Contribution short abstract

My intervention reflects on how transgressing disciplinary and scientific boundaries can imagine and implement a praxis of solidarity and care for humans and more-than-humans in more-than-human political ecology, drawing on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary squirrel-human research.

Contribution long abstract

Western scientific norms are predicated on categorisation and conformity, such as what is (not) seen as acceptable knowledge or methods, what disciplines can (not) ask what questions, what species to (not) care about, and what is (not) acceptable output in what outlets. Such questions, generally more style than substance, can become more important than situating research in relation to political and social change. As we face widening environmental and social inequalities and climate breakdown, a research praxis rooted in identifying and addressing drivers of harm, and taking actions of solidarity towards humans and more-than-humans through intellectual, collaborative and communicative praxis becomes all the more important, including in how to travel, where and with whom to publish and how to communicate findings. My intervention reflects on the key question of how transgressing disciplinary and scientific boundaries can imagine and implement a focus on social change and justice for both humans and more-than-humans in more-than-human political ecology? Based on an interdisciplinary investigation into coexistence between and among (grey) squirrels and humans, I reflect on drawing on social science, natural science and humanities materials and methods as well as storytelling and visual approaches for research and knowledge exchange to promote solidarity both in what and how I research, but also in what and how I communicate. Such practices of everyday care both resist dominant forces driving conforming, for-profit research and education and personal promotion or gain, and are a vital step of building hope and solidarity in more-than-human political ecology and beyond.