Seminář Etnologického ústavu, pondělí 3. 6., 14.00, Horní přednáškový sál ÚČL, Na Florenci 3, Praha 1

The story of the 23 million feral pigs inhabiting Australia must be understood through their relationship with humans. Research on free-roaming pigs in Australia connects us with histories of colonialism, “natural” and agricultural ecological projects, modernist categories, debates about legitimacy and belonging, and contested perspectives on environmental futures in Australia and across the globe. Further, investigating human and feral pig relations requires that an engagement with an overlooked cultural group in anthropology: recreational hunters. Multispecies research on the vibrant pig hunting worlds of Australia promises interesting insights on nonhuman agency, the performance of identity at the interspecies interface, and the role of killing in multispecies co-existence. The purpose of this paper is to present the preliminary conceptual stages of a new research project and outline questions of interest for upcoming ethnographic investigation.