Writer | Ethnographer
Environmental Entanglements
Portfolio
Academic Work
Dr Pauline Herbst’s research is informed by a background in anthropology, and journalism & media studies. She is currently engaged in work that interrogates various ethnographic forms (visual and literary) and their impact on environmental health, broadly defined.
She completed her PhD in medical anthropology at the University of Auckland using visual ethnography as a tool to explore the social life of diagnosis in the first generation of New Zealand children diagnosed with the metabolic disorder MCADD.
Pauline also has a degree in Journalism. Her research photography has appeared at the Royal Anthropological Institute’s (RAI) Film Festival (2021) and the Auckland Festival of Photography.
“As Editor of D-Photo magazine, Pauline was easy, amiable and a pleasure to deal with. She provided clear and easy to understand direction as to what she required at all times and handled her position with great accuracy and little fuss”.
MIKE LANGFORD
DIRECTOR, CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS
“Pauline has been a regular contributor to PC World magazine, writing features for print and blogs for the website. Her work is always well written, complete in terms of the editorial brief and she has an engaging and lively style. Pauline is professional, easy to work with and has a wide network of contacts to draw on.”
TED GIBBONS
FORMER EDITOR, NZ PC WORLD
“Pauline is dedicated, empathetic and thoughtful, all of which are essential skills as a medical anthropologist. She builds rapport quickly and is able to bring clinical staff together with the communities they serve so that our health services delivers quality care and empowers patients and their families.”
JARRARD O’BRIEN
DIRECTOR OF PEOPLE & CULTURE, NHS ORKNEY
My LATEST PODCAST: SUSTAIN
What Does a New President Mean for Biodiversity in Guatemala?
Sustain is a podcast brought to you by Ngā Ara Whetū: Centre for Climate, Biodiversity, and Society.
Guatemala is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for land and environmental activists, with a history of indigenous genocide linked to colonial land grabs, the Cold War and deadly coups. Dr Pauline Herbst speaks with Maya Q’eqchi’ community leader in education Fredy Oxom and anthropologist Dr Callie Vandewiele to find out why a silent indigenous led protest is important for biodiversity.