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
Lecture for Environmental History Week
In April, Monica Vasile delivered a lecture for Environmental History Week, organised by the American Society for Environmental History. A history of the Przewalski’s horses in the 20th century: from the zoo back to Mongolia Abstract: The talk will explore the history...
Globalizing Wildlife Book Workshop
Moving Animals hosted a two-day workshop this month for our book project, Globalizing Wildlife. The workshop brought scholars from around the world (in person and online) to Maastricht University to share their contributions to the volume and discuss what ('wild')...
Research in New Zealand
Monica Vasile is currently in New Zealand conducting research on the South Island Takahē, a flightless bird and the largest member of the rail family. Indigenous to New Zealand, Takahē were once thought to be extinct until they were dramatically 'rediscovered' in...
Simone Schleper wins Alice Hamilton Prize!
At the recent 2023 American Society for Environmental History (ASEH) Conference, Simone Schleper was awarded the Alice Hamilton Prize for best article outside the journal Environmental History. Part of her work for the Moving Animals project, Schleper's article...
Presentation at Käte Hamburger Kolleg: Cultures of Research (c:o/re)
This March, Vanessa Bateman presented at the workshop “Historicizing STS: Turning Points in Reflections on Science and Technology” at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg: Cultures of Research (c:o/re) in Aachen, an International Center for Advanced Studies in Philosophy,...
Raf De Bont featured on Maastricht University’s series on Sustainability Research
Raf De Bont addresses the question of why historians should be interested in animals for Maastricht University's Sustainability Research video series.
Publication in the September Issue of Isis
Raf De Bont published the article, "Moving across the Zoo–Field Border: Heini Hediger in Congo," in the September 2022 issue of Isis: An International Review Devoted to the History of Science and its Cultural Influences. The article explores "why the Basel zoo...
Moving Animals Advisory Board Holds Panel Discussion on Animal History and STS
On January 26, the Moving Animals project finally had its first in-person board meeting, bringing together Clemens Driesen (Wageningen University and Research), Dolly Jørgensen (University of Stavanger), Mieke Roscher (University of Kassel), and Bert Theunissen...
Research and Conference Presentation in Paris
Vanessa Bateman was in Paris in January where she conducted research at Bibliothèque centrale du Jardin des Plantes. This included reading through old issues of sporting and nature periodicals from the early 20th century, and finding visual evidence of the link...
Research in Michigan, Toronto, and Hawaii
During November-December 2022 Vincent Bijman spent several weeks in the US and Canada, where he was researching the invasive Sea Lamprey and the Mongoose. He traveled to Washington, D.C., Ann Arbor, Michigan, Toronto, Ontario, and Hawaii. Archives that he visited...