Alive Together—Interdisciplinary Practice in Human/Non-Human Relationships

Perhaps never more than now, in a time of ecological and pandemic crisis, ‘animals are entering our lives’ (Mueller, Alive together: new and selected poems: LSU Press; 1996). Today, the presence of non-humans is felt keenly as humanity begins to understand the fullness of our impact upon the environment and other species within it. Interdisciplinary approaches bring new forms of engagement, yet many initiatives are in practice transactional. Here, we present an educational approach to working with human/animal relationships that moves beyond the exchange of services to develop deep collaborative practices.

The interdisciplinary course, Alive Together (http://alivetogether.i3s.up.pt) explores the broad theme of human/animal relationships using a ground up approach. Led by a multidisciplinary faculty, experienced in working across disciplines, keynote lectures and exercises introduce participants to the topic from the perspective of arts, ethology and humanities. Participants then form working groups around shared interests and are mentored in the development of their own interdisciplinary projects. The first edition brought together 17 international participants, including artists, scientists, ethologists, anthrozoologists and humanities scholars leading to three projects that explored the human/whale relationship, the human/rat relationship and languages of love and vulnerability in human/animal relationships.

The structure of Alive Together allows for deep engagement with topics and provides time for interdisciplinary relationships to be nurtured and grow beyond the duration of the course itself. With peers working together across academic disciplines, the project provides space for developing collaborative projects that are generated through mutual respect, rather than transactional needs. Such approaches actively critique existing ways of working and lead to processes, practices and outcomes that transcend disciplinary boundaries.