Using ethnomethodology as an approach to explore human–animal interaction

Abstract

Animal geographies is going through methodological change, moving towards a variety of methodological approaches that enliven inquiry into nonhuman animals' lives. Despite this move, there is still a clear need to develop approaches to explore human–animal interaction that centre animals in geographical inquiry. This paper aims to build on lively debates in animal geographies to offer ethnomethodology as one such approach. Ethnomethodology, an approach rather than a method, has had only brief engagement with human geography, but this paper will argue that ethnomethodology has various characteristics that align with traditional geographical enquiry and that can help grapple with the many ontological and epistemological challenges animal geographers face. These characteristics: an attention to place-based practices; a focus on agency and subjectivity; and an understanding of practices as a relational, offer points of interest for geography and ethnomethodology to converge. I expand on these facets and outline ethnomethodological engagement with animals before turning to my own example of human-assistance-dog training to illustrate how an ethnomethodological approach is useful to animal geographers. Overall, this paper suggests that ethnomethodology offers animal geographers: a focus on embodied senses; a concern with forms of agency and subjectivity within space and place; and a rich descriptive approach to practical detail. The paper concludes with a discussion towards geographical ethnomethodological futures.