Affektiivisia eläinkohtaamisia kaupunkiympäristöissä: Monilajinen lähiluonto verkkomedioissa

Viime aikoina humanistisessa ja yhteiskuntatieteellisessä tutkimuksessa on enenevässä määrin alettu kiinnittää huomiota ei-inhimillisiin olentoihin, toimijuuksiin ja eläinsuhteisiin. Melko vähäiselle tutkimukselliselle huomiolle humanistisissa tieteissä ovat kuitenkin toistaiseksi jääneet eläimet, joita kohtaamme arkielämässämme päivittäin: ihmisasutuksen piirissä viihtyvät, villeiksi kategorisoidut nisäkkäät, linnut ja matelijat. Tyypillisesti länsimaiset kaupungit on mielletty ihmiskeskeisiksi ympäristöiksi, mutta yhä useampien eläinlajien tottuessa ihmisen läsnäoloon ja urbaanien ympäristöjen laajentuessa kaupunkiympäristöt ovat muotoutuneet monilajisiksi. Vaikka kohtaamiset kaupunkien villieläinten kanssa voivat olla lyhytaikaisia, niiden merkityksellisyyttä osoittaa se, että niistä kerrotaan ja raportoidaan sosiaalisessa mediassa, ja aika ajoin eläinten edesottamukset ylittävät perinteisenkin median uutiskynnyksen.Käsittelen artikkelissani erilaisia mediakuvauksia ihmisten ja villieläinten kohtaamisista kaupunkimaisissa ympäristöissä. Kysyn, minkälaiset eläimet tulevat näkyviksi uutismedioissa ja sosiaalisessa mediassa, entä millaiset tilanteet? Millaisia tunteita tai affektiivisia reaktioita tilanteet herättävät? Minkälaisia toimijuuksia kohtaamisissa rakentuu? Aineistoina käytän Twitteristä kokoamiani päivityksiä, joissa kuvaillaan kohtaamisia kaupunkieläinten kanssa, sekä Helsingin Sanomien ja Yleisradion verkkosivuilla julkaistuja kaupunkieläimiä käsitteleviä uutisia, ja uutisista kommenttiosioissa käytyjä keskusteluja. Molemmissa aineistoissa keskeisessä asemassa ovat eläimiä esittävät kuvat tai videot. Jäsennän aineistoja sisällönanalyysin keinoin, kiinnittäen erityistä huomiota tunteiden ja toimijuuksien ilmaisuihin.Tarkastelen kaupunkieläinten esityksiä affektiivisuuden näkökulmasta, yhdistäen ihmistieteellisessä eläintutkimuksessa ja mediakulttuurin tutkimuksessa esille tuotuja näkemyksiä. Ymmärrän kaupunkiympäristöjen monilajiset kohtaamiset Nina Nygrenin ja Taru Peltolan (2014) ajatusten mukaisesti kehollisina affektiivisina tilanteina, joihin usein kytkeytyvät erilaiset odotukset ja yllätykset. Joidenkin eläinten havaitseminen ihmisasutuksen keskellä on tavanomaista ja näitä kohtaamisia jopa odotetaan ja etsitään. Usein eläimet kuitenkin onnistuvat yllättämään – toiminnallaan tai pelkällä olemassaolollaan tietyssä paikassa. Tavallisesti näkymättömiin jäävien lähiympäristön eläinkohtaamisten tarkastelu tuo näkyviin uusia puolia suhteestamme luontoon ja muunlajisiin olentoihin.Avainsanat: eläimet, kaupunkieläimet, villiys, monilajisuus, affektiivisuus, TwitterAffective Animal Encounters in Urban Environments: Multispecies Local Nature in Web MediaWestern cities and other urban areas are typically understood as human environments although more and more non-human animal species have accustomed themselves to human presence and started to live in urban environments. Thus, cities may be seen as multispecies settings. Even though encounters with urban wild animals may be short, their significance is shown in the fact that they are often reported on the social media, and the antics of non-human animals rather regularly also make to the headlines of traditional media.In this article, I discuss media representations of encounters of humans and wild animals in urban environments in Finland. My questions are: What kinds of animals and situations become visible in news media and social media? What kinds of affective reactions arise in these encounters and what kinds of agencies are constructed? As research materials, I use Twitter posts and their comments that describe encounters with urban animals. In addition, I discuss news and comments related to urban animals published in two news websites: newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, and the Finnish National Broadcasting Company YLE. In both materials, photos and videos representing animals are focal. The materials are analysed through theoretically informed content analysis.Theoretically, I use affectivity as a starting point, and combine views from human-animal studies and media studies. I understand multispecies encounters in urban environments as bodily affective situations, intertwined with many kinds of expectations and surprises. Seeing certain animal species near human settlement is common and anticipated, but often animals take humans by surprise, either through their behaviour or simply by dwelling in a certain place. Exploring the usually inconspicuous animal encounters in local nature displays novel aspects about our relationships with nature and non-human beings.Keywords: animals, urban wild animals, multispecies, affectivity, Twitte

In Search of Invisible Cows: Collaboration, Resistance and Affection in Human-Animal Relationships on Contemporary Dairy Farms

The notion of “invisible cows” has become popular in Finnish dairy production. This concept emerges in a very specific historical context: Increasing herd size, changing technological infrastructure in cowsheds, and the transformation of farmer identities all contribute to a need for more intensified forms of collaborative practices between humans and animals. An invisible cow is healthy, corporally compliant, obedient, easy and collaborative both in its body and behaviour. Invisible cows form a uniform herd in which individual animals require minimal care from farmers. In this paper, we explore how this new ideal is manifested on dairy farms, and how it changes the agencies of both farmers and animals and affects human-animal relationships. We examine the notions of collaboration, resistance and human-animal affection and aim to build links between these concepts. Our discussion of everyday work on dairy farms reveals the unattainability of invisibility. In various ways cattle resist their enactment as see-through members of the herd. Furthermore, invisibility can also be resisted by farmers who embrace their relations with specific animals who fail to stay invisible. Our paper contributes to a more complex understanding of the intertwinement of human and animal agencywithin dairy husbandry and argues that collaborative and resistant practices are always entangled

In Search of Invisible Cows. Collaboration, Resistance and Affection in Human-Animal Relationships on Contemporary Dairy Farms.

The notion of “invisible cows” has become popular in Finnish dairy production. This concept emerges in a very specific historical context: Increasing herd size, changing technological infrastructure in cowsheds, and the transformation of farmer identities all contribute to a need for more intensified forms of collaborative practices between humans and animals. An invisible cow is healthy, corporally compliant, obedient, easy and collaborative both in its body and behaviour. Invisible cows form a uniform herd in which individual animals require minimal care from farmers. In this paper, we explore how this new ideal is manifested on dairy farms, and how it changes the agencies of both farmers and animals and affects human-animal relationships. We examine the notions of collaboration, resistance and human-animal affection and aim to build links between these concepts. Our discussion of everyday work on dairy farms reveals the unattainability of invisibility. In various ways cattle resist their enactment as see-through members of the herd. Furthermore, invisibility can also be resisted by farmers who embrace their relations with specific animals who fail to stay invisible. Our paper contributes to a more complex understanding of the intertwinement of human and animal agencywithin dairy husbandry and argues that collaborative and resistant practices are always entangled.</p

Priorities for social science and humanities research on the challenges of moving beyond animal-based food systems

Increasingly high-profile research is being undertaken into the socio-environmental challenges associated with the over-production and consumption of food from animals. Transforming food systems to mitigate climate change and hidden hunger, ensure food security and good health all point to reducing animal-based foods as a key lever. Moving beyond animal-based food systems is a societal grand challenge requiring coordinated international research by the social sciences and humanities. A 'selective openness' to this range of disciplines has been observed within multi-discipline research programmes designed to address societal grand challenges including those concerned with the sustainability of food systems, inhibiting the impact of social sciences and humanities. Further, existing research on animal-based foods within these disciplines is largely dispersed and focused on particular parts of food systems. Inspired by the 'Sutherland Method' this paper discusses the results of an iterative research prioritisation process carried out to enhance capacity, mutual understanding and impact amongst European social sciences and humanities researchers. The process produced 15 research questions from an initial list of 100 and classified under the following five themes: (1) debating and visioning food from animals; (2) transforming agricultural spaces; (3) framing animals as food; (4) eating practices and identities; and (5) governing transitions beyond animal-based food systems. These themes provide an important means of making connections between research questions that invite and steer research on key challenges in moving beyond animal-based food systems. The themes also propose loci for future transdisciplinary research programmes that join researchers from the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities and stakeholders from beyond academia to develop cooperative research and implementation initiatives. The experiences gained from the prioritisation process draw attention to the value of spending time to discuss and collaboratively steer research enquiry into emergent and controversial matters of concern. Fundamental, ethical questions around the continuation or complete cessation of the use of animals for food was a key tension. The positioning of research towards these questions affects not only the framing of the research area but also the partners with whom the research can be carried out and for whom it may be of benefit.peerReviewe