Climate Change Totems and Discursive Hegemony Over the Arctic
The Arctic and its animals figure prominently as icons of climate change in Western imaginaries. Persuasive storytelling centred on compelling animal icons, like the polar bear, is a powerful strategy to frame environmental challenges, mobilizing collective global efforts to resist environmental deg...
Published in: | Frontiers in Communication |
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2021
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Online Access: | https://research.brighton.ac.uk/en/publications/23e738a8-e99f-4431-b607-d5a70eaa14d0 https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.518759 https://cris.brighton.ac.uk/ws/files/22792229/Tam_Chew_Carvalho_and_Doyle_2021.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85117892460&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
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ftunbrightoncris:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/23e738a8-e99f-4431-b607-d5a70eaa14d0 2024-06-23T07:48:28+00:00 Climate Change Totems and Discursive Hegemony Over the Arctic Tam, Chui-Ling Chew, Suzanne Carvalho, Anabela Doyle, Julie 2021-03-01 application/pdf https://research.brighton.ac.uk/en/publications/23e738a8-e99f-4431-b607-d5a70eaa14d0 https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.518759 https://cris.brighton.ac.uk/ws/files/22792229/Tam_Chew_Carvalho_and_Doyle_2021.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85117892460&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng https://research.brighton.ac.uk/en/publications/23e738a8-e99f-4431-b607-d5a70eaa14d0 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Tam , C-L , Chew , S , Carvalho , A & Doyle , J 2021 , ' Climate Change Totems and Discursive Hegemony Over the Arctic ' , Frontiers in Communication, Science and Environmental Communication Section , vol. 6 , 518759 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.518759 climate change totems Indigenous representation Arctic polar bear discursive hegemony animals sacred article 2021 ftunbrightoncris https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.518759 2024-06-12T23:31:42Z The Arctic and its animals figure prominently as icons of climate change in Western imaginaries. Persuasive storytelling centred on compelling animal icons, like the polar bear, is a powerful strategy to frame environmental challenges, mobilizing collective global efforts to resist environmental degradation and species endangerment. The power of the polar bear in Western climate imagery is in part derived from the perceived “environmental sacredness” of the animal that has gained a totem-like status. In dominant “global” discourses, this connotation often works to the detriment of Indigenous peoples, for whom animals signify complex socio-ecological relations and cultural histories. This Perspective article offers a reflexive analysis on the symbolic power of the polar bear totem and the discursive exclusion of Indigenous peoples, informed by attendance during 2015–2017 at annual global climate change negotiations and research during 2016–2018 in Canada’s Nunavut Territory. The polar bear’s totem-like status in Western imaginaries exposes three discursive tensions that infuse climate change perception, activism, representation and Indigenous citizenship. The first tension concerns the global climate crisis, and its perceived threat to ecologically significant or sacred species, contrasted with locally lived realities. The second tension concerns a perceived sacred Arctic that is global, pristine, fragile and “contemplated,” but simultaneously local, hazardous, sustaining and lived. The third tension concerns Indigenization, distorted under a global climate gaze that reimagines the role of Indigenous peoples. Current discursive hegemony over the Arctic serves to place Indigenous peoples in stasis and restricts the space for Arctic Indigenous engagement and voice. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Climate change Nunavut polar bear The University of Brighton Research Portal Arctic Nunavut Frontiers in Communication 6 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Brighton Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftunbrightoncris |
language |
English |
topic |
climate change totems Indigenous representation Arctic polar bear discursive hegemony animals sacred |
spellingShingle |
climate change totems Indigenous representation Arctic polar bear discursive hegemony animals sacred Tam, Chui-Ling Chew, Suzanne Carvalho, Anabela Doyle, Julie Climate Change Totems and Discursive Hegemony Over the Arctic |
topic_facet |
climate change totems Indigenous representation Arctic polar bear discursive hegemony animals sacred |
description |
The Arctic and its animals figure prominently as icons of climate change in Western imaginaries. Persuasive storytelling centred on compelling animal icons, like the polar bear, is a powerful strategy to frame environmental challenges, mobilizing collective global efforts to resist environmental degradation and species endangerment. The power of the polar bear in Western climate imagery is in part derived from the perceived “environmental sacredness” of the animal that has gained a totem-like status. In dominant “global” discourses, this connotation often works to the detriment of Indigenous peoples, for whom animals signify complex socio-ecological relations and cultural histories. This Perspective article offers a reflexive analysis on the symbolic power of the polar bear totem and the discursive exclusion of Indigenous peoples, informed by attendance during 2015–2017 at annual global climate change negotiations and research during 2016–2018 in Canada’s Nunavut Territory. The polar bear’s totem-like status in Western imaginaries exposes three discursive tensions that infuse climate change perception, activism, representation and Indigenous citizenship. The first tension concerns the global climate crisis, and its perceived threat to ecologically significant or sacred species, contrasted with locally lived realities. The second tension concerns a perceived sacred Arctic that is global, pristine, fragile and “contemplated,” but simultaneously local, hazardous, sustaining and lived. The third tension concerns Indigenization, distorted under a global climate gaze that reimagines the role of Indigenous peoples. Current discursive hegemony over the Arctic serves to place Indigenous peoples in stasis and restricts the space for Arctic Indigenous engagement and voice. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Tam, Chui-Ling Chew, Suzanne Carvalho, Anabela Doyle, Julie |
author_facet |
Tam, Chui-Ling Chew, Suzanne Carvalho, Anabela Doyle, Julie |
author_sort |
Tam, Chui-Ling |
title |
Climate Change Totems and Discursive Hegemony Over the Arctic |
title_short |
Climate Change Totems and Discursive Hegemony Over the Arctic |
title_full |
Climate Change Totems and Discursive Hegemony Over the Arctic |
title_fullStr |
Climate Change Totems and Discursive Hegemony Over the Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Climate Change Totems and Discursive Hegemony Over the Arctic |
title_sort |
climate change totems and discursive hegemony over the arctic |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://research.brighton.ac.uk/en/publications/23e738a8-e99f-4431-b607-d5a70eaa14d0 https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.518759 https://cris.brighton.ac.uk/ws/files/22792229/Tam_Chew_Carvalho_and_Doyle_2021.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85117892460&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
geographic |
Arctic Nunavut |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Nunavut |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Climate change Nunavut polar bear |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Climate change Nunavut polar bear |
op_source |
Tam , C-L , Chew , S , Carvalho , A & Doyle , J 2021 , ' Climate Change Totems and Discursive Hegemony Over the Arctic ' , Frontiers in Communication, Science and Environmental Communication Section , vol. 6 , 518759 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.518759 |
op_relation |
https://research.brighton.ac.uk/en/publications/23e738a8-e99f-4431-b607-d5a70eaa14d0 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.518759 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Communication |
container_volume |
6 |
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1802638874018578432 |