Margo DeMello, PhD
The Animals and Society Institute
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the spaces that non-human animals occupy
in human social and cultural worlds
the interactions humans have with other
animals.
The symbolic uses of non-human animals
the ways in which animal lives intersect with
human societies.
The ways in which humans are dependent
on other animals
The ways in which humans construct, in part,
their identities through other animals
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Hundreds of college courses in over 200
colleges in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia,
New Zealand, Germany, the Netherlands, and
Israel
Almost 3 dozen degree and certificate
programs
Over a dozen journals, both print and online
A half dozen book series
Over two dozen organizations
Eight veterinary programs
Over two hundred law programs
An annual summer fellowship program
Sub-units or sections devoted to HAS in the
following disciplinary organizations:
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The American Sociological Association
the American Psychological Association
the American Historical Association
the Society for the Study of Ethics and
Animals
the Association of American Geographers
the American Academy of Religion
We interact with animals on a daily
basis, in every area of our lives
We eat them
We wear them
We use them for
medical research
and testing
We use them to
provide services
to us
They are part of
our religious
beliefs and
practices
We watch them
on TV
And in the
movies
And online
And at the circus,
zoo, and marine
mammal park
They are in
our art
In our
symbols
In our books
And in our
language
We live with
them as family
members
Teaching Human-Animal
Studies
Why have the lives of
animals, and humananimal relations been
historically omitted
from scholarly study?
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Human superiority
contributed to ignorance
They have been objects
of study but not subjects
of a life
There are dangers
associated with giving
animals subjectivity and
individuality
This brings up two of the problems
faculty may encounter:
1.
2.
Convincing your dean/dept.
chair/other faculty that you are not
teaching an animal rights course or
that you are not teaching a silly
course
Exposing students to information that
challenges their own beliefs and
understandings about humans, other
animals, and society
 HAS
can be taught as stand-alone
courses in disciplines in the
humanities, the social sciences, and
the natural sciences
 HAS material can be added as
sections into many courses in those
same fields
 Students
can be assigned full books,
chapters from books, or readers
created by the instructor
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Armstrong, Susan and Richard Botzler. 2008. The Animal
Ethics Reader. London, England: Continuum.
Donovan, Josephine and Carol Adams, eds. 1996. Beyond
Animal Rights: A Feminist Caring Ethic for the Treatment of
Animals. New York: Continuum.
Kalof, Linda and Brigitte Resl, eds. 2007. A Cultural History of
Animals. Oxford and New York: Berg.
Manning, Aubrey and James Serpell, eds. 1994. Animals and
Human Society: Changing Perspectives. London: Routledge.
Podberscek, Anthony L., Elizabeth S. Paul, and James A.
Serpell. 2000. Companion Animals and Us. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Regan, Tom and Peter Singer, eds. 1989. Animal Rights and
Human Obligations. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Rothfels, Nigel, ed. 2002. Representing Animals. Bloomington:
Indiana University Press.
 Because
HAS is both multidisciplinary
and interdisciplinary, courses can
easily draw from material from many
other fields
 History, Ethics, Geography, Women’s
Studies, Ethnic Studies, and Media
Studies are all fields that can be
borrowed from for other disciplines
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There are vast numbers of
films, both documentary
and feature films, that can
be used in the classroom
There is also fantastic
material on Youtube
Some of the images and
material in some of these
films are extremely
difficult to watch, and
instructors must choose
them carefully and facility
class discussions
thoughtfully
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“Dogs that Changed the
World”
“Holy Cow”
“Why Dogs Smile and
Chimpanzees Cry”
“A Conversation with
Koko”
“Ape Genius”
“Ayumu & Ai”
“Chimp Talk”
“Animal Minds”
The Ape: So Human”
“The Wild Parrots of
Telegraph Hill”
“Katrina’s Animal Rescue”
“The Natural History of the
Chicken”
“Cane Toads”
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“Shelter Dogs”
“Peaceable Kingdom”
“Animal Appetites”
“The Urban Elephant”
“Lolita: Slave to Entertainment”
“Chimpanzees: An Unnatural
History”
“The Laboratory Rat”
“One Rat Short”
“Animals as Divinities”
“Vicktory to the Dogs”
“Behind the Mask: The Story of
the People who Risk Everything
to Save Animals”
“War Dogs”
“The Witness”
 Depends
on discipline and
interests of instructor
 In Margo DeMello’s sociology
class, we begin with a section on
the social construction of the
animal
What is it?
•Wild rabbit?
•Pet rabbit?
•Lab rabbit?
•Meat rabbit?
•Fur rabbit?
•Easter rabbit?
•Pest?
How we classify this animal is
determined by our society, our
social position, and our
relationship, if any, to this animal.
And how the animal is classified, in
turn, determines both how this
animal will be used, and what
protections this animal deserves
under the law.
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In the Chinese encyclopedia The Celestial Emporium
of Benevolent Knowledge it is written that animals are
divided into:
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‘… (a) those that belong to the Emperor, (b) the
embalmed ones, (c) those that are trained, (d) suckling
pigs, (e) mermaids, (f) fabulous ones, (g) stray dogs, (h)
those that are included in this classification, (i) those
that tremble as if they were mad, (j) innumerable ones,
(k) those drawn with a very fine camel’s hair brush, (l)
others, (m) those that have just broken a flower vase, (n)
those that resemble flies from a distance.’
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Jose Luis Borges ‘The Analytic Language of John Wilkins’
in Other Inquisitions
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In an essay called "Who
Swims with the Tuna",
David Quammen asks:
why do we worry about
trapping dolphins in tuna
nets, and not worry about
the tuna trapped in tuna
nets?
The killing of dolphins is a
national outrage; the
killing of tuna is a given.
Furthermore, on our
grocery shelves nowadays
we find cans of a product
called dolphin-safe tuna.
But no tuna-safe dolphin.
But why?
Historical and
Comparative
Perspectives
Animals as
Philosophical and
Ethical Subjects
Animals as Symbols/
Animals in
Language/
Representing
Animals
Animal Emotions,
Intelligence and
Reflexivity
Animal Assistants
and the HumanAnimal Bond
Working with
Animals
Attitudes toward
other Animals
Animals as Pets
Animals as Food
Animals as
Entertainment
Animals as Scientific
Objects
Violence to Animals
and Humans
Shared Oppressions
The Animal
Protection
Movement
Photos, cartoons
and other images
Poetry
Folktales
and myths
Literary excerpts
News stories
Humor
“Real” animals
The earth trembled and a great rift appeared, separating the
first man and woman from the rest of the animal
kingdom. As the chasm grew deeper and wider, all other
creatures, afraid for their lives, returned to the forest except for the dog, who after much consideration, leapt the
perilous rift to stay with the humans on the other side. His
love for humanity was greater than his bond for other
creatures, he explained, and he willingly forfeited his place
in paradise to prove it.
Native American folktale
Well—one at least is safe. One shelter’d hare
has never heard the sanguinary yell
of cruel man, exulting in her woes.
Innocent partner of my peaceful home,
Whom ten long years’ experience of my care
Has made at last familiar; she has lost
Much of her vigilant instinctive dread,
Not needful here, beneath a roof like mine.
Yes--thou may’st eat thy bread, and lick the hand
That feeds thee; thou may’st frolic on the floor
At evening, and at night retire secure
To thy straw couch, and slumber unalarm’d;
For I have gain’d the confidence, have pledg’d
All that is human in me to protect
Thine unsuspecting gratitude and love.
If I survive thee I will dig thy grave;
And, when I place thee in it, sighing, say,
I knew at least one hare that had a friend.
From “The Garden” by William Cowper (1785)
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Why is it ethical to eat
animals?
Why can’t we kill other
humans if it serves our
own interests?
How intelligent are other
animals?
What if animals could
use human language?
Can animals have pets?
What are our
obligations, if any, to
other animals?