Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology SAS
Topic
More-than-Human Worlds: Exploring Human-Animal Connections through Sensory Ethnography
PhD. program
World Cultures and Religions, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University or Social anthropology, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University
Year of admission
2025
Name of the supervisor
Mgr., MgA. Jaroslava Panáková, PhD.
Contact:
Receiving school
Filozofická fakulta UK
Annotation
This research situates itself within the expanding field of multispecies anthropology, engaging with sensory ethnography to explore human-animal relationships beyond an anthropocentric framework. Addressing the entangled lifeworlds of humans and nonhumans, the study examines how sensory perception, embodied knowledge, and affect shape interspecies relationships, particularly in pastoral, hunting, and animal-training contexts. Drawing on Haraway’s (2003, 2008) concept of “companion species” and Tsing’s (2015) work on co-dependency in ecological systems, it highlights how animals actively participate in knowledge production, spiritual practices, and/or landscape navigation. The project can expand upon the existing ethnographic accounts of sensory engagement in the training of companion animals, including Whitney (1982) on Buzkashi, Marvin (1988) on bullfighting, Cassidy (2002) on English horse racing, Parkes (2005) on polo, Fajardo (2008) on cockfighting, Khalaf (2000) with regard to camel racing, Jerolmack (2013) on pigeon flying and Fijn on horse archery (2021). By foregrounding nonhuman agency, this project will contribute to debates on perception, embodiment, and interspecies co-becoming, advancing sensory anthropology’s role in understanding human-animal entanglements in diverse ecological and cultural settings.