Session organizers: Andrew Butler1, Charlotte Veal2; Discussant: Maggie Roe2
(1) Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
(2) Newcastle University, UK
Session description
In this session, we will engage with the anthropocentric phenomena of borders from a more-than-human or multi-species approach. We invite contributors to this call to explore the intricate and entangled relationships between the landscapes and its diverse inhabitants (animal, microbial, floral, elemental, etc), examining the impact of boundaries and borders on these ecological and social contexts. As landscape flows across borders, so do the inhabitants of these landscapes who reside in fluid ecosystems. Hence, we utilise a more-than-human perspective to scrutinizing the conventional conceptualization of boundaries and border territories.
Drawing on studies from various geographic locations and temporal contexts, we hope the session will highlights the uneven, yet inherently porous nature of borders within landscapes, and the intricate ways in which different species navigate and transcend physical and conceptual borders. From migratory patterns of wildlife to the symbiotic relationships between flora and fauna, we hope to develop narratives that will extend beyond human-centric notions of territoriality, putting a reign to human exceptionalism. We invite studies which question boundaries in all of their forms, be it imagined, perceived, designated or customary boundaries, architectural or biometric, and across their many scales from national frontier to individual ownership boundaries. We will question how boundaries are constructed, contested, and negotiated, not solely by human agency but through the dynamic interactions of more-than-human entities. And we open discussion on the plethora of border and boundary infrastructures and legislations that slow down, redirect, channel, and prevent boundary crossings.
We encourage a broad range of contributions from artistic expressions, theoretical discussions, empirical research findings, multi-species methodologies, and/or theorizing of boundaries to help us develop an interdisciplinary forum of debate and discussion. This session seeks to expand the discourse on landscapes, boundaries, and borders through embracing a multi-species perspective. By engaging the rich tapestry of non-/more-than-human life, we pave the way for a more inclusive and sustainable approach to landscape management and conservation.
Possible topics
– borders through animal, microbial, trees, plants perspectives
– beyond-national, non-human borders (deserts, watershed etc)
– practices and policies of border-making (biopolitical, biosecurity, biometric, etc)
– multi-species justice, laws and rights
– trade in wildlife and ecology
– ‘specie-ing’ social-material borders/boundaries
– transnational, trans-species conservation
– multi-species theorising/cosmologies of borders and boundaries
– landscape-scale management of borders/multi-species borderscape planning
– ecological thresholds, liminalities, transit zones
– multispecies arts/performances of the border
– multispecies border temporalities (seasonality, rhythms, punctuations, disruptions)
