Object Agency of a Living/Non-Living Animal Entity: The Case of Horse/Horsemeat
ISBN: 978-1-78635-496-9, eISBN: 978-1-78635-495-2
Publication date: 28 November 2016
Abstract
Purpose
The current study sheds light on non-human object agency by drawing illustrative examples from a case of horse/horsemeat, and thereby captures the ways in which living and non-living animal entities have shifting effects and/or intentions in relation to human entities within heterogeneous networks of cultural resources and practices.
Methodology/approach
Leaning on the post-human approach, the case of horse/horsemeat provides an illustrative empirical entry point into exploring how by looking through the lenses of object agency one can deconstruct the prevailing anthropomorphism-based dualistic views of living and non-living domestic animals as subjects or objects.
Findings
The paper argues that by contemplating both the living horse and non-living horsemeat as ontologically shifting and co-constructive entities in relation to human subjects, we are able to elaborate the contradictions and convergences of object agency that appear in living and/or non-living co-consuming units.
Social implications
The study showcases important aspects of animal welfare, addressing the effects of shifting from a human-centred perspective to a post-human view on equality between various kinds of entities.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the discussions of non-human object agency, addressing the issue from the perspective of an animal entity, which enables participating in deconstructing dualisms such as subject and object as well as living and non-living. In particular, it highlights how in the case of an animal entity, agency may emerge in terms of effects and (some capacity of) intentions both within living and non-living entities.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the editors of this book and the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful feedback to elaborate the research. The authors are grateful to their colleagues at the University of Vaasa and the Hanken School of Economics for participating in this endeavour to educate ourselves about the assemblages of ever-unreachable agencies.
Citation
Syrjälä, H., Jaskari, M.-M. and Leipämaa-Leskinen, H. (2016), "Object Agency of a Living/Non-Living Animal Entity: The Case of Horse/Horsemeat", Consumer Culture Theory (Research in Consumer Behavior, Vol. 18), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 65-91. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0885-211120160000018005
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
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