Moving Animals

A History of Science, Media and Policy in the Twentieth Century

In the twentieth century, processes of globalization and increasing pressure on uncultivated areas have transformed humans’ relations with undomesticated non-human animals. Because human and animal territorialities intersected in novel ways, life scientists and policymakers were increasingly spurred to study and manage animal mobility across the globe. Simultaneously, media representations of animals circulated at an unparalleled scale.

The ‘Moving Animals’ project – sponsored by an NWO Vici grant – will study changing human-nature relations by focusing on human involvement with ‘wild’ animals that move (or are being moved) over great distances. More in particular, it will analyze how the long-distance movement of these animals has been studied, represented, managed and policed throughout twentieth century. Four main categories of animal mobility take center stage: (1) biological invasions, (2) reintroductions of locally extinct species, (3) seasonal migrations and (4) the trading of zoo animals. By probing how these various forms of animal movement have been made knowable, visible and controllable, the project will cast a light on the changing place and space of animals in today’s globalizing world.

Latest News

Seminar Lecture for Animal History Group

Seminar Lecture for Animal History Group

In May, Vanessa Bateman gave a lecture for the Animal History Group Annual Seminar Series. Her talk, "Saving the American Elk with Camera" discussed her research on the creation of the National Elk Refuge in 1912 by way of photography, and how "the visual culture of...

Lecture on Vancouver Island Marmots at Oulu University

Lecture on Vancouver Island Marmots at Oulu University

Monica Vasile was invited to give a lecture on the 8th of May on her research on the history of decline and recovery of the Vancouver Island Marmot for a lecture series curated by the Biology Department at the University of Oulu.

Taking part in the Conservation Humanities Network

Taking part in the Conservation Humanities Network

In the beginning of May, Monica Vasile attended in Munich the first meeting of the European Conservation Humanities Network, a group of scholars who aim to establish a field of research and engagement that brings approaches from the humanities to bear on the...

Lecture in Helsinki at Helsus

Lecture in Helsinki at Helsus

In April, Monica Vasile gave a talk at the Helsinki Institute for Sustainability Science, HELSUS, on the history of wildlife conservation and the Przewalski's Horse, followed by a discussion with environmental historian Mikko Saikku. The lecture can be watched on...

Visiting Fellowship at University of Oulu, Finland

Visiting Fellowship at University of Oulu, Finland

From January to June, Monica Vasile is a visiting fellow, VisitAnt, in the interdisciplinary programme Biodiverse Anthropocenes at the University of Oulu in Finland (not far from the Arctic Circle). There, Monica shares an office in the Genetics and Ecology department...

Three Chapters in Gender and Animals in History

Three Chapters in Gender and Animals in History

The Moving Animals project is well represented in the newly published book Gender and Animals in History, Yearbook of Women's History (Amsterdam University Press), edited by Sandra Swart. Vanessa Bateman, Simone Schleper, and Monica Vasile each have a chapter,...

Presentation at Animals in the History of Technology Workshop

Presentation at Animals in the History of Technology Workshop

In March, Vanessa Bateman presented new research at the workshop "From Passive Livestock to Untamed Beings Reanimating Animals in the History of Technology" at Technical University Berlin, organized by Christian Zumbrägel. Her paper is based on archival research from...

Moving Animals at Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Moving Animals at Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Moving Animals held a successful event on February 2nd at Naturalis in Leiden. For one evening, historians took over the national museum of natural history and research center on biodiversity with lectures, workshops and demonstrations, and an interview with Tijs...

Article in Environment and History

Article in Environment and History

Monica Vasile has an article in the latest issue of Environment and History titled, "From Reintroduction to Rewilding: Autonomy, Agency and the Messy Liberation of the European Bison." Read it HERE! Abstract: In the age of the sixth extinction, human interventions to...

Article in Environmental History

Article in Environmental History

Raf De Bont has an article in the next issue of Environmental History. "The Economy of Rarity: Animal-Catching, Cryptozoology, and the Mid-Twentieth-Century Zoo" is available ahead of print and open access HERE. Abstract From the mid-twentieth century onward,...