History 6-week Course

Dr. Kathryn A. Hardy Bernal, Ph.D., M.Phil., B.Art.Th., is an art and cultural historian, critical theorist, academic researcher and publisher, on intersections between art, architecture, design, fashion, film, costume, subculture, society, religion, and psychoanalytical anthropology, with over twenty years’ involvement in the arts sector, including lecturing, teaching, editorial management, and curatorial practice. She has held senior positions at leading tertiary institutions in Australia and New Zealand, such as the University of New South Wales, and Auckland University of Technology; has guest lectured at Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland Museum, and Whitecliffe College; and presented at international academic conferences in the United Kingdom and Mexico. Her formal qualifications include a Doctor of Philosophy in Visual and Material Culture, Master of Philosophy with First-class Honours in Art and Design Theory, and a Bachelor of Art Theory with Distinction Honours in Art History. She is professionally acknowledged as an expert in her fields of research, having been officially ranked by the Humanities and Law panel of the New Zealand Government’s Tertiary Education Commission as a specialist in History of Art, History, Classics, and Curatorial Studies.

Session Abstract: King Henry VIII: Power, Progeniture, and Propaganda -
This session investigates key moments in the history of King Henry VIII (r. 1509-1547), arguably the most famous, or infamous, of all male British monarchs, mainly for having six wives, and for beheading two. Beginning with the birth of the Tudor Dynasty, with his father, King Henry VII, who had defeated Richard III at the final battle of the Wars of the Roses, and thereby usurped the throne, the presentation traces the snowballing effects of this tenuous foundation, which carried through to Henry VIII's reign. In order to secure the family crown (physically and psychologically), Henry VIII's fixation was on providing male heirs. This endeavour resulted in his many marriages, his ruthless and violent measures, and the major cause of the English Reformation, the break from the Pope and the Catholic Church in Rome, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and the creation of Henry as Supreme Head of the Church of England, all events that overwhelmingly and everlastingly changed the face of English politics and society. Art images of the time, particularly portraiture, are analysed according to their visual references to power and propaganda.

A New Zealander by birth, Emeritus Professor Linda Bryder gained her DPhil at the University of Oxford in 1985. She taught in the History Department of the University of Auckland from 1988 to 2026, lecturing on general New Zealand history, New Zealand social welfare history, and the history of health and medicine in the Western world. She has published widely, with research interests in the history of tuberculosis, infant health and reproductive health. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society New Zealand Te of Apārangi.

SESSION: Abstract: The 1918 Influenza Epidemic - This talk will focus on New Zealand’s responses to the 1918 influenza epidemic, which remains the largest natural disaster in modern history. The recent COVID pandemic drew attention to the 1918 outbreak, and while there are many resonances to discuss, the different historical contexts remain important.