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Human–animal relations and the celebration of place‐identity: A case study of the Scone Racing Carnival, New South Wales
Author(s) -
Graham Raewyn
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
geographical research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.695
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1745-5871
pISSN - 1745-5863
DOI - 10.1111/1745-5871.12163
Subject(s) - identity (music) , human animal , metropolitan area , horse racing , argument (complex analysis) , place identity , event (particle physics) , ethnology , cultural identity , geography , environmental ethics , sociology , history , genealogy , gender studies , aesthetics , archaeology , race (biology) , social science , art , ecology , urban planning , medicine , livestock , philosophy , negotiation , forestry , biology , quantum mechanics , physics
Festivals and carnivals are social‐cultural assemblages of human and non‐human entities. This paper investigates interactions between humans and animals by focusing on the S cone Racing Carnival, a key event in the S cone and U pper H unter Horse Festival. This paper contributes to existing studies of non‐metropolitan festivals and animal–human relations by questioning how and why non‐humans are enrolled in these cultural events, and the impact this has on place identity. The central argument is that the relationship between humans and thoroughbred horses, in particular, has played a significant role in the creation of a distinctive landscape, a regional identity for the U pper H unter region of New South Wales, and a local identity for S cone. In turn, the carnival has assisted in maintaining an ‘eque‐cultural’ identity through the marketing and annual public celebration of human–horse relationships.