Paul D'Arcy, BA (Hons) Otago, MA (Otago), PhD (ANU)
Fellow, Division of Pacific and Asian History

Email: paul.darcy@anu.edu.au

Biographical Statement

After graduating in Pacific and African history from Otago University, I studied at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and worked as an archaeologist and for Television New Zealand, before completing my MA at Otago and PhD at ANU. I teach courses in Pacific, environmental, and world history, as well as colonial race relations, and have taught at Otago, Victoria University of Wellington and James Cook University in Queensland. My current research focuses on the problems and benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration, the history of conflict and conflict resolution in the Asia Pacific region, and Australia's historical relationship with its regional neighbours.

Research Interests

The history of conflict and conflict resolution in the Asia Pacific region; Pacific maritime & naval history; environmental history; indigenous history; interdisciplinary methodology; comparative, regional history in the Asia Pacific region.

Key Publications

• (Ed.) Peoples of the Pacific: the History of Oceania to 1870, Ashgate/Valorium, Aldershot, 2008.
• The People of the Sea: Environment, Identity, and History in Oceania, University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu, 2006
• "Fluid Partnerships: marine resources and community development in New Caledonia and New Zealand", in Frederic Angleviel and Stephen Levine (eds.), New Zealand and New Caledonia 1774-2005: human and historical links, Victoria University Press, Wellington, 2008, pp. 238-252.
• "China in the Pacific: Some Policy Considerations for Australia and New Zealand", State Society and Governance in Melanesia Programme, Discussion Paper 2007/4, October 2007, SSGM, RSPAS, ANU, http://rspas.anu.edu.au/melanesia/dplist.php?searchterm=2007
• "A New Era in Chinese-Pacific Engagement?," in Paul D’Arcy (ed.), Chinese in the Pacific: Where are they now?, CSCSD Occasional Papers, vol. 1, May 2007, pp.1-9, http://rspas.anu.edu.au/cscsd/occasional_papers/index.php?issue=01.
• "The role of the tuna fishery in the economy of Federated States of Micronesia", Pacific Economic Bulletin, Volume 21(3), 2006, pp.75-87.
• "Significant Spaces: The Role of Marine Ecosystems in Pacific Island Cultures", Transforming Cultures eJournal, Volume 1(2), July 2006, pp.34-43.
• "Cultural divisions and island environments since the time of Dumont d'Urville", The Journal of Pacific History, vol. 38(2), October 2003, pp.217-236.
• "Warfare and State Formation in Hawaii: The limits on violence as a means of political consolidation", The Journal of Pacific History, vol. 38(1), May 2003, pp.29-52.
• "Becoming a Less Distant Stranger: Reflections on Three Pacific Shores", Conversations vol. 3:2 (Summer 2002), 48-62.
• "Connected by the Sea: Towards a Regional History of the Western Caroline Islands", The Journal of Pacific History, vol. 36(2), September 2001, pp.163-182.
• "Torn Apart by Proximity: The Problems and Benefits of Comparative History for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands", World History Bulletin, vol.17 (2), Fall 2001, pp.19-27.
• "Maori and muskets from a Pan-Polynesian perspective", New Zealand Journal of History, vol.34 (1), April 2000, pp.117-132.

Career Highlights

Joining the Division of Pacific and Asian History; member of the Executive Council of ICSPI/CIEIP (International Council for the Study of the Pacific Islands/Conseil International pour l'Étude des Îles du Pacifique); Editor of The Journal of Pacific History; Treasurer and Executive Officer of the Australian Association for the Advancement of Pacific Studies (AAAPS); member of The University of Hawaii Press's Origins of the Contemporary Pacific series Editorial Board.