Periodic Reporting for period 1 - GOVERN-ANIMALITY (History of Animal Governmentality: Models of Animal Exploitation and Resistance in Europe (mid-17th-19th Centuries))
Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2024-12-31
GOVERN-ANIMALITY is a project dedicated to the study of the history of animal exploitation between the 17th and 19th centuries. Its aim was to intertwine the history of animal husbandry techniques with the history of philosophical and scientific conceptions of the living. In this sense, the project falls within the scope of Animal Studies and, more specifically, within the emerging field of Animal History, to which it seeks to contribute in an original way by reflecting on the relationship between modes of representation and forms of animal exploitation.
One of the key historiographical stakes of the project is the problematization of a common assumption in Animal Studies, particularly in Animal Ethics, which links the intensification of animal exploitation to a mechanistic conception of living beings. According to this view, there would be a continuous line from 17th-century philosophical mechanism to the mechanization of livestock farming in the late 19th century, ultimately reducing animals to thermodynamic machines. In this reconstruction, typical of the history of moral philosophy, the numerous critiques of Cartesian mechanism are acknowledged but treated as a parallel and opposing current. This anti-mechanistic thought is considered not as part of the history of animal exploitation but rather as the prehistory of animal ethics and animal rights.
The GOVERN-ANIMALITY project aimed to challenge this dualistic and ultimately Manichean narrative. This primary philosophical objective was achieved through historical research that sought to reveal the multiplicity of the forms of government of living beings that shaped the modern era. For this reason, I focused in particular on the differences among the animal husbandry sciences developed between the 18th and 19th centuries—specifically agronomy, veterinary science, applied zoology, and zootechnics—which proposed different models of animal exploitation based on distinct epistemological premises. A significant part of the project was also devoted to theories of acclimatization and domestication in the first half of the 19th century, as they represent a salient case of a biological resource exploitation program in the colonies, based on a radically anti-reductionist conception of animals.
The project demonstrates that—consistent with what was simultaneously occurring in human governmental technologies, which Foucault described in terms of biopolitics—animal exploitation dispositifs appropriated the emerging life sciences and even new knowledge of animal behavior to update techniques of breeding and managing living beings.
One of the key historiographical stakes of the project is the problematization of a common assumption in Animal Studies, particularly in Animal Ethics, which links the intensification of animal exploitation to a mechanistic conception of living beings. According to this view, there would be a continuous line from 17th-century philosophical mechanism to the mechanization of livestock farming in the late 19th century, ultimately reducing animals to thermodynamic machines. In this reconstruction, typical of the history of moral philosophy, the numerous critiques of Cartesian mechanism are acknowledged but treated as a parallel and opposing current. This anti-mechanistic thought is considered not as part of the history of animal exploitation but rather as the prehistory of animal ethics and animal rights.
The GOVERN-ANIMALITY project aimed to challenge this dualistic and ultimately Manichean narrative. This primary philosophical objective was achieved through historical research that sought to reveal the multiplicity of the forms of government of living beings that shaped the modern era. For this reason, I focused in particular on the differences among the animal husbandry sciences developed between the 18th and 19th centuries—specifically agronomy, veterinary science, applied zoology, and zootechnics—which proposed different models of animal exploitation based on distinct epistemological premises. A significant part of the project was also devoted to theories of acclimatization and domestication in the first half of the 19th century, as they represent a salient case of a biological resource exploitation program in the colonies, based on a radically anti-reductionist conception of animals.
The project demonstrates that—consistent with what was simultaneously occurring in human governmental technologies, which Foucault described in terms of biopolitics—animal exploitation dispositifs appropriated the emerging life sciences and even new knowledge of animal behavior to update techniques of breeding and managing living beings.
During these past two years, I have primarily worked on three research areas: 1. The history of livestock breeding techniques and their integration into political programs; 2. The history of the concept of domestication; 3. The globalization and industrialization of the meat sector.
For the first research area, I have examined the historical context that led emerging nation-states to invest in animal production at the end of the 17th century, particularly focusing on the establishment of the régime des haras in France. I then traced these transformations through the 18th century, especially with the foundation of veterinary schools aimed at rationalizing livestock breeding techniques through centralized veterinary training. My focus was mainly on the first half of the 19th century, a period of intense political and institutional transformation. This era witnessed growing investments in animal production, such as increasingly large-scale selective breeding and crossbreeding programs, including the mérinisation process of sheep in France. These political initiatives were accompanied by a redefinition of knowledge related to animal breeding and the institutions dedicated to its teaching: in the 1820s, major agricultural schools such as Grignon and Grand-Jouan were founded; in the 1830s, numerous farm schools were established throughout France; and in 1848, the Institut national agronomique was created in Versailles. Against this backdrop, I have been particularly interested in the formulation and development of two competing livestock sciences: applied zoology and zootechnics.
The second research area builds on these inquiries. It was, in fact, the theorists of applied zoology—particularly the naturalist Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire from the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle—who devised a program for exploiting the biological resources of the colonies based on acclimatization and the domestication of new species. I have thus explored the history of the concept of domestication, which was introduced into English at the end of the 18th century and into French in 1830. In France, it quickly became the subject of a broad interdisciplinary debate involving naturalists, historians, anthropologists, and philosophers. Domestication proved to be of interest to these scholars for several reasons: 1. A field of experimentation for zoological sciences and a demonstration of species variability; 2. A strategy for increasing animal resources under the Second Empire; 3. A civilizing and moralizing endeavor (concerning both animals and peasants); 4. A crucial stage in the history of humanity and civilizations. The last two dimensions, in particular, attracted the attention of social thinkers influenced by republican and socialist ideals, such as Jules Michelet, George Sand, Alphonse Esquiros, and Auguste Comte. They saw domestication as an ideal of consensual exploitation of animals and a form of pacified domination over nature.
Finally, the third research area I have developed extends from my studies on the emergence of zootechnics. I have explored the technologies that enabled the new model of globalizing animal resources envisioned by zootechnics theorists in the form of finished products. This led me to investigate the first transoceanic meat trade routes in the 1870s and the application of chemical refrigeration techniques to the transport and production of animal products. During a research period in Argentina and Uruguay, I further examined the interplay between the globalization of animal production and the industrialization of the sector. I consulted the archives of entrepreneurs and politicians who promoted the first refrigerated voyages, as well as those of the largest 19th-century meat factory in the Southern Cone, located in Fray Bentos.
For the first research area, I have examined the historical context that led emerging nation-states to invest in animal production at the end of the 17th century, particularly focusing on the establishment of the régime des haras in France. I then traced these transformations through the 18th century, especially with the foundation of veterinary schools aimed at rationalizing livestock breeding techniques through centralized veterinary training. My focus was mainly on the first half of the 19th century, a period of intense political and institutional transformation. This era witnessed growing investments in animal production, such as increasingly large-scale selective breeding and crossbreeding programs, including the mérinisation process of sheep in France. These political initiatives were accompanied by a redefinition of knowledge related to animal breeding and the institutions dedicated to its teaching: in the 1820s, major agricultural schools such as Grignon and Grand-Jouan were founded; in the 1830s, numerous farm schools were established throughout France; and in 1848, the Institut national agronomique was created in Versailles. Against this backdrop, I have been particularly interested in the formulation and development of two competing livestock sciences: applied zoology and zootechnics.
The second research area builds on these inquiries. It was, in fact, the theorists of applied zoology—particularly the naturalist Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire from the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle—who devised a program for exploiting the biological resources of the colonies based on acclimatization and the domestication of new species. I have thus explored the history of the concept of domestication, which was introduced into English at the end of the 18th century and into French in 1830. In France, it quickly became the subject of a broad interdisciplinary debate involving naturalists, historians, anthropologists, and philosophers. Domestication proved to be of interest to these scholars for several reasons: 1. A field of experimentation for zoological sciences and a demonstration of species variability; 2. A strategy for increasing animal resources under the Second Empire; 3. A civilizing and moralizing endeavor (concerning both animals and peasants); 4. A crucial stage in the history of humanity and civilizations. The last two dimensions, in particular, attracted the attention of social thinkers influenced by republican and socialist ideals, such as Jules Michelet, George Sand, Alphonse Esquiros, and Auguste Comte. They saw domestication as an ideal of consensual exploitation of animals and a form of pacified domination over nature.
Finally, the third research area I have developed extends from my studies on the emergence of zootechnics. I have explored the technologies that enabled the new model of globalizing animal resources envisioned by zootechnics theorists in the form of finished products. This led me to investigate the first transoceanic meat trade routes in the 1870s and the application of chemical refrigeration techniques to the transport and production of animal products. During a research period in Argentina and Uruguay, I further examined the interplay between the globalization of animal production and the industrialization of the sector. I consulted the archives of entrepreneurs and politicians who promoted the first refrigerated voyages, as well as those of the largest 19th-century meat factory in the Southern Cone, located in Fray Bentos.
These scientific results have materialized in significant publications. Two research articles in major journals (Diogène and Annales HSS) are forthcoming.
Additionally, I have published two books whose impact extends beyond the dissemination of research results within the academic community, contributing also to broader public engagement. The first is the Dictionnaire historique et critique des animaux (Champ Vallon, Paris, 2024, 596 pp.), which I co-edited with colleagues Pierre Serna, Véronique Le Ru, and Malik Mellah. This volume is the result of four years of seminars and discussions at the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (FMSH).
The second is Del governo degli animali. Allevamento e biopolitica (Quodlibet, Macerata, 2023, 243 pp.), which has been presented in several bookstores and received positive reviews in both academic journals and general-interest publications, contributing to the broader debate within Animal Studies. Thanks to the research funds from my MSCA fellowship, this monograph will be translated into French in 2025 and published by Champ Vallon in early 2026.
Finally, at the end of November 2024, I organized a two-day international conference titled Domestication and Civilisation: History of an Interdisciplinary Debate. This event provided an opportunity to synthesize the findings of my two-year MSCA project and present them to the academic community while fostering new collaborations. Designed with a strong interdisciplinary approach, the conference brought together historians, philosophers, anthropologists, and archaeologists. It generated significant interest among participants and attendees, leading me to initiate the publication of a special issue compiling the conference contributions. I am currently preparing this volume and will soon submit a proposal to various academic journals. This publication will serve as another key means of extending the impact of the MSCA program in the coming months.
Additionally, I have published two books whose impact extends beyond the dissemination of research results within the academic community, contributing also to broader public engagement. The first is the Dictionnaire historique et critique des animaux (Champ Vallon, Paris, 2024, 596 pp.), which I co-edited with colleagues Pierre Serna, Véronique Le Ru, and Malik Mellah. This volume is the result of four years of seminars and discussions at the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (FMSH).
The second is Del governo degli animali. Allevamento e biopolitica (Quodlibet, Macerata, 2023, 243 pp.), which has been presented in several bookstores and received positive reviews in both academic journals and general-interest publications, contributing to the broader debate within Animal Studies. Thanks to the research funds from my MSCA fellowship, this monograph will be translated into French in 2025 and published by Champ Vallon in early 2026.
Finally, at the end of November 2024, I organized a two-day international conference titled Domestication and Civilisation: History of an Interdisciplinary Debate. This event provided an opportunity to synthesize the findings of my two-year MSCA project and present them to the academic community while fostering new collaborations. Designed with a strong interdisciplinary approach, the conference brought together historians, philosophers, anthropologists, and archaeologists. It generated significant interest among participants and attendees, leading me to initiate the publication of a special issue compiling the conference contributions. I am currently preparing this volume and will soon submit a proposal to various academic journals. This publication will serve as another key means of extending the impact of the MSCA program in the coming months.