Submission on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill I am Mohan Dutta, Dean’s Chair Professor of Communication at Massey University, Director of the Center for Culture-Centred Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE). I am a Fellow of the International Communication Association, a Distinguished Scholar of the National Communication Association, and recognized among the Top 2% of social scientists globally (Stanford University rankings). One of my areas of research and that of my research team at CARE explores the impact of disinformation on social cohesion and human health. Broadly within this theme, I study the roles of marginalising discourses, foreign interference, and organised campaigns designed to threaten democracy on health and wellbeing of communities that are systematically disenfranchised because of structural inequalities. I begin by noting that my family and I love Aotearoa, and that when I was considering multiple international appointments, Aotear...
This blog offers Mohan Dutta's reflections on the theoretical framework of the culture-centered approach, examining the interplays among Structure, Culture, and Agency in shaping marginalisation and the ways in which communities at the margins challenge structures. Writings on the blog are continually being revised to reflect the organic analysis of structure and agency.