Eran Nisan Schwarzfuchs

Dissertation Project:

Title: Science of Noticing: Multispecies Entanglements in Citizen Science

My research examines how Citizen Science is involved with multispecies entanglements and the arts of noticing. While existing literature on multispecies relationships tends to depict science as based on detachment and alienation, this study suggests that complex human-nature relationships exist in modern scientific practices. The main focus of this research is how Citizen Science creates and shapes shared multispecies experiences and knowledge. Through ethnographic fieldwork at the Israel Center for Citizen Science, the study analyzes five case studies: The Land Snails Project, through which I examine human-animal relationships shaped by scientific practice, technology, and affect; birdwatching projects, emphasizing the impact of geopolitics and borders on ecological knowledge and multispecies entanglements; a wildlife tracking project demonstrating the integration of scientific and indigenous knowledge, situating Citizen Science within the Anthropocene era; a butterfly monitoring project, revealing tensions around data sharing and conservation priorities, illuminating the politics of multispecies entanglements; and the jellyfish monitoring project, which uniquely transforms avoidance into data—as beachgoers report sightings to escape painful stings, converting negative encounters into marine ecosystem insights. Together, these case studies provide a comprehensive picture of the ways in which Citizen Science constitutes multispecies worlds in the modern-scientific context. Ultimately, this research aims to contribute to understanding the potential of Citizen Science as an arena for creating multispecies entanglements and promoting ecological attentiveness, while critically examining the tensions and challenges involved.

Supervisors: Prof. Michal Kravel-Tovi