The Assemblage: A Framework for Anthropological Research in Multispecies Studies

This article examines the concept of “assemblage” in anthropological research on multispecies relations. The contribution begins by situating “the multispecies assemblage” within the theoretical legacy of Deleuze and Guattari. Then, it delves into three case studies of multispecies research in southern Africa, first to highlight their use of the assemblage as an analytical framework, and second to discuss methodological implications. Overall, we argue that the assemblage concept provides an open-ended analytical and methodological framework in terms of spaces, actors and times. These three trajectories take multispecies research to be multi-sited rather than site-bound, to encompass a hete­rogeneity of actors, and to trace linkages between actors historically.