Ecological posthumanist theorising : grappling with child-dog-bodies

The power of the human/nature divide is that it positions humans as ‘exceptional’ and outside of nature, while at the same time seeking to invite nature in by using its tyrannous colonising domination (Cronon, 1995). Some could argue that it is this very sentiment that has led humanity on such a destructive path with the planet ending up in these precarious and uncertain times. And while research on children’s environments, environmental and sustainability education often addresses some of the contradictions between the needs of humans in relation to the survival of the planet, the theoretical work accompanying much of this research has found it difficult to shift from a form of human exceptionalism and domination. In this chapter I intend to share with the reader my grapplings when applying new approaches of theorising research, namely ecological posthumanism, in my children’s environments research studies. By doing this I am looking to move away from generalisations and assumptions that universalise children’s environmental experiences and provide a glimpse of the complexity of a common world of ecological communities that includes all things.