Abstract
The British polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance voyage (1914-16) was one of the last great feats of the ‘heroic age’ of exploration. In the 1990s, the story was suddenly rediscovered in a blaze of publicity. This article investigates why Shackleton suddenly seemed ‘a hero for our time’. It treats ‘the explorer’ as a subject position, as articulating discourses of whiteness and masculinity within the discourse of adventure and shows how Shackleton’s public persona exemplified these hegemonic traits. Recent re-enactments of his famous boat journey embody this subject position, confirming and enriching the ideal of the heroic explorer. Finally, the article examines how ‘Shackleton’ has been taken up by the adventure travel industry and by business management consultants strongly invested in ideals of white men’s leadership.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
