Description
HIS210: POMPOUS OR PRODUCTIVE? AN INSIGHT AND ANALYSIS OF NOTABLE PAST NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTERS
New Course! Offered: 2022 Term 2. This course meets on Tuesdays from 5:30-7:00pm beginning on Tuesday 10 May 2022, and meets for 8 consecutive weeks.
Location: EarthDiverse Trust, 401 Grey Street, Hamilton East, Hamilton, or on-line distance learning. Se below under blue ‘Location’ tab for details and map.
New Zealand has had 40 Premiers and Prime Ministers since 1856. Prior to 1906, Cabinet-makers were initially known as Colonial Secretaries then Premiers but since that date they have been sworn in as Prime Ministers. The youngest person achieving the position has been 37 and the eldest 75 years. The length of office has ranged from eight days to an impressive 13 years. Jenny Shipley, Helen Clark and Jacinda Ardern in recent years have gatecrashed this previously all male club. This series of talks will investigate the role of the Prime Minister and explore characteristics, abilities and contribution of the more notable recipients and see who were progressive or conservative in their approach.
COURSE OUTLINE:
Week 1: Introduction and clarification of the role, duties and responsibilities of the Prime Minister. A brief look at the strengths and weaknesses of the nineteenth century politicians who shaped much of early New Zealand society.
- Julius Vogel, 8 April 1873-6 July1875; 15 February- 1 September 1876
- John Ballance, 24 January 1891-27 April 1893
- [King Dick] Richard Seddon, 1 May 1893-10 June 1906
Week 2: The conservative response and the arrival of William [Farmer Bill] Massey 10 July 1912-10 May 1925, who was to dominate the political scene for a decade until his death in office.
Week 3: The Formative Labour years which coincided with arrival of the radio technology, and a progressive social and economic programme led by:
- Michael Joseph Savage, 6 December 1935 to 27 March 1940 and
- Peter Fraser, 1 April 1940 to 13 December 1949.
Week 4: Post war, National domination, and a desire to maintain the conservative tradition.
- Sidney Holland, 13 December 1947 – 20 September 1957
- [Kiwi] Keith Holyoake, 20 September 1957 – 1 December and 12 December 1960 – 2 February 1972.
Week 5: A brief Labour resurgence led by the charismatic [Big Norm] Kirk, 8 December 1972 – 31 August 1974, who broke the conservative stranglehold, until his death after a short term in office.
Week 6: The rise of a young Turk: the consummate politician who was able to dominate the political and media scene in New Zealand for a decade. Loved or hated, he had an extremely adversarial approach:
- Sir Robert Muldoon, 12 December – 26 July 1984
Week 7: The Helmsman and the Intellectual: The arrival of:
- the [Great Helmsman], farmer, Jim Bolger, 2 November 1990 – 8 December 1997 and
- intellectual and academic [Aunty Helen] Clark, 10 December 1997 – 19 November 2008
Week 8: The emergence of:
- financier [Teflon John] Key, 19 November 2008 – 12 December 2016 and
- Jacinda Ardern 26 October 2017 to present
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course.
Distance Learning: This course has distance-learning options for those unable to attend the live class sessions in Hamilton. Students have three options for attending our courses once they have registered:
- attend in-person classes in our Hamilton classrooms at the regularly scheduled day and time,
- attend our live on-line classroom sessions via Zoom at the regular scheduled day and time,
- watch the live-recorded class sessions at your leisure, at a time, day and place more suited to your schedule.
These options can be mixed and matched throughout the course to suit your own availability and location.
Richard Cain (MA, University of Waikato) has taught History and Classics in the Waikato for several decades. He has a keen interest in understanding the historical forces and trends that shape the present. He is also a student of geopolitics in the modern world.
DISTANCE-LEARNING OPTIONS:
In addition to our in-person classes in Hamilton, our courses offer distance learning options for those unable to attend classes in-person. Live-streamed Hamilton classes are available via free Zoom software for those living outside the Waikato. Live-streaming allows you to participate fully in your own learning, ask questions of the instructor and participate fully in the same way as if you were in the physical classroom.
Those unable to attend the scheduled date and time of the actual class sessions, or those who need to miss a class or two due to previous engagements or unexpected illness, can watch any or all of the live-recorded video sessions on their computers, laptops, tablets or mobile devices and study at their own pace and in their own time.
Detailed instructions on how to access our distance learning components will be sent after completing your registration. There are no additional fees for this service. However, distance learners will need access to a desktop or laptop computer with a good quality web-camera (tablet devices and mobile phones can also access our live-streamed classes), a built-in microphone (most modern laptops have built-in microphones) or a headset with a microphone. You will also need to download and install the free Zoom software on your computer or device. Those accessing the video recordings will be able to do so with a simple web browser on any device.
- Detailed Syllabi are available at the start of each Term.
- Any Term can be taken independently of the others, and there are no prerequisites for any of the Term courses.
- This class has no assignments, required readings, quizzes, tests or exams.
- All classes encourage questions and group discussion.
- PDF copies of each class presentation are emailed to all participants the next day so that you are free to focus on class content rather than taking notes. You are most welcome to come, sit back, relax, take part in and enjoy the discussions!
- Course fees include a short tea/coffee/snack break in the middle of each session.
- There are no refunds for missed classes.
- Guests of registered participants are welcome to attend a single class at no charge.
- Certificates of Completion for any particular Term Course or Series are available for Professional Development purposes upon request at the end of each Term or Series.
Cost per person per Term (8 classes):
- Waged: NZ$150 (includes GST + online registration fee)
- Unwaged (unemployed, students, seniors): NZ$125 (includes GST + online registration fee)
Prices for Waged and Unwaged registrants remain the same regardless of your chosen method for accessing our courses. This means that you have the option to mix and match access between attending our regularly-scheduled live class sessions in our Hamilton classrooms, accessing our live class sessions on-line via Zoom at the regularly scheduled class meeting time (no matter where you are located), or watching the video-recorded sessions anywhere at a time and date of your choosing. This allows you to study at your own pace and in your own time.
Once registered, you have three choices for attending your course:
- attend our in-person class sessions in our Hamilton classrooms,
- Zoom in to our live classroom sessions and participate in discussions,
- access the live-recorded class sessions each week. This allows you to register for an entire course, even though the scheduled class session day/time may not be suitable to your schedule. You may also use this option to watch any recorded session for review, or in case you may miss a class session due to prior engagement, being away, or due to illness. This allows you to catch up with any “missed” sessions at a more suitable time.
Once registered, you will receive detailed instructions on how to access our courses via either of the distance-learning options, i.e. live access via Zoom, or watching the video-recorded sessions.
LOCATION: All in-person classes are held at the EarthDiverse offices and classrooms temporarily located at 401 Grey Street, Hamilton East, Hamilton. Please enter via the Cook Street entrance (see map below). Those looking for parking for our evening classes can park just in front on the main entrance in any of the available car parks via the Cook Street entrance. On-street daytime parking can be found on Cook Street, Grey Street or around Steele Park. There is a single Disability car park located a few steps from the front door. Plenty of space for bicycles too!
DISTANCE LEARNING: You get to choose your location when you Zoom in to our live classroom sessions, or access our classes at your leisure and at a time and day of your choosing by watching the video recorded sessions from each class. This allows you to study at your own pace.
