Latest PhD submission
Raphael Richter-Gravier submitting his thesis for examination.
Te Tumu is proud to announce the latest PhD submissions by one of our students, Raphael Richter-Gravier, entitled “Manu narratives of Polynesia: a comparative study of birds in 300 traditional Polynesian stories”.
Raphael came to Otago in 2012, having previously studied history in his native France, to pursue a Diploma for Graduates in Japanese and Māori Studies. He was a top student in his reo papers; that he has always achieved the highest grades in all his papers shows his amazing work ethic and flair for languages. He started his PhD in 2016 on bird narratives, with Professor Michael Reilly and Dr Michelle Schaaf of Te Tumu as supervisors. Raphael’s thesis was completed as a “co-tutelle” from both Otago and l’Université de la Polynésie française. Raphael’s other supervisor was Professor Bruno Saura, an expert on Polynesian culture at UPF.
Koia, koia, e hoa. We look forward to your graduation.
