Abstract
There is a growing body of literature in the field of environmental education that draws from the phenomenological tradition in theorizing about human-animal interactions. I am inspired by the eco-phenomenology of Phillip G. Payne and aim here to further an educational pedagogy of intercorporeal relations and to conceptualize M:W as “an active experiential and existential site of and for inquiry in and with various natures and environments.” From the animal welfarist perspective, some work has also been done about how these interactions occur in the contexts of zoos and wildlife sanctuaries, and how they can be mutually enriching for non/humans; Lindsey Mehrkam, Nicolle Verdi, and Clive Wynne have specifically studied captive wolves and wolf-dogs in this regard. Holding all these schools of thought in mind, this essay lies at the four-way intersection of human-animal studies (HAS), anthropological methodology, environmental education, and phenomenology. More specifically, I endeavor to bring the anthropological framework of dynamic embodiment—which draws heavily from phenomenology but has been largely humancentric—firmly into conversation with these other intellectual genealogies.
Highlights
The Transformative Potential of Wolf GreetingsOne by one, the students steadily marched single file through the wooden gate as I held it open for them
Could not help but sneak a furtive glance to their right to watch the creatures as they bounded down the hillside to greet the human delegation. Before these bipedal visitors could even find their seats, the wolves were upon them. This particular group of humans was from United World College, an international school that takes its students off the beaten path for service-learning trips with a focus on social change and experiential learning.[1]
They narrate both intra- and interspecies interactions, and connect the observed behaviors to larger concepts about wolf and wildlife ecology. They use what Mary Bucholtz and Kira Hall have termed “tactics of intersubjectivity” to relate wolf pack dynamics to recognizable human behaviors.[48]. Such tactics are effective because, again drawing from Dillard-Wright, they are based on the tacit understanding that “when humans encounter other species, they do not approach something altogether alien, they recognize in these ‘others’ features that are already familiar.”[49]. All these roles necessitate an acute awareness of the wolfs’ methods of bodily communication, a continual evaluation of their level of comfort, and anticipation of their future movements
Summary
The students steadily marched single file through the wooden gate as I held it open for them. They use what Mary Bucholtz and Kira Hall have termed “tactics of intersubjectivity” to relate wolf pack dynamics to recognizable human behaviors.[48] Such tactics are effective because, again drawing from Dillard-Wright, they are based on the tacit (but often unacknowledged) understanding that “when humans encounter other species, they do not approach something altogether alien, they recognize in these ‘others’ features that are already familiar.”[49] All these roles necessitate an acute awareness of the wolfs’ methods of bodily communication, a continual evaluation of their level of comfort, and anticipation of their future movements This mode of awareness, what I call a lupine sensibility, is a feral reformulation of Shapiro’s posture of kinesthetic empathy, “through which [one] attempts to directly sense the motor intention or attitude or project of the animal,” which I explain in detail .[50] These roles entail evaluating the humans moving around the enclosure using the same criteria and determining if their bodily comportment or “performances” of wolfness will be perceived as friendly or threatening by the ambassadors. A number of factors influence the minutiae of these interactions, some of which include the following
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