2021 Virtual Spring Online Event: To Speak Horse in the Himalayas and Argentina

To access the video recording of the event please visit Dr David Marlin's page and click the video link: https://drdavidmarlin.com/webinar-to-speak-horse-in-the-himalayas-and-ar...

To speak horse in the Himalayas and Argentina: To what an extent does communication between humans and horses depend on a “language”, and how does it differ in different cultural contexts?

The first in AWSELVA's 2021 online programme of online events, in conjunction with: The UK Equine Student Network, The London School of Economics and Political Science, University College Dublin, University of Bristol, University of York

Yancen Diemberger from the University of Exeter presents on the cultural dimensions of communication with horses

A Tibetan manuscript which describes horse breeding and medicine (an illustrated compilation tentatively dated to the 18th century, which includes texts from as early as the 9th century) formed the basis of Yancen Diemberger's research. In Tibetan, the horse is classified as a “sentient being” and is referred to as having a “principle of consciousness” similar to humans. The subsequently developed PhD research project in anthrozoology explored how the different cultural dynamics within which the horse is embedded reflects on practical horsemanship. Yancen hypothesises that within the human-horse relationship there is a dynamic dialogue grounded in a communicative framework that needs to be put in place contextually. Exploring local “horsemanships” in two different fieldwork sites on opposite sides of the globe, and the way these methods influence communication between horses and humans. The crosscultural element allows for a comparison of a wide range of approaches to horsemanship (with human-horse “language” changing alongside the human cultural context), but also provides a deeper understanding of embodied knowledge, practices, and skills involved in human-horse connections. Seen within the framework of “multispecies multiethnography” in the context of a wider rethinking of human-animal relationships.

Followed by a Facebook Live discussion forum, for all participants to meet up. 

To access the video recording of the event please visit Dr David Marlin's page and click the video link: https://drdavidmarlin.com/webinar-to-speak-horse-in-the-himalayas-and-ar...

Schedule