Details

Unveiling the Whale

Discourses on Whales and Whaling
Environmental Anthropology and Ethnobiology, Band 12 1. Aufl.

von: Arne Kalland
37,99 €
Verlag:	Berghahn Books
Format:	EPUB
Veröffentl.:	01.10.2009
ISBN/EAN:	9781845459550
Sprache:	englisch
Anzahl Seiten:	254

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Beschreibungen

Titelbeschreibung

Whaling has become one of the most controversial environmental issues. It is not that all whale species are at the brink of extinction, but that whales have become important symbols to both pro- and anti-whaling factions and can easily be appropriated as the common heritage of humankind. This book, the first of its kind, is therefore not about whales and whaling per se but about how people communicate about whales and whaling. It contributes to a better understanding and discussion of controversial environmental issues: Why and how are issues selected? How is knowledge on these issues produced and distributed by organizations and activists? And why do affluent countries like Japan and Norway still support whaling, which is of insignificant economic importance? Basing his analysis on fieldwork in Japan and Norway and at the International Whaling Commission, the author argues how an image of a “superwhale” has been constructed and how this image has replaced meat and oil as the important whale commodity. He concludes that the whaling issue provides an arena where NGOs and authorities on each side can unite, swapping political legitimacy and building personal relations that can be useful on issues where relations are less harmonious.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Figures Preface and Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations
 Introduction
 Chapter 1. The Creation of a ‘Superwhale’ Chapter 2. The Whale Protectionists Chapter 3. Diverting the Commodity Path Chapter 4. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) Chapter 5. Whaling and Identity Chapter 6. Local Responses to Global Issues Chapter 7. Conclusion
 Bibliography Index

Autorenportrait

Arne Kalland (1945-2012) was Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Oslo. He had written extensively on marine resource management and people’s perceptions of nature. Recently he had addressed the relationship between religion and ecology. He edited several books on human–nature relations and done fieldwork in Japan, Norway and Thailand.