Patrons Of Maori Culture

"These essays form an anthropological study of contemporary Māori culture. The title invokes the wider arena of power, inequality and patronage in which every culture can be understood. ... The Māori Renaissance of the past two decades is considered. The author examines a key paradox underlying the Renaissance- the flowering of Māori culture and influence in the wider society has been matched by social deterioation by most Māori. With reference to the university in society, [the auhtor] asks whether the increasing enrolment, employment and cultural prominence of Māori might be as much a part of the nationalist capitalist 'restructuring' of the market economy as it is a renaissance of Māori culture. This is a challenging set of essays which questions many of the assumptions upon which our present understanding of New Zealand society rest."--Back cover.