I have conducted research in the Pacific (primarily in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu) for 40 years; first as an archaeologist and then as an anthropologist and historian.

My current research and teaching interests revolve around four broad topics: the trans-disciplinary integration of the perspectives and methods of a range of historical disciplines to address questions of “deep history” in Oceania; vernacular and indigenous Melanesian historicities (their transformation through cross-cultural encounters; their representation through various media, including film and fiction; and their articulation with contemporary challenges such as land reform and large natural resource projects); the safeguarding and transmission of tangible and intangible forms of cultural heritage confronted with emergencies (including natural hazards, pandemics, conflict and climate change); and the ways in which local, regional and global histories become linked through major climatic forcing events such as volcanic eruptions, explored through the case of the 15th century eruption of Kuwae in Vanuatu.