The Sentience of Sea Squirts

Clare Brant

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-77973-3_5

The Sentience of Sea Squirts

Clare Brant^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

King's College London

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The earth-bound nature of much ecological thinking presents challenges for posthuman life writing in the Anthropocene: underwater subjects exist in a different element, with less knowability. Sea squirts have a cultural history featuring human-centred language; as pest, food and pharmacopeia, they are exploited for human ends. But using underwater life narrative and photography to explore conventions of looking creates different possibilities for relationships between humans and sea squirts. Aesthetic categories like wobble, swerve and atmosphere can make marine lives, even small ones, significant on their own terms and enable more attention and sentient care from humans. Combining ecopoetics and self-aware life writing can bring sentience to, for and from sea squirts—and the oceans.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Palgrave Studies in Life Writing
Publisher	Palgrave Macmillan
Pages	123-156
Number of pages	34
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77973-3_5
Publication status	Published - 2021

Publication series

Name	Palgrave Studies in Life Writing
ISSN (Print)	2730-9185
ISSN (Electronic)	2730-9193

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10.1007/978-3-030-77973-3_5

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title = "The Sentience of Sea Squirts",

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AB - The earth-bound nature of much ecological thinking presents challenges for posthuman life writing in the Anthropocene: underwater subjects exist in a different element, with less knowability. Sea squirts have a cultural history featuring human-centred language; as pest, food and pharmacopeia, they are exploited for human ends. But using underwater life narrative and photography to explore conventions of looking creates different possibilities for relationships between humans and sea squirts. Aesthetic categories like wobble, swerve and atmosphere can make marine lives, even small ones, significant on their own terms and enable more attention and sentient care from humans. Combining ecopoetics and self-aware life writing can bring sentience to, for and from sea squirts—and the oceans.

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The Sentience of Sea Squirts

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