and contested public spaces and landscapes, transnational and comparative memory studies, contemporary Italian visual culture, including cinema and photography, the representation of gendered violence, and representations of disability and mental disorder.

Spanish literary and cultural studies, Spanish women writers.

The Spanish Civil War, Franco dictatorship and Spain’s transition to democracy.

Women's experiences under dictatorship.

The legacy of Francoism in contemporary Spain.

Historical memory and "dissonant" heritage.

My research is about achieving radical social transformation in and through the social institutions that shape contemporary life. I am particularly interested in examining sectors with claims to altruistic underpinnings, understanding what happens when altruism shifts into oppression or control, and working collaboratively to do things better. In line with critical development geographies, my research investigates the developmental sector's inadvertent damages to communities and environments while attempting to alleviate poverty and inequality. These issues often intersect with colonial legacies, capitalist practices, and global politics. Such patterns of harm are not just confined to development, thus my research has also explored contexts of health care, education, and regional economic development in Australia.

I conduct this work through community engaged action research projects across the Asia-Pacific region. My approach is informed by feminist economic geographies, particularly Diverse Economies and Community Economies. This approach not only seeks to deepen our understanding of the harms brought by the efforts of social institutions that purport to better the world. I use action research methods to engage professionals and community members in doing the work differently and, most importantly, finding creative and care-full paths forward that step outside the established practices of institutions.

Translation Studies, Communication Studies, Italian Studies, World Literature, Creative Writing, Artificial Intelligence.