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
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
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
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 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
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
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,...
Chapter in The Routledge Handbook of Environmental History
Together Raf De Bont and Simone Schleper have a chapter in the recently published The Routledge Handbook of Environmental History, edited by Emily O'Gorman, William San Martín, Mark Carey, and Sandra Swart. Their chapter "Actor-networks, conservation treaties, and...
Moving Animals Festival at Naturalis in February 2024
Moving Animals is planning a special event at Naturalis in February! On Friday, February 2, "Moving Animals: Wetenschapsfestival in Naturalis" promises to be a fun and educational evening about the history of animals. The evening will include a lecture by Raf De Bont,...
Presentation at 2023 IUCN International Conservation Translocation Conference, Australia
Monica Vasile presented at the IUCN International Conservation Translocation Conference held in Fremantle, Australia, 12-15 November. As the conference website states, "The International Conservation Translocation Conference (ICTC) is a premier conservation...
Presentation at Western History Association Conference
Last month, Vanessa Bateman presented her research on elk conservation and animal photography at the Western History Association conference in Los Angeles, California. The Bellwether Histories themed panel "Warnings Ignored: Animal Crises in the American West”...