Eric Shelton
PhD Candidate
email: eric.shelton@otago.ac.nz
PhD Title
Expedition Cruising in Solander: An application of Ecology Without Nature
Supervisor
Research Abstract
Wilderness is a contested term, with its meanings rooted deep in Western philosophy. There is a major contemporary debate about the nature of wilderness. One approach is to reify wilderness; to treat it as a thing. An alternative position is to conceive of wilderness more as a set of values. These two notions of what constitutes wilderness have important implications for how societies use land. If wilderness is a thing, immanent in nature, then it can only ever be destroyed, and never created. If wilderness is a land-use reflecting a particular set of values then it can be created or produced in a variety of settings. Southern New Zealand and its sub-Antarctic islands well illustrate this debate.
Alongside this debate about wilderness is a conversation to do with what it means to be human. The idea that humankind is a collection of self-aware individuals, each of whom has agency, is relatively recent, and characteristically Western. Humanness itself may be viewed as immanent, or as a negotiated set of values.
This interpretive study seeks to explore relationships between the notions of selfhood and wilderness as they are illustrated by participants in expedition cruising in Fiordland and New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic islands.
Education
MSc (Otago); DipTour (Otago)
Publications
Refereed Journal Articles
Shelton, E.J. and Tucker, H. (2008). Managed to be wild: Species recovery, island restoration and nature-based tourism in New Zealand. Tourism Review International, 11, 205-212.
Shelton, E.J. and Tucker, H. (2005). Tourism and disability: Issues beyond access. Tourism Review International, 8, 211-219.
Book chapters:
Shelton, E.J. (2009). Sub-Polar tourism: Sub-Antarctic: Introduction. In M. Lück and P. Mahon (Eds.), Polar Tourism (in press)
Shelton, E.J. and McKinlay, B. (2008). Shooting fish in a barrel: Tourists as easy targets. In J.E.S. Higham and M. Lück (Eds.), Marine wildlife and tourism management. Oxford: CABI Publishing.
Shelton, E.J. (2007). Evaporating the essence: Towards an understanding of sub-Antarctic visitation. In M. Lück, A Gräupl, J. Auyong, M. Miller and M. Orams (Eds.), Proceedings of the 5th International Coastal and Marine Tourism Congress. New York: Cognizant Communication.
Shelton, E.J. and Higham, J.E.S. (2007). Ecotourism and wildlife habituation. In J.E.S. Higham (Ed.), Critical issues in ecotourism: Understanding a complex tourism phenomenon. Oxford: Butterwoth-Heinemann.
Shelton, E.J. and Lübcke, H. (2005). Penguins as sights, penguins as site; The problematics of contestation. In C.M. Hall and S. Boyd (Eds.), Nature-based tourism in peripheral areas: Development or disaster? Clevedon: Channel View.
Other publications:
Shelton, E., Higham, J. and Seddon, P. (2004). Habituation, penguin research and ecotourism: Some thoughts from left field. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 31: 119. (abstract)
Shelton, E.J. and Duval, D. (2003). 2002-2003 Dunedin Summer Visitors Study. Dunedin: Tourism Department, University of Otago (Industry report)
Book Review: Berger, A. 2004, Deconstructing Travel: Cultural Perspectives on Tourism. Tourist Studies 2005 5: 109-110.
Presentations:
International conferences:
Shelton, E.J. Performing the narrative self on New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic islands. Paper presented at Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK and Commonwealth Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, 8th-12th December 2008.
Shelton, E.J. Cruise for conservation: Aspects of tourism on New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic islands. DVD (30 mins.). Tourism Department, University of Otago. Presented at Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK and Commonwealth Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, 8th-12th December 2008.
Shelton, E.J. Beyond Eco-tourism attraction: Sea lions as social participants. Paper presented at Sociology Association of Australia and New Zealand (SAANZ) Conference, Dunedin, New Zealand, 26th-28th November 2008.
Shelton, E.J. and Reis, A. The tenacious sublime (I): Contemporary manifestations. Paper presented at Sociology Association of Australia and New Zealand (SAANZ) Conference, Dunedin, New Zealand, 26th-28th November 2008.
Reis, A. and Shelton, E.J. The tenacious sublime (II): A contemporary aesthetic of masculine performance. Paper presented at Sociology Association of Australia and New Zealand (SAANZ) Conference, Dunedin, New Zealand, 26th-28th November 2008.
Carruthers, L. and Shelton, E.J. ‘Beer bottles or batons?’ Ritual and performance in luminal spaces. Paper presented at Sociology Association of Australia and New Zealand (SAANZ) Conference, Dunedin, New Zealand, 26th-28th November 2008.
Shelton, E.J. Evaporating the essence: Towards an understanding of sub-Antarctic visitation. Paper presented at 5th International Coastal and Marine Congress, Auckland, 11th-15th September 2007.
Shelton, E.J. Predator and pest control as a basis for ecotourism product development. Paper presented at: ATLAS Asia-Pacific Conference, Dunedin, 3rd-5th December 2006.
National conferences:
Shelton, E.J. Narratives of nature: Hosts and guests experience Fiordland National Park. Paper presented at Department of Conservation/University of Waikato Conserv-vision: The next 50 years Conference, Hamilton, 4th-7th July 2007.
Miyasaka, T. and Shelton, E.J. The New Zealand ski field lifestyles of Japanese long-stay snowboarders as a ‘figured world’. Paper presented at NZ Tourism and Hospitality research Conference, Dunedin, 6th-8th December 2006.
Shelton, E.J., Fyfe, J. and Broni, S. Joey the Sea(l)ion: From curiosity to almost ecotourism 1936-2006. Paper presented at NZ Tourism and Hospitality research Conference, Dunedin, 6th-8th December 2006.
Shelton, E. and Abbott, M. Understanding NO! Persuasive communication, people and penguins. Paper presented at: NZ Tourism & Hospitality Research Conference, Wellington, 8th-10th December 2004.
Shelton, E and Lübcke, H. Penguins as sights- penguins as sites: the problematics of contestation. Paper presented at: Ecotourism: Wilderness and Mountains, OU Tourism Department 2002
Teaching Experience:
Various undergraduate and postgraduate tourism papers and dissertation supervision.
Hobbies:
Environmental conservation and restoration.
Trustee; Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust
Member; Long Point Restoration Project Advisory Committee, New Zealand Sea Lion Trust, Yellow-eyed Penguin Consultative Group, Otago Natural History Trust (Orokonui Ecosanctuary), Royal Forest and Bird Society of New Zealand