Animals And Society

This textbook provides a full overview of human-animal studies. It focuses on the conceptual construction of animals in American culture and the way in which it reinforces and perpetuates hierarchical human relationships rooted in racism, sexism, and class privilege.

Animals and Human Society provides a solid, scientific, research-based background to advance understanding of how animals impact humans. As a resource for both science and non-science majors (including students planning to major in or studying animal science, pre-veterinary medicine, animal behavior, conservation biology, ecotoxicology, epidemiology and evolutionary biology), the book can be used as a text for courses in Animals and Human Society or Animal Science, or as supplemental material for an Introduction to Animal Science. The book offers foundational background to those who may have little background in animal agriculture and have focused interest on companion animals and horses. Animals have had profound effects on people from the earliest times, ranging from zoonotic diseases, to the global impact of livestock, poultry and fish production, to the influences of human-associated animals on the environment (on extinctions, air and water pollution, greenhouse gases, etc.), to the importance of animals in human evolution and hunter-gatherer communities. The volume introduces livestock production (including poultry and aquaculture) but also includes coverage of companion and lab animals. In addition, animal behavior and animal perception are covered. It can also function as a reference or recommended reading for a capstone class on ethical and public policy aspects related to animals. This book is likewise an excellent resource for researchers, academics or students newly entering a related field or coming from another discipline and needing foundational information, as well as interested laypersons looking to augment their knowledge on the many impacts of animals in human society. Features research-based and pedagogically sound content, with learning goals and textboxes to provide key information Challenges readers to consider issues based on facts rather than polemics Poses ethical questions and raises overall societal impacts Balances traditional animal science with companion animals, animal biology, zoonotic diseases, animal products, environmental impacts and all aspects of human/animal interaction Includes access to PowerPoints that facilitate easy adoption and/or use for online classes

CHOICE Recommended title 2022 This timely book reframes the historic narrative of people, animals, and nature as risks to each other, to one where we think about health as a shared capacity. This new narrative promotes the positive contributions made to health across species and generations and addresses growing calls to shift from a reactive to proactive approach in One Health. Editor Craig Stephen takes the reader on a tour of the situations wherein we can all, regardless of our job description, work across species, sectors, and generations to motivate action. Perspectives and methods from a variety of fields and experts are shared and adapted to promote collaborative understanding of and action on determinants of health at the animal-society interface. Case studies demonstrate that the principles and practices presented are feasible, empowering people to make choices that concurrently benefit the health of animals, societies, and ecosystems. The first book to adapt and explain health promotion, harm reduction, and health equity issues in a One Health context, and in terms of animal health, this is necessary reading for students of and practitioners working in planetary health, conservation, ecohealth, public health, health promotion, veterinary medicine, and animal welfare.

This book advances current literature on the role and place of animals in sport and society. It explores different forms of sporting spaces, examines how figures of animals have been used to racialize the human athlete, and encourages the reader to think critically about animal ethics, animals in space, time and place, and the human-animal relationship. The chapters highlight persistent dichotomies in the use of and collaboration with animals for sport, and present strategies for moving forward in the study of interspecies relations.

Human-animal studies is an interdisciplinary field that explores the spaces that animals occupy in human social and cultural worlds. It examines the interactions humans and animals have with each other and the ways animal lives intersect with human societies. Since existing social orders rely on the exploitation of animals to serve human needs, the questions posed by human-animal studies touch upon a wide range of fundamental issues. Animals and Society provides a broad overview of this rapidly growing field. Margo DeMello offers students and scholars a holistic and comprehensive picture of the state of inquiry into the relationships that exist between humans and other animals. She considers interactions between animals and humans in social organizations, such as the family, the legal system, and political and religious institutions. A major focus is the social construction of animals in world cultures and the way in which these social meanings are used to reinforce and perpetuate hierarchical human relationships such as racism, sexism, and class privilege. The book also examines how different human groups construct a range of identities for themselves and for others through animals. This second edition of Animals and Society is fully updated and expanded throughout, enhancing the book’s relevance for student and activist readers alike. It includes many new international examples, all-new case studies, and updated supplementary readings.

Animals and Society uses a variety of historical sources and a coherent social theory to tell the story of the invention of animal rights. It moves from incidents like the medieval execution of pigs to a discussion of the politics and strategies of modern rights organisations. The book also presents radical interpretations of nineteenth-century animal welfare laws, and the accounts of the Noble Savage. The insights generated by social science are always at the core of the discussion and the author daws on the work of Michel Foucault, Norbert Elias, Claude Levi-Strauss and Mary Douglas. This wide-ranging and accessible book provides a fascinating account of the relations between humans and animals. It raises far-reaching questions about the philosophy, history and politics of animal rights.

Friendships between humans and non-human animals were once dismissed as sentimental anthropomorphism. After decades of research on the emotional and cognitive capacities of animals, we now recognize human–animal friendships as true reciprocal relationships. Friendships with animals have many of the same characteristics as friendships between humans. Both parties enjoy the shared presence that friendship entails along with the pleasures that come with knowing another being. Both friends develop ways of communicating apart from, or in addition to, spoken language.

This edited collection offers a comprehensive overview of the different aspects of human-animal interactions in Asia throughout history. With twelve thematically-arranged chapters, this book examines the diverse roles that beasts, livestock, and fish — real and metaphorical– have played in Asian history, society, and culture. Ranging from prehistory to the present day, the authors address a wealth of topics including the domestication of animals, dietary practices and sacrifice, hunting, the use of animals in war, and the representation of animals in literature and art. Providing a unique perspective on human interaction with the environment, the volume is cross-disciplinary in its reach, offering enriching insights to the fields of animal ethics, Asian studies, world history and more.