Professor Dominic Alessio
Professor of History & Director of Study Abroad
Dr Dominic Alessio
Born in Wales to Welsh-Irish and Italian parents, raised in Canada, and having lived and studied in New Zealand, Dom is Professor of History and Director of the Study Abroad Program. He speaks Italian, French, Welsh, and basic Maori, and has studied Spanish and Latin. A former Canadian Commonwealth Scholar he has taught at McMaster University (Canada), Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand), Trinity College (Wales), and St. Thomas University (Canada). He was also a Visiting Research Fellow in the English and Media Department at the University of Northampton, UK from 2006-9. Whilst at Richmond he was presented with two university-wide teaching awards.
His research and lecturing interests are in empire, the far right, visual culture (film and television), science fiction/utopianism, propaganda and New Zealand Studies. He has written about the British Empire, Bollywood, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Blade Runner and early colonial science fiction. He has been an Academic Council Member for the Centre for New Zealand Studies (CNZS), Birkbeck, University of London, on the Advisory Boards for Kakapo Books and the CNZS Bulletin of New Zealand Studies, and was a Reviews Editor for the British Review of New Zealand Studies (BRONZS). For 6 years he was the Vice Chair of the New Zealand Studies Association (NZSA) and co-organized its annual conferences as far afield as London, Paris, Florence and Frankfurt. He enjoyed fencing, rugby, canoeing and hockey whilst at university, and his spare time is spent with his children and wife hiking and gardening. He enjoys taking his students on study tour to Wales, Scotland, Italy, and Egypt.
Publications, Reviews and Exhibitions
Current Research Work and Interests
Imperial History
· Theories of empire
· Comparative imperial history
· Cultural history of the European settlement colonies
The Far Right
Science Fiction/Utopianism
Gender
Urban History
World History
Published Books
Introduction and editor, The Great Romance. A Rediscovered Utopian Adventure. (University of Nebraska Press, 2008) ISBN-13: 978-0-8032-5996-6 pbk. Sets New Zealand Science Fiction in a postcolonial context and draws attention to the country’s avant-garde technological thinking.
Reviewer Comments:
“It is hard to disagree with editor Dominic Alessio… [a] masterpiece”
Ed Park, Los Angeles Times (May 18, 2008)
“It’s as if a university press unearthed a long-forgotten book called Pride and Prejudice… [the] introduction is crucial… and engaging” Kevin Lauderdale, Author Magazine (April 17, 2008)
“an extensive and very useful introduction… thoroughly researched… This book is a find… I recommend it strongly for all serious readers of the genre.” George Slusser, “Did Fellini Dream of Venusian Sheep?”, Science Fiction Studies, 36 (2009), 333-337
“Alessio’s discussion… is enlightening… It reminds us, usefully, that western representations of the indigenous Other were more various, and more nuanced, than is often allowed… the novella is worth buying…” John O’leary, New Zealand Books, 20, 1, 89 (Autumn 2009), 7
“masterful… a thoughtful, informative and exceptional piece… And it just happens to be absolutely fascinating reading” Tales of the Talisman, 4, 1 (Summer 2008)
Books in Progress
Small Nations/Big Beighbours. Edited collection with co-author Ian Conrich (formerly of the Centre for New Zealand Studies, Birkbeck) and Kakapo Books (2010) comparing the relationship between Australia and New Zealand with that of Canada and the United States.
New Zealand, France and the Pacific. Edited collection with co-author Ian Conrich (formerly of the Centre for New Zealand Studies, Birkbeck) and Kakapo Books (2010) examining the role of France in the exploration and history of the Pacific.
Edited republication, with a critical Introduction, of Lotti Wilmot’s New Zealand Beds (1881). The biography of an outspoken feminist spiritualist and reformer. Under consideration with Victoria University Press.
Current Research Work and Interests
‘Monopoly Imperialism’: the buying and renting of empire as a means of expansion
"Decolonising Pandora: Science Fiction, Orientalism and Politics in James Cameron' Avatar (2009)"
Forthcoming Work Accepted for Publication
“Geysirs and ‘Girls’: Gender, Politics and Tourism in Modern Iceland” (with Anna Lisa Johannsdottir), European Journal of Women’s Studies (2010-11)
“Tourism and Travel: Imagining New Zealand’s Cities and Towns at the Turn of the 20th Century”, Studies in Travel Writing (Spring 2010)
“From Body Snatchers to Mind Snatchers: Indigenous Science Fiction, Postcolonialism, and Aotearoa/New
“Science Fiction, Postcolonialism and
“Total Recall Pacific Style: Science Fiction, Colonialism and Pacific Literature”, in Amit Sarwal, ed., Teaching Science Fiction: History, Theory and Text (
Published Articles/Chapters in Books
· “‘Monopoly Imperialism’: How Empires Can be Bought and Leased”, Social Europe Journal, http://www.social-europe.eu/2010/05/monopoly-imperialism-how-empires-can-be-bought-and-leased, May 21, 2010.
· “Promoting Paradise: Utopianism and National Identity in
· “Hindu Nationalism and Postcolonialism in Indian Science Fiction: Koi… Mil
· “2006-2008 – the Years of the Pacific? Some Thoughts after Pasifika Styles (
· "Redemption, ‘Race’, The Far Right, Religion and Reality: Science Fiction Film Adaptations of Philip K. Dick", in Will Brooker, ed., The Blade Runner Experience: The Legacy of a Science Fiction Classic (
· "A Conservative Utopia?: Anthony Trollope's The Fixed Period (1881)", Journal of
· Race, Gender and Proto-Nationalism in Julius Vogel's Anno Domini 2000, Foundation, 91, (2004), 36-54.
· “Close Encounters of the Earliest Kind: A Postcolonial Sighting of the First Aliens and Colony in Science Fiction (1881)", for the special edition of ARIEL: A Post-Colonial Odyssey, 33, no.1, (2002/2003), 15-36.
· "Things are Different Now"?: A Postcolonial Analysis of Buffy the Vampire Slayer", The European Legacy, 6, no.6 (2001), 731-740.
· "Gender, Spiritualism and Reform in Late 19th Century
· "Civilisation, Control and Co-operation: Picturing the Natives in the British Settlement Colonies (1870- 1930)", Journal of Imperial and Post-Colonial Historical Studies 1, no.1 (Spring 2000), 71-112.
· "The Great Romance, by The Inhabitant", Kotare: New Zealand Notes and Queries, 2, no.2, (November, 1999), pp.3-17.
· "The Great Romance: a science-fiction/utopian novelette. Part Two.", Kotare: New Zealand Notes and Queries, 2, no.1 (May, 1999), pp.48-79.
· “’A startling apparteness': Race, Imperialism and Popular Culture in British Palestine, 1918-1936", Proceedings of the International Society for the Study of European Ideas, (2000) (ECPR CD-Rom).
· "The Great Romance: a science-fiction/utopian novelette", Kotare: New Zealand Notes and Queries, (October, 1998), 59-101.
· “Domesticating `the Heart of the Wild': Female Personifications of the Colonies, 1886-1940", Women's History Review, (August, 1997), 239-269.
· "An Atlantis of the
· "Document in the History of Science-Fiction: The Great Romance, by The Inhabitant", Science Fiction Studies, 20, no.3, (1993), pp.305-340.
· "Capitalist Realist Art: Industrial Images of Hamilton, Ontario, 1884-1910", The Journal of Urban History, 18, no.4, (1992), pp.442-469.
· "A Tale of Twenty Cities: the Urban Environment in American Science-Fiction of the 1950s and 1960s", The Journal of Unconventional History, 2, no.2 (1991), pp. 59-74.
Academic Editorial Experience
• Reviews Editor of the British Review of
• Associate Editor British Review of
Book Reviews
• Jamie Belich, Replenishing the Earth. The Settler Revolution and the Rise of the Anglo-World, 1783-1939. Journal of Postcolonial Literature, 45, 4 (2010)
• John Rieder, Colonialism and the Emergence of Science Fiction (2008). Journal of Postcolonial Literature, 45, 4 (December 2009), 482-3
• William Main, Send Me A Postcard:
• Witi Ihimaera, Sky Dancer (2007). Journal of Postcolonial Literature, 44, 4 (December 2009), 447-8
• Annie E. Coombes, ed., Rethinking Settler Colonialism. History and memory in Australia, Canada, Aotearoa New Zealand and South Africa. Bulletin of
• Russell Kirkpatrick, In the Earth Abides the Flame (2006). Bulletin of
• Russell Kirkpatrick, Across The Face of the World (2006). The British Review of
• Neville Peat, The Catlins (2004). The British Review of
• Report on the BACS/NZSA 2005 Conference. The British Review of
• Margaret McLure, The Wonder Country: Making
• Pat Moloney & Kerry Taylor, eds., On the Left: Essays on Socialism in
• Caroline Daley, Leisure and Pleasure: Reshaping And Revealing the
• Imogen de la Bere, The Welcoming Committee, British Review of
• Lucy Sargisson and Lyman Tower Sargent, Living in Utopia: New Zealand’s Intentional Communities (2004), The British Review of New Zealand Studies, 14 (2004), 225-229.
• Jan Noel, ed., Race and Gender in the Northern Colonies. 2000. British Review of Canadian Studies, 16, no.1 (2003), 195-197.
• Scott W. See, The History of
• Imogen de la Bere, The Understanding of Jenner Ramsfield, British Review of
Studies (BRONZS), 13 (2003), 89-91.
• Conference Review, "Utopia in Dark Times", British Review of
• Julius Vogel, Anno Domini 2000 or Woman's Destiny. Kotare: New Zealand Notes and Queries, 4, no.1 (June 2001), 75-78.
• Anne Maxwell, Colonial Photography and Exhibitions: Representations of the 'Native' People and the Making of European Identities. Australian Studies 15, no. 1 (Summer 2000), 128-129.
• Roger Sheppard, Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror: A Reader's Guide. Utopian Studies. Utopian Studies 11, no. 2 (2000), 300-301.
• Ragnhild Fiebig-von Hase & Ursula Lehmkuhl, eds. Enemy Images in American History. Ethnic and Racial Studies 22, no.5 (September, 1999), 941-943.
• Victoria Dickenson, Drawn From Life: Science and Art in the Portrayal of the
• Mick Gidley, Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, Incorporated. Borderlines: Studies in American Culture 5, no.3 (1998), 304-307.
• Russell McGregor, Imagined Destinies: Aboriginal Australians and the Doomed Race Theory, 1880-1939. Australian Studies 13, no.1 (Summer, 1998), 163-165.
• B.Attwood, W.Burrage, A.Burrage & E.Stokie. A Life Together, A Life Apart: A History of Relations Between Europeans and Aborigines. 1994. Australian Studies, 12, no.2, (December, 1997), 128-130.
• Dr. Louis Thiercelin, Travels in
• Walter L. Creese. The Search for Environment: The Garden City Before and After. 1992. Utopian Studies, 6, no.1, (1995), pp.135-138.
Exhibits, Television and Shorter Pieces
· Dominic and Sarah Alessio, “Shadowland: A Kiwi’s Experience With the Far Right in
· Interview with SBS Television
· Photographic Exhibit "Disorientated: Race, Empire and Photography" for Fringe Event at European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) Conference at
