Representations of the dingo: contextualising iconicity

Clare Archer-Lean; Angela Wardell-Johnson; Gabriel Conroy; Jennifer Carter

doi:10.1080/14486563.2014.985268

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Representations of the dingo: contextualising iconicity

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Representations of the dingo: contextualising iconicity

Clare Archer-Lean, Angela Wardell-Johnson, Gabriel Conroy and Jennifer Carter

Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, Vol.22(2), pp.181-196

2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14486563.2014.985268

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Abstract

environmental discourse

iconic species

dingo

K'gari-Fraser Island

Iconic species can present particular political and management imperatives and often shape national identities, and are shaped by them. More importantly, in the case of K'gari-Fraser Island and the dingo, shape the perceptions of iconicity in that landscape. Iconic species are used to represent diverse human valuing such as commercial, recreational, national, conservation and cultural. The dingo is contested as an introduced species in social evolution, is identified as a pest animal in contemporary land management, raises ancient human fears of predation and is, at the same time, the iconic representative of a World Heritage Listed landscape, due partly to the alleged genetic purity of K'gari-Fraser Island dingoes. Iconic species are viewed differently depending on epistemological biases and disciplinary frameworks, but these multiple constructions are rarely acknowledged or articulated. This paper searches for commonalities in constructions of the dingo across three literatures: scientific, anthropological/cultural analyses and tourism geographies. We find that each of these disciplinary literatures is divided. Within this contestation the dingo remains a liminal being in human perception defined by a predominantly anthropocentric vision. But there are two participants in any gaze, and future research might seek to understand how the dingo looks back at humans.

Details

Title: Representations of the dingo: contextualising iconicity
Authors: Clare Archer-Lean (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts and Business
Angela Wardell-Johnson (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts and Business
Gabriel Conroy (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Jennifer Carter (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts and Business
Publication details: Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, Vol.22(2), pp.181-196
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
Date published: 2015
DOI: 10.1080/14486563.2014.985268
ISSN: 1448-6563
Organisation Unit: School of Business and Creative Industries; School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre; School of Social Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Creative Industries - Legacy; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; School of Law and Society; Centre for Bioinnovation; Sustainability Research Cluster
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99449942102621
Output Type: Journal article

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