The Car as Avatar in Australian Social Security Decisions

Kieran Tranter ‘The Car as Avatar in Social Security Decisions’ (2014) 27(4) International Journal for the Semiotics of Law 713–734

21 Pages Posted: 5 Feb 2016

See all articles by Kieran Mark Tranter

Kieran Mark Tranter

Griffith University - Griffith Law School

Date Written: July 8, 2014

Abstract

This paper draws upon automobile semiotics and legal semiotics to argue that the car in Australian social security decisions becomes an avatar for the applicant that is decoded into meaning streams concerning deservingness and prudence. It is suggested that this examination of a less than obvious site of law and automobility had two implications. The first it highlights the techniques where by a technical object (the car) and the ‘life’ of the applicant became bridged in law; and through that bridging life becomes ‘formatted.’ The second highlights the extent of automobile culture. The car has meaning beyond the highways and parking lots. The paper shows how these meanings have become integrated into processes of biopolitical governance.

Keywords: Automobility; Automobile Semiotics; Avatar; Biopolitics; Deservingness; Australian Social Security

Suggested Citation

Tranter, Kieran Mark, The Car as Avatar in Australian Social Security Decisions (July 8, 2014). Kieran Tranter ‘The Car as Avatar in Social Security Decisions’ (2014) 27(4) International Journal for the Semiotics of Law 713–734 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2728152

Kieran Mark Tranter (Contact Author)

Griffith University - Griffith Law School ( email )

Nathan Campus, GU
Nathan 4111
Australia

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