Roskiskarhut ja politiikan aineellisuus

Abstract

This paper explores the role of animals in society and social processes by focusing analytically on the
materialities of human-bear interactions. We draw from literature that emphasizes animals as constituents
of human societies through their engagement in a variety of social, economic, and policy practices,
as well as literature on material politics, highlighting the role of material practices in the production
of social orderings. The empirical focus of this paper is on the complex interactions between habituated
bears and the local human community in Moinsalmi, Savonlinna, Finland. Focus on the materiality
of interactions highlights the underlying routines, techniques, infrastructures, artefacts and material
flows which constitute the human interaction with animals. Such an analysis enriches the current debate
about animals by shifting the focus from what people think about animals to the particular configurations
of human-animal interactions which make cohabitation problematic. Therefore, we believe
that focus on the materialities enhances deliberation on what can be done to ensure safe cohabitation.