Creative Inspirations: Sereana Naepi, author and scholar

Sereana Naepi (Fijian, Pākehā) is an associate professor in sociology at Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland. With a research focus on equity in higher education, Indigenous research methodologies, and the experiences of Pacific peoples, Māori and early career researchers in academia, she is committed to addressing systemic barriers to success in universities and advocating for institutional change. 

Her work explores the impact of neoliberalism on education and the need for Indigenous knowledge systems to be recognised within academic spaces. Sereana has co-authored research on decolonising universities and improving pathways for underrepresented scholars. She is a recipient of the Rutherford Discovery Fellowship and Spencer Education grants. Through her scholarship and advocacy, she contributes to rethinking how education serves diverse communities, challenging traditional structures to create more just and inclusive learning environments for future generations.

Sereana’s most recent book is Oceans Between Us: Pacific Peoples and Racism in Aotearoa (Auckland University Press, 2025).

The writers and/or creatives that have inspired my writing are... 

There are so many it’s hard to choose. I often tell my students: you write what you read. If I want to write something that calls an institution to account, I turn to bell hooks or Audre Lorde. If I want to gently influence the academy, I might look to Jo-Ann Archibald.

Above my desk hangs a giant banner by Vasemaca Tavola that reads ‘Racism is Tiring.’ It’s her piece created for Dr Elizabeth Kerekere, and it grounds me. It reminds me that dismantling racism is exhausting work because just as you chip away at one form, it reappears somewhere else. That banner keeps me honest and keeps me going.

My desert island book would be…

Katūīvei. It’s such a rich collection of Pacific poetry, and I haven’t yet had the time to sit with it as deeply as it deserves. In my ideal desert‑island quiet, I imagine finally giving that poetry the space, attention, and reverence it asks for.

My favourite Pasifika writer/book is…

Karlo Mila. I return to her writing often. Her ability to hold the political alongside the intimate creates an entry point into difficult conversations that feels both truthful and generous. Her words name experiences we navigate every day as Pacific and as Pacific women.

The one book I think everyone should read is…

I go back and forth on this a lot–it’s partly why it has taken me so long to get this interview finished! This changes for me depending on what is happening around us. Books move us, confront us, and sometimes shake loose the truths we avoid. Right now, as we see Indigenous and migrant communities used as scapegoats for broader structural issues, I think everyone needs to read Tusiata Avia’s Savage Coloniser. It’s a fierce confrontation of the colonial gaze. The outrage it sparked, especially from those in positions of power tells you it strikes a truth many would prefer we look away from.

The last book I read was...

I am revisiting Sara Ahmed’s Willful Subjects which is over a decade old now but it still feels as urgent as ever. It is a reminder to reclaim the idea ‘of being willful’, and to embrace being seen as difficult or disruptive as an indication that you have found a spot where power is working hard to maintain itself. It is a reminder to pay attention to who is seen as neutral and who is seen as having an agenda and how that is a form of power in and of itself. Ultimately it’s a book about understanding stubbornness as an inheritance that helps with survival and hope.