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The Human-Animal Studies Report |
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Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Welcome to the Animals & Society Institute's monthly Human-Animal Studies Report.
Despite the ongoing global pandemic, the field of Human-Animal Studies is wrapping up the year strong. It is incredibly heartening to see how scholars, educators, and students have stepped up and adapted to the new world we have faced for almost two years now. We have harnessed or developed new modalities for sharing information that have made the HAS community stronger, more connected, and perhaps even better and more-broadly informed than we were pre-pandemic.
The HAS Report will be taking a hiatus for December as I wrap up other year-end duties. If you've found value this year in the HAS Report—or any of the other resources ASI provides—help us finish the year strong. Become a part of the ASI community by joining as a Scholar or Student Member to take advantage of member benefits and help us carry on our good work. Already a member? Donate. Your donation to the Animals & Society Institute will enable us to continue to advance human knowledge to improve animal lives.
Thank you for your support of our Human-Animal Studies efforts this year! Stay healthy and safe, and do what you can to protect those you can.
Best,
Gala
Editor’s note: The HAS e-newsletter is organized as follows: Jobs, grants, and calls are ordered chronologically by deadline dates, with the earliest first, and will continue to be posted until the deadlines expire. Books and articles include, where possible, links to access them directly from this email. Because publication reference styles vary by source, they might not always be consistent or pretty, but they will get you there. To read more about the topics discussed, click the bold hyperlinks for source material and additional information.
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Society & Animals Call for Film Reviewers
The ASI-managed journal Society & Animals invites emerging and established scholars to contribute to our Film Review Section. Film Reviews for Society & Animals are generally brief, with about 800 words per film, and two or three films per review. Ideally, groupings create an interesting comparison or bring out an issue of interest, such as human-animal relations, human uses of animals, or insights about how species are depicted in media in limiting ways. Plot summary should be minimal and supportive of observations about issues that the films raise. Of particular interest are films since 2010. Please contact Pete Porter with interest: pporter@ewu.edu.
ASI-Related Activities Highlighted in Recent Article
A recent article*, Understanding and Conceptualizing Childhood Animal Harm: A Meta-Narrative Systematic Review, cites the AniCare Child program (Shapiro, K., Randour, M. L., Krinsk, S., & Wolf, J. L. 2013), ASI’s bibliography page, and various references from the ASI-managed journal, Society and Animals. The article nicely summarizes the state of the empirical and theoretical literature on the psychology of children who abuse animals. A table annotates the findings of over 60 studies reviewed by the authors.
The empirical literature provides a long list of psychological and sociological factors that correlate with juvenile animal abuse—e.g., empathy, esteem, other anti-social behavior (such as bullying), witnessing animal abuse and other forms of domestic violence (intimate partner violence), socio-cultural beliefs and practices. The conceptual and theoretical findings are less developed and, due to the many pathways leading to juvenile animal abuse, it is unlikely that one macro-theory will account for the behavior. The graduation hypothesis (animal abuse as a gateway to later other anti-social behavior) has little empirical support. The generalized deviance theory has support but really offers little insight into the phenomenon beyond asserting that various forms of anti-social and violent behavior are correlated. Agnew’s socio-psychological theory includes both individual traits (age, empathy) and socialization factors (parenting, moral beliefs) and has some support. Finally, attachment theory (insecure attachment) has some support and, as the authors suggest, should be further developed.
*Laura M. Wauthier & Joanne M. Williams (2021): Understanding and Conceptualizing Childhood Animal Harm: A Meta-Narrative Systematic Review, Anthrozoös, DOI:10.1080/08927936.2021.1986262
ASI Call for Board Members
Do you want to help create a more compassionate world? Would you like to see evidence-based research used to strengthen human-animal relationships? If you do, you may be a match for ASI’s open board member positions. Whether you have experience working with a hands-on board or are thinking about joining a board for the first time, this may be the right opportunity for you. Read more about what the position entails and how to apply here.
ASI Launches Policy Paper Series
ASI has launched a policy papers series to analyze and guide policy decisions relating to animals. The current focus is on Companion Animals and Social Media, Urban Wildlife, Zoological Parks, Environment and Agriculture, and Training Schemes for Domestic and Domesticated Animals. These first five subjects represent an early round of analyses and will be supplemented in subsequent rounds by additional topical emphases. Read more here.
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Two recent illustrated books for children (and adults) highlight the importance of early humane education. First, Jonathan Balcombe’s first children’s book, Jake and Ava: A Boy and a Fish, tells the story of Jake, a young boy on his first fishing trip with his grandfather. Jake makes a discovery when he meets Ava, an archerfish, caught on his line. Featuring vivid illustrations of Australian flora and fauna, Jake and Ava encourages young children to learn about and empathize with the unique archerfish. The second, written by Julie Palais and illustrated by Jenny Campbell, Sathi: The Street Dog from Kathmandu, Nepal, is about the difficulties that street dogs face each day trying to survive in Kathmandu. The book is based on a true story of a real street dog from Kathmandu. Proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to help street dogs in Nepal.
Through a collection of entries from over 80 international contributors, becoming—Feral proposes a prismatic and multifaceted perspective on our understandings of other-animals and their ‘wildness’ through the re-imagined form of a bestiarum vocabulum (book of beasts). In this curated collection poems, scholarly prose, musical composition, ecological research, lyric essays, performance documentation, and visual art sit alongside each other as the creators propose ferality in four approaches: Feral Relations, Feral Acts, Feral Collectives, and Feral Futures.
The Think Tank on Animals & Biodiversity of the Global Research Network (GRN) in the framework of partnering activities and research for World Aquatic Animal Day (April 3rd, 2021) organized by the Aquatic Animal Law Initiative (AALI) of the Centre for Animal Law Studies (CALS) at Lewis & Clark asks for you to complete a five-minute global survey on cultural perceptions and attitudes towards aquatic animals. The aim of this survey is to obtain reliable data to get a more reliable picture of perceptions and attitudes towards aquatic animals and their different types, but also in comparison to terrestrial animals and different categories of animals.
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HAS Funding and Opportunities |
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UCLA School of Law Animal Law and Policy Small Grants Program is currently seeking proposals for legal and non-legal empirical research projects whose purpose is to understand something that can be usefully applied to animal law and policy issues. The program seeks to promote the collection of sound empirical knowledge with which to build fact-driven, evidence-based animal law and policy reform for the benefit of nonhuman animals. They are interested in funding new, well-designed empirical research in a wide variety of fields (from behavioral economics to law to moral psychology). Grants range from $1,000 to $4.500. The closing deadline for applications is March 31, 2022.
New positions are available with NIH-funded HAI lab at Purdue University. Positions included Lab Manager, Research and Operations Manager, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, and Research Assistant —Participant Communication. Deadlines vary. Learn more here.
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Conferences, Podcasts, Webinars, Lectures, and Courses |
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This section includes both upcoming live events, and past events that were recorded. (Note that I include conferences for which submission deadlines have passed here.)
Companion animals are often used as a tool within domestic abuse, to coerce and control. Join this free three-hour Zoom webinar December 2, 2021, Exploring the connection between pets and domestic abuse. The seminar is hosted by a collective of specialist companion animal fostering services in the UK to discuss the ways in which pets are used within domestic abuse, the impact this can have, and the support available for survivors who own pets.
The Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law Talking Animals, Law & Philosophy series provides recordings of prior talks, the most recent of which is “Animal Legal Subjectivity: Emerging Models, Enduring Problems” by Jessica Eisen. Check out the series’ recordings and upcoming talks here.
Arielle Giddens from the University of Denver’s Institute for Human-Animal Connection introduces some of the major benefits of human-animal interactions and ways everyone can connect with animals in a recorded lecture on Introduction to Human-Animal Interactions.
The free webinar, Using Law and Science to Help Animals, delves into how lawyers can effectively use science in their animal protection legal work. It is presented by Lewis & Clark Law School Clinical Professor Kathy Hessler, Director of the Whale Sanctuary Project Animal Law Clinic and Aquatic Animal Law Initiative (AALI) and Dr. Lori Marino, Founder and President of the Whale Sanctuary Project and Founder and Executive Director of The Kimmel Center for Animal Advocacy.
The latest Knowing Animals the Podcast episode 179 features an interview with Dr. Rick De Vos about his work “A Triumphal Entry, a Stifled Cry, a Hushed Retreat” which appeared in a collection published by Routledge in May 2021 entitled “Life Writing in the Anthropocene,” edited by Jessica White and Gillian Whitlock. Listen here.
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New HAS Books and Monographs |
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Following are some recent books published of interest to the field of Human-Animal Studies.
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New HAS Articles and Book Chapters |
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Following are some recent research articles and book chapters published in the field of Human-Animal Studies.
Trivent Publishing is delighted to announce the publication of the first issue of Cheiron: the International Journal of Equine and Equestrian History. The history of horses and horsemanship has fascinated scholars for decades, but this is the first academic journal dedicated to the history of this magnificent animal—the only non-human animal athlete granted participation in the Olympic Games—and its interactions with humankind. This first issue looks at the historiography of equine and equestrian studies, with contributions that reflect the vibrant research environment that encompasses equine history, archaeology, and social sciences today.
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Calls for Papers: Journals and Chapters |
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A call is out for contributions to a Special Issue, “‘Flourish,” of the Animal Studies Journal, coinciding with and complementing the Australasian Animal Studies Association’s 2021 online conference “Flourishing Animals.” Submissions could include or address creative fiction, nonfiction or poetry and visual art; and engage with first nations and decolonizing philosophies and practices, hybridity, posthumanism, ferality, symbiosis, queer theory or entanglement. Papers should be submitted by December 5, 2021 via the website and should adhere to ASJ guidelines. For any queries please contact: editorialteam@animalstudiesjournal.com
A Call for Papers is out for s Special Issue of the journal Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, Sport and Species: How Games, Sports, and Physical Culture Affect Other Animals. Contact Sam Morris (morrissp@miamioh.edu) and Gabriela Tymowski-Gionet (tymowski@unb.ca) for more information. Abstract Deadline: January 15, 2022.
Carrie Freeman and Núria Almiron have a call out for articles for a Special Issue of Journalism and Media on "Communication in Defense of Nonhuman Animals during an Extinction and Climate Crisis." As modern science and critical scholarship are recognizing nonhuman animals as fellow subjects and conscious, sentient beings with interests deserving of respect, moral dilemmas abound as humanity acknowledges the threats our activities pose to human and nonhuman animal life, including the sixth mass extinction and anthropogenic climate change. In this Special Issue, the editors aim to focus on the impact this environmental havoc is having on nonhuman animals living in nature (including those free roaming animals who coexist in our urban spaces) and the vital role that media and communication play in contributing to and remedying these crises. We invite concerned scholars to explore how issues affecting “wildlife” are constructed in media discourses or perceived and acted upon by media audiences/publics (media is broadly defined to include journalism, film and television, advertising, social media, or campaigns). The deadline for submissions is February 1, 2022.
Helen Wadham, Nora Schuurman, and Kate Dashper are guest editing a Special issue of Sociologia Ruralis, Privilege, vulnerability and care: Interspecies dynamics in rural landscapes.” They are looking for contributions that bring an interspecies perspective to contemporary and critical debates in European rural sociology. They are particularly keen that the special issue as a whole reflects a range of species, contexts and debates. Email the co-editors for further information: h.wadham@mmu.ac.uk, nora.schuurman@utu.fi and k.dashper@leedsbecket.ac.uk The deadline for submissions is February 1, 2022.
Guest editor Kendra Coulter has a call out for a Special Issue of Animals covering “Frontiers of Animal Protection.” This Special Issue will assemble high-quality social science research that considers the social, legal, political, and employment dimensions of animal protection. Despite its importance for protecting diverse kinds of animals from human harm and the complementary benefits for vulnerable people and public safety, the animal protection landscape remains underexamined. Deadline for manuscript submissions: March 31, 2022.
Call for papers: Special issue of the APA Human-Animals Interaction Bulletin (HAIB) is focusing on animal hospice/ palliative care, euthanasia, and grief/loss related to companion animals. Direct inquiries to the guest editor: Phyllis Erdman: perdman@wsu.edu. Paper submissions are due June 1, 2022.
American Quarterly has a call out for a Special Issue, “The Body Issue: Sports and the Politics of Embodiment.” Although not specifically directed toward nonhuman animals in sport, it seems that including animals in this important interdisciplinary contribution to sports studies would be worth the effort. Essays of up to ten thousand words are due August 1, 2022. Authors must address the guest editors and clearly indicate in a cover letter that the submission is intended for the 2023 special issue.
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Calls for Papers: Conferences
and Workshops
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A call is out for papers for the workshop, Humans and Insects in Multispecies Networks, which will take place March 17-18, 2022 at the University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University in Turku, Finland, as a part of the research project Humans and Ticks in the Anthropocene The workshop will explore the multi-faceted relationship between humans and insects in multispecies networks. Abstracts (300 words) and a short CV (max two pages) as one single document are due by November 30, 2021. Contact Sanna Lillbroända-Annala.
Call For Papers for the virtual conference, Emerging Voices for Animals in Tourism, March 17-18, 2022, While the study of animal-human connectivity within the context of tourism is being explored in a greater diversity of ways within the last decade, the discourse is still divided within two camps: 1) traditional tourism academia and 2) outside disciplines “looking in.” Tourism academics have borrowed philosophical, ethical, gender studies, sociological, ecological conservation, and economic lenses to explore animals in tourism, however truly transdisciplinary approaches within and external to tourism proper remains few. The aim of this conference is to strengthen the bridge between “tourism academia” and “non-tourism academia” by highlighting and celebrating fresh perspectives within and external to tourism, and those who bridge the two. NOTE: There is also a call out for book chapters on this topic. For queries please email Jes or Carol via evatconference@gmail.com Conference abstract deadline: December 1, 2021.
A call is out for papers for our virtual conference, Animals in the American Popular Imagination, September 12-16, 2022. This international conference will focus on the representation of animals and human-animal relations in American popular culture, in all its forms, across media, past and present. While we list a few thematic clusters below, pro-
posals that do not fall into these will, of course, also be considered. The program is organized and hosted by the PopMeC Association for US Popular Culture Studies and the Austrian Association for Cultural Studies, Cultural History, and Popular Culture.You can find the full call attached, as well as on the official website. Deadline for submissions: April 24, 2022.
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As you can see, ASI is promoting a tremendous amount of activity in the field of Human-Animal Studies. We always invite your input and participation.
Your donation to the Animals & Society Institute will enable us to continue to expand the field in many more ways and work in conjunction with others around the world who share these goals.
Thank you for supporting ASI's Human-Animal Studies efforts!
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Gala Argent, PhD
Human-Animal Studies Program Director
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