EarthDiverse

Michael Burton-Smith, BA (Hons), works with EarthDiverse as both an administrative assistant and as a lecturer for our history courses. After four years living in Aotearoa’s windy capital city, Michael returned to his hometown for some much needed rest and recuperation before hopefully heading to the United Kingdom for his MA in 2025. Between now and then, you’ll likely find Michael in the EarthDiverse offices helping to keep EarthDiverse running in any small way he can, and if you come into class in person you may even see him frantically running between rooms to sort out our technology before classes begin! Though his undergraduate work featured a smattering of political science, history, international relations and art history, it was history which was Michael’s main calling and which he followed through to his honours year at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, completing a dissertation on sensory experiences of British bird-watching between 1918 and 1939. Michael has taught courses for EarthDiverse on the relationship between birds and people through history, including one course on a social history of birds and another on birds during the First World War. In 2024, Michael is excited to be introducing a new course on Lenses of History, exploring different strains of historical methodology.