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Actors or Agents? Defining the Concept of Relational Agency in (Historical) Wildlife Encounters

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Animal Encounters

Part of the book series: Cultural Animal Studies ((CAS,volume 4))

Abstract

Concepts of animal agency are more often than not exemplified using the relationship between humans and domesticated animals as proofs for their making a difference in this world. This is particular the case for the conceptualization of historical human-animal encounters. In order to also include so called “wild” animals in historical narratives this article therefore argues for an expansion of the idea of relationality to frame both the encounter as well as the space of encounter as relational. Using the example of the European bison (wisent) and the American bison (buffalo), it argues that spatial relations are fundamental in determining just how interspecies relationships work and that by exploring spatiotemporal arrangements of the past, the array of possible animal agency can be laid out and uncovered. It also calls for categorizing ‘wild’ as a specific form of relationship, producing a specific cultural animal type that should be regarded alongside forms of domestication and other encounters with animals when theorizing about animal agency.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The concept of more-than-human-places has been made fruitful by an animal-centred cultural geography.

  2. 2.

    For example Weil; McHugh; Shaw, “The torturer’s horse”; Nance; Lulka.

  3. 3.

    See also Roscher.

  4. 4.

    See for example Hurn; Maurstad; Wilkie.

  5. 5.

    See Hribal; Baratay.

  6. 6.

    See Anderson.

  7. 7.

    See Lorimer, “Elephants”.

  8. 8.

    See on this topic Walker.

  9. 9.

    For a recent discussion see Wandesforde-Smith.

  10. 10.

    William Cronon has shown that wilderness in itself is a deeply problematic term for historians (see Cronon) as well as by the responses to his article.

  11. 11.

    For another example of defining animal agency using the polar bear as an example see Flack.

  12. 12.

    Highlights by the authors.

  13. 13.

    In this text I capitalize National Park when referring to specific National Parks.

  14. 14.

    The correct term would be bison. The settlers however referred to the large beasts as bison and buffalo interchangeably, and the name buffalo, though scientifically inaccurate, stuck.

  15. 15.

    The Crow Nation, called the Apsáalooke in their own Siouan language, are a tribe, who in historical times lived in the Yellowstone River valley.

  16. 16.

    For an overview over these cases, see Burton 25.

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  1. Kassel, Germany

    Mieke Roscher

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  1. Mieke Roscher
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  1. Erlangen, Germany

    Alexandra Böhm

  2. Nürnberg, Germany

    Jessica Ullrich

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Roscher, M. (2019). Actors or Agents? Defining the Concept of Relational Agency in (Historical) Wildlife Encounters. In: Böhm, A., Ullrich, J. (eds) Animal Encounters. Cultural Animal Studies, vol 4. J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-476-04939-1_10

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