This month, the Of Animacy Reading Group reconvenes to discuss Vinciane Despret and Michel Meuret’s ‘Cosmoecological Sheep and the Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet’.

In this 2016 essay, Despret and Meuret discuss the recent re-emergence of traditional sheep herding practices in the South of France. When shepherds graze their sheep by way of seasonal movement between pastures – instead of industrially confined feeding systems – they begin to jointly navigate their expanded habitat, transforming the landscape along the way. In their essay, Despret and Meuret describe this process as ‘cosmoecology’, a mode of existence in which multiple beings respond to each other’s existence in attunement with their local environment. Despret and Meuret argue that these connections between humans and non-humans can encourage us to craft new ways to help life flourish on a damaged planet.

This session will offer an environment in which to collectively explore, critique and come to understand the argument for cosmoecology.

Under discussion:

Further reading: 

For access to the text and further information on the reading group, please email nella@nellaaarne.art.