2020 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Encounters between Humans and Stray Cats in the Urban Environment: An Anthropological Study of Relationality through Touch
Project/Area Number |
19J20515
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Research Institution | Osaka University |
Principal Investigator |
ホワイト ケアラ シュエテナケット 大阪大学, 人間科学研究科, 特別研究員(DC1)
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Project Period (FY) |
2019-04-25 – 2022-03-31
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Keywords | multispecies ethnography / sensory infrasctructures / STS / community cats / human-animal studies |
Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
With the increasing worsening of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic over 2020 and 2021, this research was considerably delayed when the restrictions in local travel began in May, 2020, and increasing fear of infection made interacting in a face-to-face setting difficult, and thus continuing research was considerably halted. This year, I intended to continue participant observation fieldwork with volunteer groups and individuals caring for community cats. Given the nature of the interactions between people and cats in the urban landscape, being physically "present" is necessary. However, while the research objectives of this fiscal year were partially carried over to the next year, some progress on data collection did occur both online in digital formats such as observing group mailing lists, social media, and participating in digital video conferencing, as well as some face-to-face in-person fieldwork when a state of emergency or quasi-state of emergency was not in place. In addition, I was able to focus more fully on developing multispecies multimodal methodologies through researching the possibilities of capturing more-than-human perspectives and interactions through available technology, and editing prior audio-visual data, and as a result later presented papers were richer and more informative. I made considerable progress on writing conferences papers. Although most of the conferences I applied to were canceled after being peer-reviewed and accepted, once the necessary preparations were made for online conferences, I successfully presented online in March, 2019.
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Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
3: Progress in research has been slightly delayed.
Reason
Soon after the school year began in 2020, not only my university campus, but businesses and other organizations quickly began to close down in April 2020, and growing fear of infection and uncertain infection routes alongside emergency declarations one after another made in-person fieldwork difficult if not impossible. Although I was able to turn to alternative digital field sites and develop a richer understanding of and experiment with multispecies multimodal methodologies, this could not replace the original research design.
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Strategy for Future Research Activity |
At the point of this writing, in-person fieldwork has resumed. Connections with existing contacts as well as new contacts has been established, and fieldwork alongside interviews, document analysis, and multimodal methodologies continue. I am confident at this point that the research will be finished by the end of the extended period.
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Research Products
(1 results)