Year: 2022
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: In the social sciences, there is nothing quite like transhumance.It is unique in that it comprises so much: mobility, human-animals relations, rurality, traditions, mountains, shepherds, cheese making, local economy, authenticity, nostalgia, tourism, international comparisons, confl ict over land, longue durée, territoriality, know-how, and, obviously today heritagemaking.Since it allows us to investigate a large number of human practices and human-nonhuman relations, transhumance represents a classic object of study for a broad range of disciplines, such as history, anthropology, geography, or biology to name but a few.In many regional contexts, a signifi cant number of studies and investigations have been carried out over the years, some considered reference works in their respective fi elds.We must now consider a triple revision of the literature.The fi rst aspect to address is related to the Anthropocene and climate change dynamics, which notably transform the very material conditions of shepherds and their animals.The second aspect, the ontological turn, especially the fi eld studying human-animal relations, puts transhumance, and more generally pastoralism, into full view, and invites us to reconsider the widespread contemporary opinion that transhumance is just a disappearing rural practice in a more and more urban world.Thirdly, approximately a decade ago, transhumance was entered onto the long list of activities classifi ed as cultural heritage in Europe and the Mediterranean region.In 2019, Greece, Italy, and Austria completed the inscription of transhumance onto the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity under the title of "Transhumance, the Seasonal Droving of Livestock along Migratory Routes in the Mediterranean and in the Alps."It is true to say that the heritage domain is still in expansion and has incorporated no end of social, spiritual, biological, and (other) cultural items.It is thus no surprise to see transhumance competing for offi cial interna-
Source: Berghahn Books
Author: Cyril Isnart
Language: English
Subfield: Geography, Planning and Development
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4389933682