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Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social issues > Animals & society
In view of the current rhetoric surrounding the global migrant
crisis - with politicians comparing refugees with animals and media
reports warning of migrants swarming like insects or trespassing
like wolves - this timely study explores the cultural origins of
the language and imagery of dehumanization. Situated at the
junction of literature, politics, and ecocriticism, Wolves at the
Door traces the history of the wolf metaphor in discussions of
race, gender, colonialism, fascism, and ecology. How have
'Gypsies', Jews, Native Americans but also 'wayward' women been
'wolfed' in literature and politics? How has the wolf myth been
exploited by Hitler, Mussolini and Turkish ultra-nationalism? How
do right-wing politicians today exploit the reappearance of wolves
in Central Europe in the context of the migration discourse? And
while their reintroduction in places like Yellowstone has fuelled
heated debates, what is the wolf's role in ecological rewilding and
for the restoration of biodiversity? In today's fraught political
climate, Wolves at the Door alerts readers to the links between
stereotypical images, their cultural history, and their political
consequences. It raises awareness about xenophobia and the dangers
of nationalist idolatry, but also highlights how literature and the
visual arts employ the wolf myth for alternative messages of
tolerance and cultural diversity.
Humans and nonhuman animals engage with each other in a multitude
of fascinating ways. They have always done so, motivated by both
necessity and choice. Yet, as human population numbers increase and
our impact on the planet expands, this engagement takes on new
meanings and requires new understanding.In Engaging with Animals:
Interpretations of a Shared Existence experts in the field of
human-animal studies investigate, from a variety of disciplinary
perspectives, the ways in which humans and other animals interact.
Grouped into three broad sections, the chapters focus on themes
ranging from attitudes, ethics and interactions to history, art and
literature, and finally animal welfare outcomes. While offering
different interpretations of human-non-human interactions, they
share a common goal in attempting to find pathways leading to a
mutually beneficial and shared co-existence.
Based on years of investigative reporting, Wyatt Williams offers a
powerful look at why we kill animals and why we eat meat. In order
to understand why we eat meat, restaurant critic and journalist
Wyatt Williams narrates his time spent investigating factory farms,
learning to hunt game, working on a slaughterhouse kill floor, and
partaking in Indigenous traditions of whale eating in Alaska, while
charting the history of meat eating and vegetarianism. Williams
shows how mysteries springing up from everyday experiences can lead
us into the big questions of life while examining the
irreconcilable differences between humans and animals. Springer
Mountain is a thought-provoking work, one that reveals how what we
eat tells us who we are.
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