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Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social issues > Animals & society
"You are about to enter a new genre, that of scientific fables, by
which I don't mean science fiction, or false stories about science,
but, on the contrary, true ways of understanding how difficult it
is to figure out what animals are up to." -Bruno Latour, form the
Foreword Is it all right to urinate in front of animals? What does
it mean when a monkey throws its feces at you? Do apes really know
how to ape? Do animals form same-sex relations? Are they the new
celebrities of the twenty-first century? This book poses twenty-six
such questions that stretch our preconceived ideas about what
animals do, what they think about, and what they want. In a
delightful abecedarium of twenty-six chapters, Vinciane Despret
argues that behaviors we identify as separating humans from animals
do not actually properly belong to humans. She does so by exploring
incredible and often funny adventures about animals and their
involvements with researchers, farmers, zookeepers, handlers, and
other human beings. Do animals have a sense of humor? In reading
these stories it is evident that they do seem to take perverse
pleasure in creating scenarios that unsettle even the greatest of
experts, who in turn devise newer and riskier hypotheses that
invariably lead them to conclude that animals are not nearly as
dumb as previously thought. These deftly translated accounts oblige
us, along the way, to engage in both ethology and philosophy.
Combining serious scholarship with humor that will resonate with
anyone, this book-with a foreword by noted French philosopher,
anthropologist, and sociologist of science Bruno Latour-is a must
not only for specialists but also for general readers, including
dog owners, who will never look at their canine companions the same
way again.
ANIMAL DREAMS collects David Brooks' thought-provoking essays about
how humans think, dream and write about other species. Brooks
examines how animals have featured in Australian and international
literature and culture, from 'The Man from Snowy River' to Rainer
Maria Rilke and The Turin Horse, to live-animal exports, veganism,
and the culling of native and non-native species. In his piercing,
elegant, widely celebrated style, he considers how private and
public conversations about animals reflect older and deeper
attitudes to our own and other species, and what questions we must
ask to move these conversations forward, in what he calls 'the
immense work of undoing'. For readers interested in animal welfare,
conservation, and the relationship between humans and other
species, Animal Dreams will be an essential, richly rewarding
companion. Praise for David Brooks: "one of Australia's most
skilled, unusual and versatile writers" -- Peter Pierce, The Sydney
Morning Herald. "No one writes about animals like David Brooks." --
Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (author of The Assault on Truth, When
Elephants Weep and Lost Companions). Praise for ANIMAL DREAMS:
"Beautifully written and emotionally and intellectually
enthralling. The best book I have ever read on relations between
humans and animals and the 'redress' we owe them. It makes you
angry, it makes you weep; it makes you determined to rethink and to
act." -- Helen Tiffin, FAHA (co-author of The Empire Writes Back
and Wild Man from Borneo: A Cultural History of the Orangutang).
Now in paperback! Follow Rabbit as she learns how important it is
to say sorry. At Rainbow Island Harbour, some new visitors have
arrived, including Little Peacock. The other animals are excited to
meet him but Rabbit is worried that her friends will be more
interested in the newcomer than in their old friend Rabbit. Rabbit
tells Little Peacock he's not welcome to play with the other
animals but when Peacock disappears, will Rabbit admit what she's
done? And will she be able to find Peacock and apologise for her
mistake? Children will love the myriad of animal characters and
learning and understanding the different ways we can be kind to one
another. There are lots of extra learning opportunities, from
questions about the story to activities showing you how to make
your own Kindness Badge to notes for parents and carers to extend
learning and reinforce positive behaviour. In the words of Badger,
who runs the Kindness Club, "When you show kindness, it makes you
and your friends feel good."
In "Beyond Animal Rights," Josephine Donovan and Carol J. Adams
introduced feminist "ethic of care" theory into philosophical
discussions of the treatment of animals. In this new volume, seven
essays from "Beyond Animal Rights" are joined by nine new
articles-most of which were written in response to that book-and a
new introduction that situates feminist animal care theory within
feminist theory and the larger debate over animal rights.
Contributors critique theorists' reliance on natural rights
doctrine and utilitarianism, which, they suggest, have a masculine
bias. They argue for ethical attentiveness and sympathy in our
relationships with animals and propose a link between the
continuing subjugation of women and the human domination of nature.
Beginning with the earliest articulation of the idea in the
mid-1980s and continuing to the theory's most recent revisions,
this volume presents the most complete portrait of the evolution of
the feminist-care tradition.
The sight, sound and smell of animals are a part of the story of
every great city - and are also part of its hidden history. The
royal standard of Scotland features a lion rampant, and Edinburgh
can trace its earliest depiction of the beast to the Roman
occupation - long before Scotland evolved into a nation. As marks
of prestige and respect, animals are highlighted in many public
sculptures, bas-reliefs and other artworks throughout the city. For
centuries animals such as horses were a crucial part of the
economy. Horses transported goods and people in and out of the
city, while the growth in ownership created a demand for saddlers,
coach makers, grooms, fodder suppliers, horse trainers, farriers,
smiths and riding schools. Animals were also a source of wonder and
amusement, such as the elephant housed in a tenement in the 1700s
and the legendary Greyfriars Bobby, who spent fourteen years
guarding the grave of his owner and is now immortalised in words,
films and monuments. The travelling menagerie of the Regency era
gave the ordinary citizen a taste of the exotic and within a few
decades Zoological Gardens Association landscaped gardens and built
structures to house animals for the city's latest attraction.
From Jack London to Aldo Leopold's "fierce green fire," wolves have
been a central part of the American image. Many have even suggested
that our national symbol, the bald eagle, be replaced with this
noble creature who, like us, raises a family and is bold and loyal
in protecting the pack. Brenda Peterson blends science, history,
and memoir to dramatize the epic battle to restore wolves and thus
the landscape and ecology of the continent. From the vicious
exterminations carried out by pioneers and settlers; to the
internationally celebrated triumph of the return of wolves to
Yellowstone; to backlash, politics, and near-daily news of
successful reintroductions, this is perhaps the most inspiring
conservation story of our time. Brenda's central characters are two
famous wolves: the powerful and prolific female "067," restored to
Yellowstone only to be "legally" murdered, and Journey, a
near-miraculous transcontinental survivor. Along with these are the
scientists, ranchers, and activists who are fighting against fear,
politics, greed, and scientific ignorance to bring wild wolves home
to keep our environment whole.
The domestication of plants and animals is central to the familiar
and now outdated story of civilization's emergence. Intertwined
with colonialism and imperial expansion, the domestication
narrative has informed and justified dominant and often destructive
practices. Contending that domestication retains considerable value
as an analytical tool, the contributors to Domestication Gone Wild
reengage the concept by highlighting sites and forms of
domestication occurring in unexpected and marginal sites, from
Norwegian fjords and Philippine villages to British falconry cages
and South African colonial townships. Challenging idioms of animal
husbandry as human mastery and progress, the contributors push
beyond the boundaries of farms, fences, and cages to explore how
situated relations with animals and plants are linked to the
politics of human difference-and, conversely, how politics are
intertwined with plant and animal life. Ultimately, this volume
promotes a novel, decolonizing concept of domestication that
radically revises its Euro- and anthropocentric narrative.
Contributors. Inger Anneberg, Natasha Fijn, Rune Flikke, Frida
Hastrup, Marianne Elisabeth Lien, Knut G. Nustad, Sara Asu Schroer,
Heather Anne Swanson, Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, Mette Vaarst, Gro B.
Ween, Jon Henrik Ziegler Remme
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