The Global Pigeon

Abstract

In 2002, Arnold Arluke queried the internal obstacles facing the progress of the sociological study of human-nonhuman animal relations. While we have seen an increase in sociological research in this area, there is still a clear and present misunderstanding and discounting of the importance of animals in sociology in general. The Global Pigeon should chip away at these barriers. While fundamentally a book about people’s interactions with pigeons, it is also about community, culture, race, class, identity, and environment. With the goal of understanding how humans negotiate or navigate social lives through relationships with animals, Colin Jerolmack chose to study pigeons in urban settings. While perhaps peculiar, the choice is what makes his book transcend disciplines. Jerolmack explains that we conceptualize city space as our space. We envision nonhumans in these areas only when controlled by us (i.e., gardens, parks, zoos). In reality, he notes that nonhuman life permeates all of our city space, no matter how hard we try to contain it. It is in this area of tension where he claims ‘‘we can begin to understand how the borders and contours of urban experience are shaped through cross-species encounters’’ (p. 16). Jerolmack spent three years in the field, investigating areas where pigeons are fed publicly and men who raise and fly pigeons. He conducted ethnographic case studies in New York City, Venice, London, and Berlin. His research was extensive historically, assuring full understanding of his settings. This approach allowed Jerolmack to unearth different types of interactions in diverse populations, though not for representative purposes. Indeed, pigeons are part of what Goffman (1983) calls ‘‘interaction order’’ in urban spaces, and he claims they do help shape our social lives. What we find in The Global Pigeon is that context matters. In New York, pigeonfeeding led to close relationships with pigeons for those who saw the task as a duty. For those who fed more spontaneously, pigeon-feeding often made people feel more connected to one another, even if only for brief periods in time. In Venice and London, pigeon-feeding was a cultural attraction that included vendors who relied on selling feed to make a living. Pigeons are so commonplace at the Piazza that they appear prominently in postcards and paintings. Ultimately it seemed for most that the only way to fully experience the Piazza or Trafalgar Square was through feeding the pigeons. The pigeons made these places feel authentic. Not everyone experienced pigeons this way. In fact, they are commonly equated with filth, and all three cities constructed pigeons as the bane of their cities, right up there with prostitution and other illicit activities. They were framed by officials in Venice and London as symbolic of disorder. In the end, Venetian and London officials pitted pigeons against human quality of life. These two cities could and did legislate against pigeon-feeding, though to differing degrees of success. In the end, many in Venice who saw pigeons as a nuisance and wanted to trim their numbers were compelled to support their existence. Through pigeon-feeding, Jerolmack discovered the various connections people made through interactions with pigeons. For some, relationships were melded with the birds. With others, human relationships ensued. Finally, feeding in some instances created a connection with space and location. The interactions solidified the authenticity of the place and the occasion. Jerolmack also investigates more intimate relationships between caretakers and their pigeons. For these men, the interactions helped develop self-esteem and establish a social self, community, and even national identity. In both New York and Berlin, men invested countless hours of hard work caring for pigeons despite dwindling numbers of caretakers. Some New York Flyers repeatedly spoke about the hard work and routinized care they provided, describing the work as 70 Reviews