Speakers Series
2013 ASI Speakers Series Presented by
The Michigan Humane Society &
The Animals and Society Institute.
Karla Armbruster, Ph.D, "The
Echoing Call of the Wild: Dogs and Their Wolfish Ancestry in Literature"
Thursday, May 16, 2013
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Edsel and Eleanor Ford House
Visitor Center Gallery
1100 Lake Shore Road
Grosse Point Shores, MI 48236
Karla Armbruster, PhD is Professor of English and Chair of
the Sustainability Studies Committee at Webster University. Prior to Webster, she taught American studies
and literature at the University of Colorado, and American studies-based
composition at Michigan State University.
She received her PhD from the Department of English at The Ohio State
University. A past president of the
Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE), Dr. Armbruster
teaches professional writing, literature, and interdisciplinary courses. Her primary research interests are nature
writing and environmental literature, and ecocritical approaches to literature
and animal studies.
Dr. Armbruster is co-editor of "The Bioregional
Imagination: Literature, Ecology and Place" (UGA, 2012), the first
collection of essays in bioregional literary criticism; and "Beyond Nature
Writing: Expanding the Boundaries of Ecocriticism" (UVAP, 2002). She also co-edited a special issue of
Critical Comparative Studies (2.3, 2005) entitled, "Literary Beasts: The
Representation of Animals in Contemporary Literature." She has published a number of articles and
book chapters on environmental writers and the representation of animals in
literature. She also authored a book
chapter on teaching animal-studies-based literature courses in "Teaching North
American Environmental Literature" (MLA, 2008).
Her interest in animal studies has led to work on a book
dealing with representations of dogs in literature and popular culture,
tentatively entitled, "Walking with Wildness: Dogs and What They Can Teach Us
about Living on an Endangered Earth," for which she was awarded a fellowship in
2008 from the Animals and Society Institute (ASI) to further her work on the
book. Dr. Armbruster's most recent work,
"What Do We Want from Talking Animals?:
Reflections on Literary Representations of Animal Voices and Minds,"
appears as the first chapter of "Speaking for Animals: Animal Autobiographical
Writing" (Routledge Press, 2012).
Dr. Armbruster was awarded the "Distinguished New Course
Award" by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and ASI in 2011 for
her course, "Perspectives: Werewolves, Seal Wives, Grizzly Men and Other
Metamorphoses." This award recognizes
college and university classes that explore the relationships between animals
and people. In another of Dr. Armbruster's
courses entitled, "Perspectives-Humans and Other Animals," she puts what could
be called "literary beasts" in the spotlight, reading a wide variety of
fiction, poetry, and essays (including "Moby Dick") that address the
relationship between humans and other animals.
Upcoming 2013 Speakers:
|
|
|
|
Thursday, August 1, 2013
|
|
|
|
Pete
Porter
Assistant Professor of Film, Eastern
Washington University, speaking on animals in film
|
|
|
Thursday, November 21, 2013
|
|
|
Timothy
Pachirat
Assistant Professor of Politics, New
School, speaking about his book Every Twelve Seconds:
Industrialized Slaughter and the Politics of Sight
|
|
(Topics
subject to change)
Past Speakers Series Events:
Adam
M. Roberts: "Poachers
and Profiteers: The International Wildlife Trade"Thursday,
February 7, 2013
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.The Detroit Zoo, Ford Education Center,
Drippy/Wet Studio
8450 W. Ten Mile Rd
Royal Oak, MI 48067
(248) 541-5717
Adam M. Roberts is executive vice
president of Born Free USA and is based in Washington, DC. He co-founded the
organization in 2002 to bring the United Kingdom-based Born Free Foundation's
message of compassionate conservation to the U.S. public.
For more on Adam visit the Born Free USA
website to read his bio.
We often hear horrifying news reports
about elephants being killed for their ivory, rhinos for their horns, and big
cats for their body parts. Other wild
animals are captured and sent to zoos or sold as pets, and increasing numbers
are killed for "bushmeat." The international wildlife trade is big
business and generates multibillion-dollar profits. Often linked to organized
crime and government corruption, wildlife trafficking is also responsible for
environmental destruction, biodiversity loss and even disease outbreaks.
Adam Roberts is uniquely qualified to
talk about the cruelty and environmental harm inherent in the trade. A leading
expert on wildlife conservation, Adam is executive vice president of Born Free
USA, which he co-founded in 2002. He has served on international panels related
to wildlife conservation and is on the board of directors of the Species
Survival Network. He helped found the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries
and works with other organizations devoted to helping animals and alleviating
poverty in developing countries.
Adam's vast experience with and intimate
knowledge of the factors related to saving imperiled species makes him a
valuable asset to the international animal protection community. His appearance
as part of the 2013 Speakers Series will offer a fascinating glimpse into the
world of international politics and the struggle to save some of the world's
rarest animals before it's too late.
Kim Stallwood: "What Does It Mean to Care Deeply About Animals?"
November 29, 2012
Troy Marriott
200 West Big Beaver Road
Troy, MI 48084
ASI's co-founder and European Director, Kim is an independent scholar and author on
animal rights. His forthcoming book, Not for Beasts, explores what it
means to care deeply about animals. He has edited two anthologies of articles
from The Animals' AgendaSpeaking Out for Animals and An Animal Rights Primer,
both published by Lantern Books); authored a chapter, "Utopian Visions and
Pragmatic Politics: Challenging the Foundations of Speciesism and
Misothery," in Animal Rights: The Changing Debate, edited by Robert Garner (Macmillan, 1996) and a chapter, "The Animal Rights Movement Must Be Politically Pragmatic," in Animal Rights Opposing Viewpoints,
edited by Andrew Harnack (Greenhaven Press, 1996).
Starting in
1976, Kim has held
leadership positions with some of the world's foremost organizations in
the U.K. and U.S., including Compassion in World Farming, the British
Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, PETA, The Animals' Agenda, the
Animals
and Society Institute and Minding Animals International.
For more information about Kim, please visit his website.
An Evening with Author Alexandra HorowitzThursday, October 4, 2012
Shriners Silver Garden
24350 Southfield Road
Southfield, Michigan
Join Dr. Horowitz as she discusses her most recently-published book "Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell and Know."
"Inside of a Dog is a most
welcomed authoritative, personal, and witty book about what it is like
to be a dog. Alexandra Horowitz has spent a lot of time studying our
best friends and shares her knowledge in a readable volume that also
serves as a corrective to the many myths that circulate about just who
our canine companions are. I hope this book enjoys the wide readership
it deserves."
-Marc Bekoff, author of "The Emotional Lives of Animals" and "Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals" (with Jessica Pierce)
"Discover why your dog is so
sensitive to your emotions, gaze, and body language. Dogs live in a
world of ever changing intricate detail of smell. Read this captivating
book and enter the sensory world of your dog."
-Temple Grandin, author of "Animals in Translation" and "Animals Make us Human"
In her book Inside of a Dog, Dr. Horowitz evokes the dog's perspective by
interweaving the science of dog cognition and perception with personal
reflections on her own dog's behavior. This book gives anyone who lives
with, deals with, or admires dogs a new understanding of their sensory
abilities, a nuanced interpretation of their behavior, and an
appreciation of their minds.
Dr. Horowitz teaches psychology at Barnard College, Columbia
University. She earned her PhD in Cognitive Science at the University
of California at San Diego, and has studied the cognition of humans,
rhinoceros, bonobos, and dogs. She lives in New York City with her
husband, young son, and Finnegan, "a dog of indeterminate parentage and
determinate character."
An Evening with Author Jonathan Balcombe
Friday, April 13, 2012
Kellogg Center
East Lansing, Michigan
"Animals at play are one of the most beautiful things to
behold for me. I was transfixed and uplifted."
Jonathan spoke on "The Inner Lives of Animals," a presentation about animal emotion, communication, pleasure, and the implications for the
human-animal relationship.
Jonathan is a passionate advocate for animals and their living spaces. His most recent book, The Exultant Art: A Pictorial Tour of Animal Pleasure (2011), received a glowing review in the New York Times. His highly acclaimed books Pleasurable Kingdom and Second Nature present animals and the human-animal relationship in a new light. A PhD scientist, his message touches on timely and important issues, including climate change, biodiversity, and personal health.
He has given lectures and presentations on six continents. Jonathan was born in England and raised in New Zealand and Canada. He studied biology at Canada's York University and Carleton University before earning a PhD in ethology (animal behavior) from the University of Tennessee. He has written over 40 scientific papers and book chapters, and many lay articles on animal behavior and animal protection. For more information about Jonathan, please visit his website.
