Cultural Traffic and the Making of New Zealand's Veterinary Profession, 1880s-1960s

Abstract

The idea of cultural traffic is used here to deconstruct the story of veterinary professional development in one country: New Zealand. Such analysis elucidates less obvious, less foregrounded elements that have not been integrated into the main narrative of veterinary occupational change. The present assessment reconsiders previously documented instances of cultural traffic across national borders. Although the focus is primarily on veterinary traffic between New Zealand and Australia, this analysis points to broader mobilities of people, practices, and ideas. The study adds to contemporary critique of nation-centric “nation-building” modernisation narratives.