Human Animal Interactions In Anthropocene Asia

"This book examines the theme of human-animal interactions contextualized against the idea of the Anthropocene. Focused on China and its immediate Asian borderlands, this interdisciplinary collection provides a powerful and insightful analysis of the ecological challenges that mankind's traditional activities have created. Through in-depth case studies, each focusing on a particular human-animal dynamic, the book contextualises and advances the understanding of existing environmental and ecological problems faced by local communities in Asia. In particular, the book hopes to transcend the duality of the nature versus culture debate by locating animal-ecological problems in the behavior of human institutions, beliefs and practices, which are often affected by prevailing cultural proclivities, political ideologies, economic interests and scientific agendas. Through interrogation of theoretical concepts of Anthropocene and human-animal binary, the volume highlights the controversial debates that follows their usage as well as their empirical utility understanding human-animal interactions historically, thereby engaging a broader interdisciplinary conversation which increasingly links these two fields together. Providing a platform for discussion and dialogue for a wide audience, this book will appeal to students and scholars of environmental history and politics, anthropology, political science and policy studies, China studies and Asian studies more generally"--

This book examines the theme of human–animal interactions contextualized against the idea of the Anthropocene. Focused on China and its immediate Asian borderlands, this interdisciplinary collection provides a powerful and insightful analysis of the ecological challenges that mankind’s traditional activities have created. Through in-depth case studies, each focusing on a particular human–animal dynamic, the book contextualizes and advances the understanding of existing environmental and ecological problems faced by local communities in Asia. In particular, the book hopes to transcend the duality of the nature versus culture debate by locating animal-ecological problems in the behavior of human institutions, beliefs, and practices, which are often affected by prevailing cultural proclivities, political ideologies, economic interests, and scientific agendas. Through interrogation of theoretical concepts of Anthropocene and human–animal binary, the volume highlights the controversial debates that follow their usage as well as their empirical utility understanding human– animal interactions historically, thereby engaging a broader interdisciplinary conversation increasingly links these two fields together. Providing a platform for discussion and dialogue for a wide audience, this book will appeal to students and scholars of environmental history and politics, anthropology, political science and policy studies, China studies, and Asian studies more generally.

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.

Much of the discussion on the Anthropocene has centred upon anthropogenic global warming and climate change and the urgency of political and social responses to this problem. Animals in the Anthropocene: critical perspectives on non-human futures shows that assessing the effects of human activity on the planet requires more than just the quantification of ecological impacts towards the categorisation of geological eras. It requires recognising and evaluating a wide range of territories and terrains, full of non-human agents and interests and meanings, exposed to the profound forces of change that give their name to the Anthropocene. It is from the perspective of ‘the animal question’ – asking how best to think and live with animals – that Animals in the Anthropocene seeks to interrogate the Anthropocene as a concept, discourse, and state of affairs. The term Anthropocene is a useful device for drawing attention to the devastations wreaked by anthropocentrism and advancing a relational model for human and non-human life. The effects on animals of human political and economic systems continue to expand and intensify, in numerous domains and in ways that not only cause suffering and loss but that also produce new forms of life and alter the very nature of species. As anthropogenic change affects the more-than-human world in innumerable ways, we must accept responsibility for the damage we have caused, and the debt we owe to non-human species.

This book primarily examines human-animal and human-plant interactions in Asian forests (Southeast Asia and Japan) and inland waters (China). For comparison, cases from the Americas (whales in the Arctic, sea turtles in the Caribbean, and plants in the Amazon) and Central Asia are also included. The relationship between plants, animals, and humans in Asia is quite unique from a global perspective. For example, "satoyama" in Japan means ecotone area, or the boundary between a village and a forest. There, as the number of inhabitants declines, bears, wild boars, and other animals increasingly ravage crops, sometimes attacking humans as well. By showing the regional nature of human-animal and human-plant interactions in Asia, this book provides for the first time a framework for understanding the world's animal and plant-human relationships. It is assumed that the relationships between humans and animals and plants during this period were diverse, including hunting, taming, semi-domestication, and full domestication. At the same time, for regions outside of Asia, the extent to which these diverse relationships were adapted and how diversity was formed is explained from the perspective of historical ecology. Customers can expect to derive perspectives on the coexistence of human-animal and plant-animal relationships from this book in the near future. The conservation of rare species, diverse habitats, and biodiversity is a central theme in considering the relationship between modern civilization and the global environment. In post-industrial Japan, one focus has been the protection of iconic animals such as storks, crested ibis, dugongs, and sea turtles, while damage to crops and humans by deer, wild boars, monkeys, bears, and other common animals has become an important social issue. How can the world's 7.7 billion-plus people live in harmony with other species? We would like to get some hints on how to solve the problems we are facing.

Woo investigates examples of the Chinese government using methods normally associated with deliberative democracy to involve their citizenry in decision-making at a sub-national level. Despite the tightening of civil society under Xi there are still some opportunities for the Chinese people to articulate their opinions and participate in decision making. The proliferation of deliberative democratic practices is motivated by the CCP’s strong governance logic, to strengthen regime legitimacy and stability. Woo examines deliberative participation through the lens of participatory budgeting in China, and investigates its impact on local governance. To make sense of this model of deliberative democratic governance in China, she unpacks the relationship between deliberative democracy and governance. This requires delving into the forms and functions of deliberation with Chinese characteristics, especially to show how they depart from the Western deliberative democratic experiences. What is the Chinese deliberative discourse in relation to the Western conception of deliberative democracy? How can the Chinese deliberative experience contribute to the concept of deliberative governance? How does deliberation impact upon local governance in China? An intriguing read both for scholars of Chinese politics and for political scientists looking at comparative examples of deliberative governance.

The research presented in this book explores the formation of the middle class in contemporary urban China. Including case studies on middle-class professionals living in Beijing, this book analyses how social and economic changes to Chinese society create a middle-class lifestyle and new forms of distinction with a particular focus on the social construction of identity. Looking through the lens of individuals’ perception of life trajectories and ideological taxonomies generated within the framework of post-Maoist China, the book uncovers the role that the Chinese middle-class play in a state-sponsored discourse and where the distinctions identifying the middle-class lifestyle produce inequality, transfer privilege, and disadvantage in contemporary urban China. It goes on to question hegemonic discourses on class, arguing that a middle-class identity is progressively constructed in urban China not only though consumption practices, but through the experience of non-individualistic activities in both the public and private spheres. Analyzing how social distinctions are performed contributes to the understanding of the Chinese middle-class pre-pandemic, as well as the continual challenges this social group shall face in the years to come. As such, this is a must read for those interested in the Chinese middle-class, Chinese politics, and gender studies.

This book analyzes the phenomenally profitable “Red Tourism” industry in China, in which visitors make pilgrimages to sites of historical significance to the Communist Party of China and the Chinese Revolution. The book examines Red Tourism in connection with the transforming power relations between the state and the private, communication in the socialist past, and the current round of capitalization, against the backdrop of the world’s second largest economy. By re-evaluating the conventional notion of propaganda through the lens of neutral xuanchuan propaganda, the book presents a nuanced look at the social space of Red Tourism, revealing that propaganda should be conceived as a commodity, an industry, or even a media system similar to the news media. Drawn from combining fieldwork and cultural analysis spanning a decade, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of communication studies, tourism, and Chinese politics.