Animals and Society: An Introduction to Human-Animal Studies

by Margo DeMello

Overview

Human-animal studies is an interdisciplinary field that explores the spaces that animals occupy in human social and cultural worlds. Margo DeMello provides a broad overview of this rapidly growing field. This second edition is fully updated and expanded throughout, enhancing the book’s relevance for student and activist readers alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231194846
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	04/13/2021
Edition description:	second edition
Pages:	616
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Margo DeMello teaches anthropology and sociology at Central New Mexico Community College. Her books include Speaking for Animals: Animal Autobiographical Writing; Teaching the Animal: Human-Animal Studies Across the Disciplines; Stories Rabbits Tell: A Natural and Cultural History of a Misunderstood Creature; and Why Animals Matter: The Case for Animal Protection.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Part I: Constructing Animals: Animal Categories
1. Human-Animal Studies
2. Animal-Human Borders
3. The Social Construction of Animals
Part II: Using Animals: Human-Animal Economies
4. Animals “in the Wild” and in Human Societies
5. The Domestication of Animals
6. Display, Performance, and Sport
7. The Making and Consumption of Meat
8. The Pet Animal
9. Animals and Science
10. Animal-Assisted Activities
Part III: Attitudes Toward Animals
11. Working with Animals
12. Violence to Animals
13. Human Oppression and Animal Suffering
Part IV: Imagining Animals: Animals in Human Thought
14. Animals in Symbol and Art
15. Animals in Religion and Folklore
16. Animals in Literature and Film
Part V: Knowing and Relating to Animals: Animal Behavior and Animal Ethics
17. Animal Behavior Studies and Ethology
18. The Moral Status of Animals
19. The Animal Protection Movement
20. The Future of the Human-Animal Relationship
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

Clifton P. Flynn

As the first published text in Human-Animal Studies, DeMello's Animals and Society: An Introduction to Human Animal Studies has undoubtedly set the standard for the field. Comprehensive in scope, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary in approach, painstakingly researched and wonderfully written, this volume should be the choice for Human-Animal Studies courses in a variety of disciplines, at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. And the inclusion of essays from professionals in various disciplines is an added bonus. A most impressive accomplishment!

— Clifton P. Flynn, University of South Carolina Upstate

Arnold Arluke

Margo DeMello's Animals and Society is a "must" book to own and read for scholars, advocates, and others interested in the growing field of anthrozoology. Each chapter is filled with insights that extend our understanding of the role and meaning of non-human animals in the modern age. I am sure that Animals and Society will be an essential addition to our bookshelves, required readings, citations lists, and textbook adoptions in the years to come.

— Arnold Arluke, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, Northeastern University, Boston

Editorial Reviews

Organizing a new, interdisciplinary field is no easy task, and overall DeMello has done a very fine job.

Humanimalia: A Journal of Human/Animal Interface Studies

A well-considered and artfully structured work that provokes thoughtful reflection and stimulates ideas for both theoretical and applied study; it is a worthwhile addition to my library.

PsycCritiques - Anne McBride

As one of the founders of this field and someone who has helped guide its development, DeMello is uniquely situated to write this book. She does an admirable job detailing the history of human–animal studies, its intricate relations to other fields, and its multi/interdisciplinarity. The right book at the right time.

Claire Jean Kim

A 'must' book to own and read. Each chapter is filled with insights extending our understanding of the role and meaning of non-human animals in the modern age. Animals and Society is an essential addition to our bookshelves, required readings, citations lists, and textbook adoptions.

Arnold Arluke

The first published text in human–animal studies, this volume undoubtedly sets the standard. Comprehensive in scope, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary in approach, painstakingly researched and wonderfully written, it should be the choice for human-animal studies courses in a variety of disciplines. A most impressive accomplishment.

Clifton P. Flynn

DeMello's book surpasses the typical textbook in offering a well-written overview of the field, with historical and cultural coverage of the changing categorizations of animals, the social construction of animals, the various human use of animals, attitudes toward animals, and symbolic manifestations of animals.

Zeteo

Animals and Society is a substantial encyclopedic resource for understanding the nature of our interactions involving animals.

San Francisco Book Review - D. Wayne Dworsky

A valuable resource.... Recommended.

Choice