Associate ProfessorLyndon Fraser

I am an anthropologist and historian currently teaching at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch. My passion for exhibitions and material culture started early and I hold my grandparents and Canterbury Museum equally responsible for my lifetime interest in the past and in storytelling. After beginning my professional career at Te Papa, I have been involved in various projects which range from two prize-winning books on aspects of the Irish diaspora to the award-winning television series One Land and an episode of the successful on-line Kiwi Sceptics series (for Air New Zealand) that featured comedian Rhys Darby. My primary research focuses on death, magic, and witchcraft, but I still find time to explore topics in other fields such as migration, ethnicity, and heritage. I am a Research Fellow at Canterbury Museum and the Co-Editor (with Linda Bryder) of The New Zealand Journal of History.