Anthony John Ballantyne (born
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
, 1972) is a New Zealand historian at the
University of Otago
, image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg
, image_size =
, caption = University clock tower
, motto = la, Sapere aude
, mottoeng = Dare to be wise
, established = 1869; 152 years ago
, type = Public research collegiate u ...
, Dunedin, New Zealand. After completing his schooling at
King's High School, Dunedin
King's High School is a state single-sex boys' secondary school in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the city close to the boundary between the suburbs of South Dunedin, St. Clair and Forbury, next to the parallel single ...
, he graduated
BA at the University of Otago, Dunedin and obtained a PhD at the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
. After stints abroad, he returned to the University of Otago, Dunedin, where his career advanced.
Controversy
Ballantyne was Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Humanities at Otago's Dunedin campus from 2015 to 2020, a time characterised by controversy. He initiated a process that resulted in sixteen full-time equivalent academic staff being made redundant, with other academics impelled to take early retirement.
He also advocated eliminating the Art History program and it was subsequently disestablished. Through a series of articles and editorials, the ''Otago Daily Times'' reported on these and other changes. The series exposed a 'negative, top-down, management culture that undermined trust, productivity and mental health' and that created a 'climate of suppression…and fear of repercussions'. This produced 'demoralised teachers and researchers' who were 'locked in pain and anger at what their institution had become'.
'
en the brightest and best academics secure in their status and position' felt 'acute discontent'.
In October 2020 the University of Otago stated that, as of 2021, Ballantyne would no longer serve as PVC and would instead lead th
Division of External Engagementref name=":3"> In this capacity he attends to the University's alumni relations, its liaising with secondary schools, and raising the profile of the University.
Scholarship
Ballantyne has established a scholarly reputation primarily within New Zealand academia, including being elected as a Fellow of the
Royal Society of New Zealand in 2012. In 2016 he was awarded the Humanities Aronui Medal from the Royal Society of New Zealand.
Ballantyne’s work examines the development of
imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texa ...
intellectual and cultural life in New Zealand, Ireland,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, and Britain. The work is derived from the tradition of scholarship that sees
colonialism
Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...
as a cultural undertaking as well as a political and economic project.
He has analysed the
British empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
as a 'web,' with 'vertical' connections developing between Britain and its colonies and 'horizontal' connections linking various colonies directly. He has helped shed light on how these 'webs of empire' incorporated new lands and peoples. More specifically, ''Orientalism and Race'' (2001) analysed the 'orientalizing' texts of British officials in colonial India and their attempts to decode both Hinduism and Sikhism more broadly in terms of their understandings of Aryanism and race; at the same time it examined similar discourses directed toward understandings of Māori as, first, "Semitic", then Indo-Aryan, and ultimately, Māori reconfigurations of Christianity on their own terms. Ballantyne has received his share of criticism. One scholar points to Ballantyne’s analyses as undergirded by an ‘egregious understanding of race’.
With regard to Sikh studies, Ballantyne has been among those who have criticised scholarship that focuses too much on Sikh textual traditions, arguing that the experiences of colonialism and
migration
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
have been crucial in making Sikh identities.
In recent years Ballantyne has returned to focus on New Zealand's colonial history. This work has sought to connect New Zealand's colonial culture by noting the links with
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
India. Along the lines of Benedict Anderson's formulation of 'print capitalism', Ballantyne has, in turn, addressed the place of print culture and literacy in the encounters between
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
and the
Pākehā
Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...
colonists. He has also addressed the place of
race
Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to:
* Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species
* Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
and religion in cross-cultural history His most recent work, ''Entanglements of Empire'' (2014)'','' focuses on early New Zealand history and the foundations of relationship between
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
and
Pākehā
Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...
. It was awarded the W.H. Oliver prize for the best book on New Zealand history between 2013 and 2015 by the New Zealand Historical Association.
With
Antoinette Burton
Antoinette M. Burton is an American historian, and Professor of History and Bastian Professor of Global and Transnational Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Along with Catherine Hall, Mrinalini Sinha, and Tony Ballantyne h ...
he has also written about
world history
World history may refer to:
* Human history, the history of human beings
* History of Earth, the history of planet Earth
* World history (field), a field of historical study that takes a global perspective
* ''World History'' (album), a 1998 albu ...
, highlighting the importance of race and gender in cross-cultural encounters.
Works
*''Entanglements of Empire: Missionaries, Māori, and the Question of the Body'' (
Duke University Press
Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 Du ...
, 2014).
*''Webs of Empire: Locating New Zealand's Colonial Past'' (Bridget Williams Books, 2012).
*''Between Colonialism and Diaspora: Sikh Cultural Formations in an Imperial World'' (
Duke University Press
Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 Du ...
, 2006).
*''Orientalism and Race: Aryanism in the British Empire'' (Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies Series,
Palgrave, 2001).
*Co-editor, ''Moving Subjects: Gender, Mobility and Intimacy in an Age of Global Empire'' (
University of Illinois Press
The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois system. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, plus 33 scholarly journals, and several electronic project ...
, 2007).
*Editor, ''Textures of the Sikh Past: New Historical Interpretations'' (
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2007).
*Co-editor, ''Disputed Histories: Reimagining New Zealand's Pasts'' (
Otago University Press
Otago University Press is an academic publisher associated with the University of Otago. The press is located in Dunedin, New Zealand. The Otago University Press is the oldest academic publisher in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Otago University Press ...
, 2006).
*Co-editor, ''Bodies in Contact: Rethinking Colonial Encounters in World History'' (Duke University Press, 2005).
References
External links
Research summary, Otago University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballantyne, Tony
1972 births
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Historians of the British Empire
Historians of South Asia
Living people
21st-century New Zealand historians
University of Otago alumni
University of Otago faculty
People educated at King's High School, Dunedin
Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand