Project description
Fluid Frontiers: whales redefining international sea boundaries
Traditional border studies often ignore the natural world, focusing almost entirely on human activity. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the BorderWhale project will explore how whales and their complex relationships with people help define and challenge international sea boundaries. By using a unique approach called multispecies ethnography, the project aims to clarify how these marine giants influence ocean conservation and local cultural identities. Beyond this, the project will move past human-centered politics to create a new framework for understanding how different animals impact global affairs. Ultimately, the project’s objective is to promote a more inclusive and environmentally just approach to geopolitics, acknowledging that animals are important actors in shaping our world’s borders.
Objective
"BorderWhale goes beyond anthropocentrism in the field of border studies by conceptualizing, making visible, and analyzing how nonhumans challenge and influence ""(de)bordering politics"": the (re)production, contestation, and transformation of geopolitical borders and boundaries. It does so through the case of whales, specifically examining how whale-human entanglements—defined as the complex interdependencies and relations between the two species, their shared histories, and how they shape larger socio-political dynamics — matter in (de)bordering politics. Indeed whales offers a compelling example of how nonhumans can influence and challenge (de)bordering politics. As flagship species for ocean conservation, whales have driven boundary-making practices at sea aimed at their protection. Conversely, in regions where whaling persists, whales are entangled in debates over identity politics, cultural heritage, and political autonomy—issues that directly engage with the reproduction, contestation, and transformation of borders and boundaries.
BorderWhale has therefore three objectives that go beyond the state of the art:1)Theoretical Innovation: The project decenters and revisit human-centric concepts of border theory by integrating insights from the posthumanities.2)Methodological Innovation: BorderWhale will employ multispecies ethnography to make visible how nonhumans influence and challenge (de)bordering politics. 3)Analytical Innovation: The project will develop a framework for analyzing the role of nonhumans in (de)bordering politics in other contexts. This framework will be built by comparing how whales influence and challenge (de)bordering politics in two contrasting geopolitical and border contexts and by triangulating these findings with additional empirical literature on nonhunonhuman agency. By recognizing nonhuman agency in border politics, BorderWhale promotes a more inclusive, environementally just approach to investigating and addressing (geo)politics."
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- humanities history and archaeology history
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology mammalogy cetology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
38058 Grenoble
France
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.