Today is National Book Lovers Day, and what better way to celebrate than with a good read! We’ve put together a reading list that we are sure you’ll enjoy, and will have you diving head first into the world of Human-Animal Studies.
ASI is happy to see fellows from our ASI Summer Institutes contributing to the HAS field. We congratulate ASI-Wesleyan 2010 fellow, Jenny Vermilya, on her new book: Identity, Gender, and Tracking: The Reality of Boundaries for Veterinary Students. The book explores the experience of enrollment in an educational program that tracks students based on the species of animals that they wish to treat, and includes a chapter that sprang from ideas fostered at the Institute.
ASI member, Leslie Irvine, has recently published the second edition of Regarding Animals, alongside authors Arnold Arluke and Clinton R. Sanders. This second edition includes four new chapters, examining how relationships with pets help homeless people to construct positive personal identities; how adolescents who engage in or witness animal abuse understand their acts; how veterinary technicians experience both satisfaction and contamination in their jobs; and how animals are represented in mass media—both traditional editorial media and social media platforms.
To read the Open Access Introduction, click here.
The mission of the Animals and Society Institute is to advance human knowledge to improve animal lives. Our vision is a compassionate world where animals flourish. The Brill Human-Animal Studies Series supports this mission and vision by publishing books that explore the relationship between human and nonhuman animals. It intentionally casts a wide net, producing titles from any setting, contemporary, historical, and prehistorical from the perspective of various disciplines within both the social sciences and humanities.
In celebration of National Book Lovers Day, we have compiled a reading list of all the Open Access chapters available in the HAS Book Series for you to enjoy.
For a list of the full book series, click here.
Animal Experimentation: Working Towards a Paradigm Change (2019). Edited by Kathrin Herrmann and Kimberley Jayne
Animal experimentation has been one of the most controversial areas of animal use, mainly due to the intentional harms inflicted upon animals for the sake of hoped-for benefits in humans. Despite this rationale for continued animal experimentation, shortcomings of this practice have become increasingly more apparent and well-documented. However, these limitations are not yet widely known or appreciated, and there is a danger that they may simply be ignored. The 51 experts who have contributed to Animal Experimentation: Working Towards a Paradigm Change critically review current animal use in science, present new and innovative non-animal approaches to address urgent scientific questions, and offer a roadmap towards an animal-free world of science.
All the chapters in this book are Open Access and can be viewed here.
To purchase this book, click here.
In Search of Consistency: Ethics, Animals, and the Minimize Harm Maxim (2006) By Lisa Kemmerer
This volume introduces the most important ideas in animal ethics and builds on a critical dialogue emerging at the intersection of animal rights, environmental ethics, and religious studies. In Search of Consistency examines the work of influential scholars Tom Regan (animal rights), Peter Singer (utilitarian ethics), Andrew Linzey (theologian), and Paul Taylor (environmental ethics), and explores ethics and animals across six world religions (Indigenous faiths, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam). In Search of Consistency sheds light on ‘the sanctity of life’ by means of an intriguing moral theory, ‘The Minimize Harm Maxim’, rooted in the time-honored moral ideals of impartiality and consistency. This volume questions what it means to be human and challenges our assumed place in the universe.
To read the Open Access Introduction chapter, click here.
To purchase this book, click here.
Mad about Wildlife: Looking at Social Conflict Over Wildlife (2005) Edited by Ann Herda-Rapp and Theresa L. Goedeke
This edited volume documents the presence and types of Nature discourse that emerge during conflicts between people over wildlife. This collection of qualitative case studies demonstrates how social groups create opposing symbolic meanings of Nature and highlights the way in which the successful imposition of those meanings affects wildlife, people generally, and management professionals. Together, the chapters illustrate the significant, untapped utility of constructionist approaches for understanding social conflict over wildlife issues and for managing natural resources in a way that acknowledges and incorporates different definitions of nature.
To read the Open Access Introduction chapter, click here.
To purchase this book, click here.
Are you looking to complete your poolside summer reading list? Take advantage of the Brill Summer Sale and enjoy 50% off all titles! The sale runs until September 30, 2022. Don’t forget to use the reference offer code 71515 with your order in the webshop. Read more about Brill’s Summer Sale here.
Ready for more? Check out ASI’s Digital Archive, a searchable archive that contains much of ASI’s published articles, journals, and other resources. Note that some files are accessible only by ASI Members while others are Open Access. Dive even deeper into the world of HAS here.