Making Space for Animal Dwelling

Abstract

This chapter explores animal worlds and provides a central conversation about a theory of animal surfaces. It analyzes Rainer Maria Rilke’s notion in Eighth Duino Elegy, where he says that the animal space cannot be understood through direct investigation; only by recalling animals in the human dwelling can people fully comprehend them. It examines Jakob von Uexküll’s research in biosemiotics where he develops a line of inquiry into an animal’s sense of surroundings, something that is close to animal phenomenology. It analyzes the works of Bryndis Snæbjörnsdóttir and Mark Wilson, which examine moments of friction between animal and human worlds. It also describes how the works of Snæbjörnsdóttir and Wilson illustrates the heterogeneity of animal worlds put forth by Uexküll.