Gareth Enticott, Professor of Human Geography from the University of Cardiff, will be visiting the Institute of Ethnology to meet with the Department of Ecological Anthropology. He will also be delivering a public seminar entitled "Echoes of Silence: Breeds of empire and the global geography of sheepdogs"

 

The talk will take place on Tuesday 04.03.2025 at 14:00 (CET) in the seminar room of the Institute of Ethnology CAS, Na Florenci 3, Prague 1.  To attend in person or online please register here 

 

In 1894, James Lilico – a Northumbrian shepherd – emigrated to New Zealand. On arrival, his first act was to send home for his sheepdog, Captain, dissatisfied with the half dozen ‘brainless mongrels’ he was given to work the tussocky plains of Southland. In doing so, he set in motion a chain of events that redefined the very nature of sheepdogs, both in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. In this paper, I explore the global mobility of sheepdogs, the establishment and maintenance of sheepdog cultures, and who is a ‘good dog’. Specifically, I examine the role that noise (barking) plays in creating the ideal sheepdog. Drawing on the concept of ‘soundscapes’, I reveal how sheepdogs were silenced in creating the Border Collie as a ‘breed of empire’. Whilst this form of ‘sound imperialism’ eradicated other breeds, and travelled around the world, it was not wholly successful: New Zealand shepherds bred their own dogs – the New Zealand Huntaway – and relied on noise to farm. I explore the reasons for breeding noise: how noise developed in relation to environment and technology, reflected cultural ideas of good farming and national identity, and the ‘art of noise’ central to a sheepdog’s ‘hill sense’. Finally, I examine the socio-cultural reasons why British farmers have turned to New Zealand Huntaways, and how their importation into the UK reveals an echo of silence.

 

Gareth Enticott is a Professor of Human Geography at Cardiff University. His research has broadly focused on a range of rural matters, especially biosecurity and the management of animal health. He is currently working on a book, entitled ‘The Global Sheepdog: The Sights and Sounds of a Multispecies Geography’.