Nik Taylor | University of Canterbury/Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha (original) (raw)
Books by Nik Taylor
Available OPEN ACCESS at link - https://anzswjournal.nz/anzsw/article/view/384/494 Empathy is as... more Available OPEN ACCESS at link - https://anzswjournal.nz/anzsw/article/view/384/494
Empathy is associated with engagement, compassion, social support and emotional sensitivity, and it is a hallmark of good social work practice. Empathy rightfully receives much attention in social work practice, however, interspecies empathy has yet to be included. This article has been written to address this gap.
In this piece I wrestle with the question of what a sociology of other animals is for. For me, th... more In this piece I wrestle with the question of what a sociology of other animals is for. For me, this is tied to a bigger question of what kind of research we do -and how we do it -in the neoliberal university. In my view, we need to develop some clarity (although not uniformity) in purpose about why we, as sociologists, study human relations with other animals. While there are some excellent tools available in sociological thought to study the various ways humans interact with other species, and the institutions within which this interaction occurs, my view is that if our aims are not in some way emancipatory for the animals involved, then we should rethink our focus and avoid sociological questions about animals altogether. To do otherwise, is to collude with master narratives that position animals as either irrelevant or as existing primarily, if not exclusively, for human benefit. I say this because approaches claiming to be apolitical and that do not seek, in some way, to better the lives of other species, ultimately reconstitute animals as objects, in this instance, objects to be studied. Just as ethical researchers have a duty to dignify their human participants and not treat them as exploitable commodities, the same needs to apply to sociologists who work with/for (other) animals.
This book argues that qualitative methods, ethnography included, have tended to focus on the huma... more This book argues that qualitative methods, ethnography included, have tended to focus on the human at the cost of understanding humans and animals in relation, and that ethnography should evolve to account for the relationships between humans and other species. Intellectual recognition of this has arrived within the field of human-animal studies and in the philosophical development of posthumanism but there are few practical guidelines for research. Taking this problem as a starting point, the authors draw on a wide array of examples from visual methods, ethnodrama, poetry and movement studies to consider the political, philosophical and practical consequences of posthuman methods. They outline the possibilities for creative new forms of ethnography that eschew simplistic binaries between humans and animals.
Ethnography after Humanism suggests how researchers could conduct different forms of fieldwork and writing to include animals more fruitfully and will be of interest to students and scholars across a range of disciplines, including human-animal studies, sociology, criminology, animal geography, anthropology, social theory and natural resources.
By all accounts, public response to media coverage of animal abuse is often overwhelming. For ins... more By all accounts, public response to media coverage of animal abuse is often overwhelming. For instance, during a recent Australian television documentary regarding the abuse of exported cattle in Indonesia, distressed viewers had already starting calling their lawmakers” before the program was over (Bryant, 2011). While there have been recent attempts to understand responses to coverage of such stories (e.g., Daly, Taylor, & Signal, 2014), as well as broader considerations of the representations of animals in the media, including violence done to them (e.g., Molloy, 2011), it is still the case that relatively little coverage of animal abuse makes it into the media. When it does it tends to support, rather than challenge, hegemonic speciesism in a variety of ways. Here, I argue that this is not surprising given the interlinked practices of the media, the state, and corporate interests. Despite this somewhat gloomy outlook, I conclude the chapter by considering the potential the media have to challenge normative assumptions regarding species boundaries through discourses of supposed ‘correct’ treatment of animals in the portrayal of speciesist abuse. Couldry (2012) points out that the shape, terrain, and pervasiveness of media in the contemporary age represents
a ‘limit situation’ within which lies the potential to think anew about media ethics and particularly about the “normative implications of life with media” (p. 181). The current chapter considers how critical animal
studies scholarship might contribute to this debate by problematizing the way in which ‘cruelty to animals’ is framed by the media in such a way as to reinforce, rather than question, human domination of other species.
This book employs an an intersectional feminist approach to highlight how research and teaching a... more This book employs an an intersectional feminist approach to highlight how research and teaching agendas are being skewed by commercialized, corporatized and commodified values and assumptions implicit in the neoliberalization of the academy. The authors combine 50 years of academic experience and focus on species, gender and class as they document the hazardous consequences of seeing people as instruments and knowledge as a form of capital. Personal-political examples are provided to illustrate some of the challenges but also opportunities facing activist scholars trying to resist neoliberalism. Heartfelt, frank, and unashamedly emotional, the book is a rallying cry for academics to defend their role as public intellectuals, to work together with communities, including those most negatively affected by neoliberalism and the corportatization of knowledge.
Overview Rescuing me, rescuing you speaks to the mutual, loving connections that can be formed ac... more Overview
Rescuing me, rescuing you speaks to the mutual, loving connections that can be formed across species, and in households where there is domestic violence. It also speaks to the potentially soothing, healing and recovery oriented aspects of human-companion animal relationships before, during and after the violence. Viewing domestic violence through the imaginary eyes of companion animals offers the opportunity to understand this widespread and potentially fatal social problem in new and engaging ways. While we do not suggest that we can truly speak for or adequately represent the interests of all companion animals in violent domestic situations, we can place them and their interests under the spotlight of human inquiry. This is our intention: to centre the rights and interests of companion animals at risk of, experiencing and/or trying to recover from domestic violence. Judging by the interest in social media and scholarly literature on human-animal relations, we think we are not alone in this interest.
The appeal of animal related literature can be seen in the exponential growth of the interdisciplinary field of human-animal studies. Within this field there is a consistent focus on human and animal directed violence research. Research in this area has consistently shown the links between domestic violence, child abuse and companion animal abuse. What has been left under-investigated, reported and theorised are the positive relationships many women and children, in violent situations, share with their companion animals. While previous focus has been, quite rightly, on how to help human and animal survivors of domestic violence, what has not been carefully examined are the deep, caring relationships that can exist between human and animals, particularly those trying to survive domestic violence.
It is this niche that the current book fills by weaving stories of human and companion animal ‘rescue’ and redemption through a work that closely considers the dynamics of human-animal abuse links within domestic violence. Drawing on a range of data from numerous projects the authors have conducted with women, about their companion animals and about links between domestic violence and animal abuse, this book highlights the deep, personal connections between women and their animals. In these regards our proposed book is innovative and different.
Our book presents an in-depth consideration of the power, politics and philosophy inherent to multi-species relationships and violence. It does so through paying close attention to the stories and images of those affected by such violence. As a result the book will be accessible, compelling, and of interest to a broad market including academics in various disciplines, and those interested in domestic violence service provision, as well as members of the animal-loving general public.
FORTHCOMING 2018
While animals have played a central part in human society over the years, when it comes to the so... more While animals have played a central part in human society over the years, when it comes to the social sciences they have largely been neglected. However, interest in Human–Animal Studies (HAS) has grown exponentially in recent years, giving rise to university and college courses around the world specifically on this compelling and vital subject.
Considering topics ranging from the human–animal bond, meat eating, and animals in entertainment, this book presents key concepts in simple and easy-to-understand ways as it covers the breadth of empirical work currently being done in the field. Through an examination of ideas such as anthropocentrism and the social construction of animals, it looks at how animals are symbolically transformed, presented, and re-presented as part of human culture. Ultimately, the book argues that there is nothing "natural" about our social relations with animals, but that animals are made use of and understood through a human lens.
Humans, Animals, and Society spans the diverse interests of the HAS community and is necessary reading for students and the general public looking to better understand our relationship with animals.
This chapter borrows from social theory in order to investigate ways in which humans ‘think about... more This chapter borrows from social theory in order to investigate ways in which humans ‘think about’ animals. Throughout, I argue that anthropomorphism is unavoidable given that humans interpret the natural world and other animals (and indeed other humans) through their own embodied materiality. Precisely because of this inevitability it is my contention that we can adopt a different way of ‘seeing animals’: Anthropo-interpretivism. Thus, it is my contention, that whilst the human element cannot be avoided in any human interpretation of others (and this includes interpretations of other humans) it need not necessarily lead to, or stem from, an assumption of human superiority.
Utilising ideas from post-modernism and post-humanism this book challenges current ways of thinki... more Utilising ideas from post-modernism and post-humanism this book challenges current ways of thinking about animals and their relationships with humans. Including contributions from across the social sciences the book encourages readers to reflect upon taken for granted ways of conceptualising human relaitonships with animals. It will be of interest to those in the broad field of human-animal studies as well as those within most social science and humanities disciplines including sociology, anthropology, philosophy and social theory.
Papers by Nik Taylor
Qualitative Sociology Review, 2007
This paper argues that sociology should begin to turn its attention to human-animal interaction a... more This paper argues that sociology should begin to turn its attention to human-animal interaction and that one particularly effective way to do so is to adopt a phenomenological approach. This approach sees the personality, and thus the personhood of animals, as intersubjectively and reflexively created. Based on ethnographic data collected over three years in animal sanctuaries this paper assesses how animal sanctuary workers labour collectively to establish the identity of the animals under their care and how this, in turn, justifies their attitudes towards, and treatment of, them.
Writing is ethnographic method-in-practice (Law, 2004) and arguably the most powerful of its worl... more Writing is ethnographic method-in-practice (Law, 2004) and arguably the most powerful of its world-making tools, shaping and creating the representation of social relations to influence what is known and believed to be true. By translating everyday life from lived experience to words on a page, ethnographers reduce and simplify the world about them to create narrative. Through this process, we necessarily have to make choices about overlooking or editing out particular actors, events, mistakes or even entire species, and such choices inform the worlds and truths we make and live within (Latour & Woolgar, 1978). Whether or not we do so reflectively, editorial power puts participants at risk of being constructed in specific ways, inscribing and thereby limiting accounts of their lives, their social function and their (so-called) place in society. Writing, then, can lead us into the imperialist trap of underlining rather than questioning hegemonic norms about particular groups. It may ...
Critical Animal and Media Studies, 2015
The Routledge Handbook of Critical Pedagogies for Social Work, 2020
Ecofeminism and critical animal studies have much to offer social workers interested in transform... more Ecofeminism and critical animal studies have much to offer social workers interested in transformative social change inclusive of non-human animals, built and natural environments. Inequality on the basis of species and gender—particularly as they intersect with neoliberal rhetoric—are major points of our discussion. The chapter is organised into five overlapping sections: ecofeminism; critical animal studies; ecological/green social work; critical (animal) social work in the context of neoliberalism; and transformative education and the joy of animal connections. We draw ideas most from Val Plumwood and Vandana Shiva (representing ecofeminism), Carol J. Adams (vegan ecofeminism), Steve Best (critical animal studies), Fred Besthorn (ecological social work) and Lena Dominelli (green social work). Our primary focus is on how the central ideas from ecofeminism and critical animal studies can inform non-anthropocentric social work, that is, social work that does not assume human superiority or governance over other animals, nature and the environment.
Companion Animals and Domestic Violence, 2019
In this chapter we outline the scale of domestic violence including the relatively little that is... more In this chapter we outline the scale of domestic violence including the relatively little that is known about animals’ experiences of it. We acknowledge the complexity of domestic violence, before considering the links between love, loyalty, and abuse. We note that they often coexist for all those—human and animal—experiencing domestic violence. Following this we outline our conceptual and theoretical approaches to studying domestic violence done to humans and other animals, which is a feminist intersectional understanding that recognises this complexity. We then advance our central argument. Simply put it is that we need to collectively change the current humancentric framing of domestic violence, to include (other) animals.
Companion Animals and Domestic Violence, 2019
Taking centre stage in this chapter are stories about women and companion animals being dominated... more Taking centre stage in this chapter are stories about women and companion animals being dominated and abused by ‘loved ones’ and seeking refuge in each other through their own interspecies relationships of empathic love. Close-up examples of abuse are provided from the Loving You, Loving Me study involving nine individual interviews conducted in the presence of their companion animals. The chapter begins with a discussion of love, empathy, and connection because it provides context to the confusion often felt by victims when violence extends beyond infrequent incidents to become an ongoing dynamic.
Domestic and family violence (DFV), including but not limited to intimate partner violence (IPV),... more Domestic and family violence (DFV), including but not limited to intimate partner violence (IPV), is a major and devastating problem in Australia (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2019). This is especially true for cisgender women (Fraser, 2008), people who are gender and/or sexuality diverse (Riggs, Taylor, Fraser, et al., 2018), and children (Fraser, 1999). Less recognised is that DFV is also a major problem for many animals (Taylor & Fraser, 2019). Humans have a long history of keeping animal companions (or ‘pets’) in their homes, and today 61% of Australian households are multispecies (RSPCA, 2020). Recent research has shown just how much diverse groups of humans value the relationships they have with animal companions—particularly among those who are more vulnerable to oppression, such as cisgender heterosexual women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer [LGBTQ] people (see Fraser & Taylor, 2017, 2019). Such relationships put animal companions at signific...
Available OPEN ACCESS at link - https://anzswjournal.nz/anzsw/article/view/384/494 Empathy is as... more Available OPEN ACCESS at link - https://anzswjournal.nz/anzsw/article/view/384/494
Empathy is associated with engagement, compassion, social support and emotional sensitivity, and it is a hallmark of good social work practice. Empathy rightfully receives much attention in social work practice, however, interspecies empathy has yet to be included. This article has been written to address this gap.
In this piece I wrestle with the question of what a sociology of other animals is for. For me, th... more In this piece I wrestle with the question of what a sociology of other animals is for. For me, this is tied to a bigger question of what kind of research we do -and how we do it -in the neoliberal university. In my view, we need to develop some clarity (although not uniformity) in purpose about why we, as sociologists, study human relations with other animals. While there are some excellent tools available in sociological thought to study the various ways humans interact with other species, and the institutions within which this interaction occurs, my view is that if our aims are not in some way emancipatory for the animals involved, then we should rethink our focus and avoid sociological questions about animals altogether. To do otherwise, is to collude with master narratives that position animals as either irrelevant or as existing primarily, if not exclusively, for human benefit. I say this because approaches claiming to be apolitical and that do not seek, in some way, to better the lives of other species, ultimately reconstitute animals as objects, in this instance, objects to be studied. Just as ethical researchers have a duty to dignify their human participants and not treat them as exploitable commodities, the same needs to apply to sociologists who work with/for (other) animals.
This book argues that qualitative methods, ethnography included, have tended to focus on the huma... more This book argues that qualitative methods, ethnography included, have tended to focus on the human at the cost of understanding humans and animals in relation, and that ethnography should evolve to account for the relationships between humans and other species. Intellectual recognition of this has arrived within the field of human-animal studies and in the philosophical development of posthumanism but there are few practical guidelines for research. Taking this problem as a starting point, the authors draw on a wide array of examples from visual methods, ethnodrama, poetry and movement studies to consider the political, philosophical and practical consequences of posthuman methods. They outline the possibilities for creative new forms of ethnography that eschew simplistic binaries between humans and animals.
Ethnography after Humanism suggests how researchers could conduct different forms of fieldwork and writing to include animals more fruitfully and will be of interest to students and scholars across a range of disciplines, including human-animal studies, sociology, criminology, animal geography, anthropology, social theory and natural resources.
By all accounts, public response to media coverage of animal abuse is often overwhelming. For ins... more By all accounts, public response to media coverage of animal abuse is often overwhelming. For instance, during a recent Australian television documentary regarding the abuse of exported cattle in Indonesia, distressed viewers had already starting calling their lawmakers” before the program was over (Bryant, 2011). While there have been recent attempts to understand responses to coverage of such stories (e.g., Daly, Taylor, & Signal, 2014), as well as broader considerations of the representations of animals in the media, including violence done to them (e.g., Molloy, 2011), it is still the case that relatively little coverage of animal abuse makes it into the media. When it does it tends to support, rather than challenge, hegemonic speciesism in a variety of ways. Here, I argue that this is not surprising given the interlinked practices of the media, the state, and corporate interests. Despite this somewhat gloomy outlook, I conclude the chapter by considering the potential the media have to challenge normative assumptions regarding species boundaries through discourses of supposed ‘correct’ treatment of animals in the portrayal of speciesist abuse. Couldry (2012) points out that the shape, terrain, and pervasiveness of media in the contemporary age represents
a ‘limit situation’ within which lies the potential to think anew about media ethics and particularly about the “normative implications of life with media” (p. 181). The current chapter considers how critical animal
studies scholarship might contribute to this debate by problematizing the way in which ‘cruelty to animals’ is framed by the media in such a way as to reinforce, rather than question, human domination of other species.
This book employs an an intersectional feminist approach to highlight how research and teaching a... more This book employs an an intersectional feminist approach to highlight how research and teaching agendas are being skewed by commercialized, corporatized and commodified values and assumptions implicit in the neoliberalization of the academy. The authors combine 50 years of academic experience and focus on species, gender and class as they document the hazardous consequences of seeing people as instruments and knowledge as a form of capital. Personal-political examples are provided to illustrate some of the challenges but also opportunities facing activist scholars trying to resist neoliberalism. Heartfelt, frank, and unashamedly emotional, the book is a rallying cry for academics to defend their role as public intellectuals, to work together with communities, including those most negatively affected by neoliberalism and the corportatization of knowledge.
Overview Rescuing me, rescuing you speaks to the mutual, loving connections that can be formed ac... more Overview
Rescuing me, rescuing you speaks to the mutual, loving connections that can be formed across species, and in households where there is domestic violence. It also speaks to the potentially soothing, healing and recovery oriented aspects of human-companion animal relationships before, during and after the violence. Viewing domestic violence through the imaginary eyes of companion animals offers the opportunity to understand this widespread and potentially fatal social problem in new and engaging ways. While we do not suggest that we can truly speak for or adequately represent the interests of all companion animals in violent domestic situations, we can place them and their interests under the spotlight of human inquiry. This is our intention: to centre the rights and interests of companion animals at risk of, experiencing and/or trying to recover from domestic violence. Judging by the interest in social media and scholarly literature on human-animal relations, we think we are not alone in this interest.
The appeal of animal related literature can be seen in the exponential growth of the interdisciplinary field of human-animal studies. Within this field there is a consistent focus on human and animal directed violence research. Research in this area has consistently shown the links between domestic violence, child abuse and companion animal abuse. What has been left under-investigated, reported and theorised are the positive relationships many women and children, in violent situations, share with their companion animals. While previous focus has been, quite rightly, on how to help human and animal survivors of domestic violence, what has not been carefully examined are the deep, caring relationships that can exist between human and animals, particularly those trying to survive domestic violence.
It is this niche that the current book fills by weaving stories of human and companion animal ‘rescue’ and redemption through a work that closely considers the dynamics of human-animal abuse links within domestic violence. Drawing on a range of data from numerous projects the authors have conducted with women, about their companion animals and about links between domestic violence and animal abuse, this book highlights the deep, personal connections between women and their animals. In these regards our proposed book is innovative and different.
Our book presents an in-depth consideration of the power, politics and philosophy inherent to multi-species relationships and violence. It does so through paying close attention to the stories and images of those affected by such violence. As a result the book will be accessible, compelling, and of interest to a broad market including academics in various disciplines, and those interested in domestic violence service provision, as well as members of the animal-loving general public.
FORTHCOMING 2018
While animals have played a central part in human society over the years, when it comes to the so... more While animals have played a central part in human society over the years, when it comes to the social sciences they have largely been neglected. However, interest in Human–Animal Studies (HAS) has grown exponentially in recent years, giving rise to university and college courses around the world specifically on this compelling and vital subject.
Considering topics ranging from the human–animal bond, meat eating, and animals in entertainment, this book presents key concepts in simple and easy-to-understand ways as it covers the breadth of empirical work currently being done in the field. Through an examination of ideas such as anthropocentrism and the social construction of animals, it looks at how animals are symbolically transformed, presented, and re-presented as part of human culture. Ultimately, the book argues that there is nothing "natural" about our social relations with animals, but that animals are made use of and understood through a human lens.
Humans, Animals, and Society spans the diverse interests of the HAS community and is necessary reading for students and the general public looking to better understand our relationship with animals.
This chapter borrows from social theory in order to investigate ways in which humans ‘think about... more This chapter borrows from social theory in order to investigate ways in which humans ‘think about’ animals. Throughout, I argue that anthropomorphism is unavoidable given that humans interpret the natural world and other animals (and indeed other humans) through their own embodied materiality. Precisely because of this inevitability it is my contention that we can adopt a different way of ‘seeing animals’: Anthropo-interpretivism. Thus, it is my contention, that whilst the human element cannot be avoided in any human interpretation of others (and this includes interpretations of other humans) it need not necessarily lead to, or stem from, an assumption of human superiority.
Utilising ideas from post-modernism and post-humanism this book challenges current ways of thinki... more Utilising ideas from post-modernism and post-humanism this book challenges current ways of thinking about animals and their relationships with humans. Including contributions from across the social sciences the book encourages readers to reflect upon taken for granted ways of conceptualising human relaitonships with animals. It will be of interest to those in the broad field of human-animal studies as well as those within most social science and humanities disciplines including sociology, anthropology, philosophy and social theory.
Qualitative Sociology Review, 2007
This paper argues that sociology should begin to turn its attention to human-animal interaction a... more This paper argues that sociology should begin to turn its attention to human-animal interaction and that one particularly effective way to do so is to adopt a phenomenological approach. This approach sees the personality, and thus the personhood of animals, as intersubjectively and reflexively created. Based on ethnographic data collected over three years in animal sanctuaries this paper assesses how animal sanctuary workers labour collectively to establish the identity of the animals under their care and how this, in turn, justifies their attitudes towards, and treatment of, them.
Writing is ethnographic method-in-practice (Law, 2004) and arguably the most powerful of its worl... more Writing is ethnographic method-in-practice (Law, 2004) and arguably the most powerful of its world-making tools, shaping and creating the representation of social relations to influence what is known and believed to be true. By translating everyday life from lived experience to words on a page, ethnographers reduce and simplify the world about them to create narrative. Through this process, we necessarily have to make choices about overlooking or editing out particular actors, events, mistakes or even entire species, and such choices inform the worlds and truths we make and live within (Latour & Woolgar, 1978). Whether or not we do so reflectively, editorial power puts participants at risk of being constructed in specific ways, inscribing and thereby limiting accounts of their lives, their social function and their (so-called) place in society. Writing, then, can lead us into the imperialist trap of underlining rather than questioning hegemonic norms about particular groups. It may ...
Critical Animal and Media Studies, 2015
The Routledge Handbook of Critical Pedagogies for Social Work, 2020
Ecofeminism and critical animal studies have much to offer social workers interested in transform... more Ecofeminism and critical animal studies have much to offer social workers interested in transformative social change inclusive of non-human animals, built and natural environments. Inequality on the basis of species and gender—particularly as they intersect with neoliberal rhetoric—are major points of our discussion. The chapter is organised into five overlapping sections: ecofeminism; critical animal studies; ecological/green social work; critical (animal) social work in the context of neoliberalism; and transformative education and the joy of animal connections. We draw ideas most from Val Plumwood and Vandana Shiva (representing ecofeminism), Carol J. Adams (vegan ecofeminism), Steve Best (critical animal studies), Fred Besthorn (ecological social work) and Lena Dominelli (green social work). Our primary focus is on how the central ideas from ecofeminism and critical animal studies can inform non-anthropocentric social work, that is, social work that does not assume human superiority or governance over other animals, nature and the environment.
Companion Animals and Domestic Violence, 2019
In this chapter we outline the scale of domestic violence including the relatively little that is... more In this chapter we outline the scale of domestic violence including the relatively little that is known about animals’ experiences of it. We acknowledge the complexity of domestic violence, before considering the links between love, loyalty, and abuse. We note that they often coexist for all those—human and animal—experiencing domestic violence. Following this we outline our conceptual and theoretical approaches to studying domestic violence done to humans and other animals, which is a feminist intersectional understanding that recognises this complexity. We then advance our central argument. Simply put it is that we need to collectively change the current humancentric framing of domestic violence, to include (other) animals.
Companion Animals and Domestic Violence, 2019
Taking centre stage in this chapter are stories about women and companion animals being dominated... more Taking centre stage in this chapter are stories about women and companion animals being dominated and abused by ‘loved ones’ and seeking refuge in each other through their own interspecies relationships of empathic love. Close-up examples of abuse are provided from the Loving You, Loving Me study involving nine individual interviews conducted in the presence of their companion animals. The chapter begins with a discussion of love, empathy, and connection because it provides context to the confusion often felt by victims when violence extends beyond infrequent incidents to become an ongoing dynamic.
Domestic and family violence (DFV), including but not limited to intimate partner violence (IPV),... more Domestic and family violence (DFV), including but not limited to intimate partner violence (IPV), is a major and devastating problem in Australia (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2019). This is especially true for cisgender women (Fraser, 2008), people who are gender and/or sexuality diverse (Riggs, Taylor, Fraser, et al., 2018), and children (Fraser, 1999). Less recognised is that DFV is also a major problem for many animals (Taylor & Fraser, 2019). Humans have a long history of keeping animal companions (or ‘pets’) in their homes, and today 61% of Australian households are multispecies (RSPCA, 2020). Recent research has shown just how much diverse groups of humans value the relationships they have with animal companions—particularly among those who are more vulnerable to oppression, such as cisgender heterosexual women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer [LGBTQ] people (see Fraser & Taylor, 2017, 2019). Such relationships put animal companions at signific...
Animal Studies Journal, 2016
Under the remit of an expanded definition of sustainability – one that acknowledges animal agricu... more Under the remit of an expanded definition of sustainability – one that acknowledges animal agriculture as a key carbon intensive industry, and one that includes interspecies ethics as an integral part of social justice – institutions such as Universities can and should play a role in supporting a wider agenda for sustainable food practices on campus. By drawing out clear connections between sustainability objectives on campus and the shift away from animal based products, the objective of this article is to advocate for a more consistent understanding and implementation of sustainability measures as championed by university campuses at large. We will draw out clear connections between sustainability objectives on campus and the shift away from animal based products. Overall, our arguments are contextualised within broader debates on the relationship between sustainability, social justice and interspecies ethics. We envisage that such discussion will contribute to an enriched, more r...
The emerging field of multiple species research has yet to be firmly or perfectly defined, but in... more The emerging field of multiple species research has yet to be firmly or perfectly defined, but in seeking to test out some ideas, the foregoing three chapters explored the potential of several creative tools for approaching the difficult problem of accessing and understanding the interactions between humans and other species, looking at techniques that can incorporate other agencies rather than ignoring them. In the previous chapter, we considered how cutting-edge participatory methods could develop further still, and suggested that the creativity and sociability of art and craft-making could break down borderlines between academics, animals and their human guardians. The question we explore in this current chapter returns to a more formal academic context and asks whether collaboration between differently skilled researchers and the use of multiple research methods, including ethnography, can provide another basis for new insights.
Barone and Eisner (1997) have pointed out that visual, auditory and arts-based approaches have be... more Barone and Eisner (1997) have pointed out that visual, auditory and arts-based approaches have become more popular and acceptable within the ethnographic community. At the same time, the range of techniques on offer to ethnographers has vastly expanded, particularly as the use of websites and audio-visual recording devices have become increasingly user-friendly, affordable and commonplace (Hine, 2000; Pink, 2013, 2015). We have highlighted some of the creative techniques on offer in the foregoing chapters. Here, we expand our purview to review non-standard ethnographic approaches further to consider how a deeper engagement with the arts (specifically drama, poetry and craft) could be used to improve our empathy and understanding of human–animal relations. As Bhana (2006), Leavy (2015), Kara (2015) and the many others who advocate arts-based methods have pointed out, when conducted well, they can generate rigorous, exciting and relevant research that is more accessible to nonacademic...
Critical Sociology, 2020
The precarity and violation that has resulted from decades of neoliberal reforms have been made c... more The precarity and violation that has resulted from decades of neoliberal reforms have been made clear in the global COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in terms of access to healthcare and financial inequality. However, ideological discourses of individual heroics have been rapidly deployed, to patch up the damage done to neoliberal rhetoric. In this paper, we argue a critical sociological lens reveals something important about this violence of neoliberalism at this moment during the crisis. Analysing media articles that have considerable reach, availability and shareability, we interrogate the rhetorical framing of frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and uncover three significant themes: ‘celebrating “our” heroes’, ‘personal sacrifice’ and ‘the heroes of war’. We argue that the emerging field of the sociology of violence provides the means to expose the violence of neoliberalism in the current COVID-19 pandemic as well as identify the discursive apparatus that obscure the vi...
Theoretical Criminology, 2018
While the last two decades have witnessed considerable growth in green criminology, the positioni... more While the last two decades have witnessed considerable growth in green criminology, the positioning of nonhuman animals within the field remains unclear and contested. This article provides an analysis of green criminological work—published since the 1998 special issue of Theoretical Criminology—that addresses harms and crime perpetrated against nonhuman animals. We assess trends in the quantity of the work over time and how the treatment of nonhuman animals has unfolded through an analysis of green criminology articles, chapters in edited volumes and monographs. We find that while the amount of consideration given to nonhuman animals by green criminologists has increased dramatically over the years, much of this work has focused on crimes and harms against wild animals (e.g. “wildlife poaching”, “trafficking”), comparatively less attention has been paid to so-called “domesticated animals” or to larger questions of species justice. Based on these findings, we consider how concepts i...
Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 2017
INTRODUCTION: Empathy is associated with engagement, compassion, social support and emotional sen... more INTRODUCTION: Empathy is associated with engagement, compassion, social support and emotional sensitivity, and it is a hallmark of good social work practice. Empathy rightfully receives much attention in social work practice, however, interspecies empathy has yet to be included. This article has been written to address this gap.METHODS: Two main research questions guide our conceptual discussion of young people, interspecies empathy and social work: (1) Why is empathy important to social work with young people? (2) What can an Australian RSPCA Humane Education Programme (HEP) teach social workers about the benefits of interspecies empathy for young people? After our literature review, we examine our illustrative example, which is an HEP offered mostly to newly arrived refugee and migrant young people living in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, whose prior experiences of and/or attitudes towards animals may not have been positive. FINDINGS: Social workers are wise to prioritise empathy...
Violence Against Women, 2018
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The first, second and fifth authors would like to acknowledge that they live and... more ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The first, second and fifth authors would like to acknowledge that they live and work on the lands of the Kaurna people, and to acknowledge their sovereignty as First Nations people. The fourth author would like to acknowledge the sovereignty of the Darumbal people, upon whose land she lives and works.
Journal of interpersonal violence, 2018
Over the past three decades, a growing body of research has focused on experiences of domestic vi... more Over the past three decades, a growing body of research has focused on experiences of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) among people of diverse genders and/or sexualities. Missing, however, has been a focus on what is known as "the link" between DVA and animal cruelty with regard to people of diverse genders and/or sexualities. The present article reports on a study of 503 people living in either Australia or the United Kingdom, who reported on both their intimate human relationships and their relationships with animals, including relationships that were abusive. In terms of "the link," a fifth of respondents who had experienced violence or abuse also reported that animal cruelty had been perpetuated by the violent or abusive partner. Statistical interactions were found between having witnessed animal cruelty perpetrated by a partner, gender and sexuality, and both psychological distress and social connectedness. Female participants who had witnessed animal cruel...
Society & Natural Resources, 2017
Qualitative methods are important in gaining a deep understanding of complex problems and poorly ... more Qualitative methods are important in gaining a deep understanding of complex problems and poorly researched areas. They can be particularly useful to help explain underlying conservation problems, as in Rust et al. (2016). However, the significance in choosing and justifying appropriate methodological frameworks in conservation studies should be given more attention to ensure data are collected and analysed appropriately.
In this piece I wrestle with the question of what a sociology of other animals is for. For me, th... more In this piece I wrestle with the question of what a sociology of other animals is for. For me, this is tied to a bigger question of what kind of research we do – and how we do it-in the neoliberal university. In my view, we need to develop some clarity (although not uniformity) in purpose about why we, as sociologists, study human relations with other animals. While there are some excellent tools available in sociological thought to study the various ways humans interact with other species, and the institutions within which this interaction occurs, my view is that if our aims are not in some way emancipatory for the animals involved, then we should rethink our focus and avoid sociological questions about animals altogether. To do otherwise, is to collude with master narratives that position animals as either irrelevant or as existing primarily, if not exclusively, for human benefit. I say this because approaches claiming to be apolitical and that do not seek, in some way, to better the lives of other species, ultimately reconstitute animals as objects, in this instance, objects to be studied. Just as ethical researchers have a duty to dignify their human participants and not treat them as exploitable commodities, the same needs to apply to sociologists who work with/for (other) animals.
Presented at the Australian Sociological Association’s Animals and Society thematic group confere... more Presented at the Australian Sociological Association’s Animals and Society thematic group conference. I argue that academic sociologists cannot afford to remain neutral when researching human-animal relations/studies; that they/we must develop a clarity regarding their/our own ethical position which needs to be one aimed at emancipating other animals.
This year's conference is particularly significant as its theme, The Link, canvasses not only ani... more This year's conference is particularly significant as its theme, The Link, canvasses not only animal issues but also the community at large, as it studies the acknowledged link between animal cruelty and human abuse. The content of the conferences may be disturbing to some, exposing as it will the underbelly of society as violence invades our homes, and women, children and animals suffer. However, we must expose it to combat it.
In early 2013 Europe was subject to a moral panic regarding the presence of horse flesh in beef p... more In early 2013 Europe was subject to a moral panic regarding the presence of horse flesh in beef products. Posited as a ‘scandal’ and often referred to in the media as ‘the horsemeat scandal’, this topic amassed a large amount of media reports and commentary as well as eliciting police investigations, raids and arrests along with a UK-wide survey of authenticity by the British food safety watchdog, the Food Standards Agency. At the time of writing (and the ‘scandal’ continues) ‘mislabeled’ meat products have been found in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom (UK), France, Norway, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden and Germany. Commentators have argued that the ‘scandal’ demonstrates the complexity of the food industry’s supply chains in a globalized world while others have been quick to claim that neo-liberal, free market profiteers are to blame (Hutton 2013).
However, what is strikingly absent in the overwhelming majority of the
commentary is any critical discussion of meat eating per se. Rather, the opposite is true; by its very absence meat eating is assumed to be normal and is thus further normalized. In lieu of any critical engagement with meat eating practices, discourses of contamination, xenophobia and nationhood pervade the coverage of the topic. Analyzing approximately 100 reports carried in the popular media from January to March 2013, this chapter considers the meaning of such a focus and, in particular, why meat eating and animal bodies are the ‘absent referent’ throughout the discourse. We argue that the media frenzy regarding horse meat is not about health concerns, and is certainly not about animal welfare in general (although we accept that there are speciesist tensions here and that the debate touches upon certain animals’ welfare—those we consider worthy, e.g. as ‘pets’), but is instead an example of the maintenance of hegemonic species boundaries. In so arguing, we show how binaries between clean and dirty or moral and immoral serve to reinforce the legitimacy of so-called alternatives that are already within the normative standards of a culture. Arguing that the disruption of such normative ideologies and assumptions is how they are made visible, we demonstrate that concern over the supposed pollutant of horse meat in cattle meat is not governed by a fear of disease or contamination per se; rather it is about attempts to reinforce species
hierarchies through a normalization of the cultural practice of eating some animals, and not others. We do this by drawing on Mary Douglas’s Purity and Danger (1966) and through a critical consideration of mainstream anthropocentrist and carnist discourse.
This chapter explores condoned animal abuse in the slaughterhouse and food production processes. ... more This chapter explores condoned animal abuse in the slaughterhouse and food production processes. Through a consideration of extant ethnographic research with slaughterhouse workers, the authors assess the ways in which the killing of other animals for meat becomes normalised through various institutional and cultural practices which, in large part, work to ensure that this slaughter remains invisible. The authors argue that one key component in this is the constant and consistent separation of humans and animals into discrete categories: this ensures that animals are considered as objects rather than subjects, which neatly separates humans from animals and allows the latter to be seen as ‘walking larders’ rather than sentient individuals. Through an analysis of the mechanisms whereby animal slaughter and death are normalised, the chapter addresses the ways in which the cultural hegemony of meat and the normalisation of institutional animal abuse are interconnected.
In: The Palgrave International Handbook of Animal Abuse Studies,
Editors: Maher, Jennifer, Pierpoint, Harriet, Beirne, Piers (Eds.)
Approaches to Fieldwork, Sep 2014
Big Data? Qualitative Approaches to Digital Research, Part of a Book Series: Studies in Qualitative Methodology. Volume edited by Dr Sam Hillyard, Emerald., Nov 9, 2014
Purpose The last few decades have seen the rise of a new field of inquiry – human–animal studies... more Purpose
The last few decades have seen the rise of a new field of inquiry – human–animal studies (HAS). As a rich, theoretically and disciplinarily diverse field, HAS shines a light on the various relations that humans have with other animals across time, space and culture. While still a small, but rapidly growing field, HAS has supported the development of multiple theoretical and conceptual initiatives which have aimed to capture the rich diversity of human–animal interactions. Yet the methodologies for doing this have not kept pace with the ambitions of such projects. In this chapter, we seek to shed light on this particular issue.
Design/methodology/approach
We consider the difficulties of researching other-than-human beings by asking what might happen if methods incorporated true inter-disciplinarity, for instance if social scientists were able to work with natural scientists on multi-species ethnographies. The lack of established methodology (and the lack of cross disciplinary research between the natural and social sciences) is one of the main problems that we consider here. It is an issue complicated immensely by the ‘otherness’ of animals – the vast differences in the ways that we (humans) and they (animals) see the world, communicate and behave. This chapter provides the opportunity for us to consider how we can take account of (if not resolve) these differences to arrive at meaningful research data, to better understand the contemporary world by embarking upon more precise investigations of our relationships with animals.
Findings
Drawing upon a selection of examples from contemporary research of human–animal interactions, both ethnographic and scientific, we shed light on some new possibilities for multi-species research. We suggest that this can be done best by considering and applying a diversity of theoretical frameworks which deal explicitly with the constitution of the social environment.
Originality/value
Our methodological exploration offers the reader insight into new ways of working within the template of human animal studies by drawing upon a range of useful theories such as post-structuralism and actor network theory (ANT) (for example, Callon, 1986; Hamilton & Taylor, 2013; Latour, 2005; Law, Ruppert, & Savage, 2011) and post-humanist perspectives (for example, Anderson, 2014; Haraway, 2003; Wolfe, 2010). Our contribution to this literature is distinctive because rather than remaining at the philosophical level, we suggest how the human politics of method might be navigated practically to the benefit of multiple species.
Keywords:
Ethnography, human-animal studies, interdisciplinary, ontology, epistemology, politics
Previous research has consistently found that transgender women experience high levels of domesti... more Previous research has consistently found that transgender women experience high levels of domestic violence and abuse (DVA). Yet to date no studies have explored the efficacy of training workshops aimed at increasing the capacity of service providers to meet the needs of transgender women. This paper reports on findings from one such workshop developed and run in South Australia. Workshop participants (n=25) from three domestic violence services completed both pre-and post-workshop measures of attitudes towards working with transgender women, comfort in working with transgender women, and confidence in providing services to transgender women. In addition, participants responded to open-ended questions regarding terminology, and awareness of referrals related to the link between DVA and animal abuse. Statistically significant changes were identified on all measures, with workshop attendees reporting more positive attitudes, greater comfort, and greater confidence after completing the workshop. Analysis of open-ended responses found that attendees developed a better understanding of both appropriate terminology, and referrals for women who present to services with animal companions. We conclude with suggestions for how programs and services may become more welcoming and inclusive of transgender women experiencing DVA.
Previous research has consistently found that transgender women experience high levels of domesti... more Previous research has consistently found that transgender women experience high levels of domestic violence and abuse (DVA). Yet to date no studies have explored the efficacy of training workshops aimed at increasing the capacity of service providers to meet the needs of transgender women. This paper reports on findings from one such workshop developed and run in South Australia. Workshop participants (n=25) from three domestic violence services completed both pre-and post-workshop measures of attitudes towards working with transgender women, comfort in working with transgender women, and confidence in providing services to transgender women. In addition, participants responded to open-ended questions regarding terminology, and awareness of referrals related to the link between DVA and animal abuse. Statistically significant changes were identified on all measures, with workshop attendees reporting more positive attitudes, greater comfort, and greater confidence after completing the workshop. Analysis of open-ended responses found that attendees developed a better understanding of both appropriate terminology, and referrals for women who present to services with animal companions. We conclude with suggestions for how programs and services may become more welcoming and inclusive of transgender women experiencing DVA.
Previous research has consistently found that transgender women experience high levels of domesti... more Previous research has consistently found that transgender women experience high levels of domestic violence and abuse (DVA). Yet to date no studies have explored the efficacy of training workshops aimed at increasing the capacity of service providers to meet the needs of transgender women. This paper reports on findings from one such workshop developed and run in South Australia. Workshop participants (n=25) from three domestic violence services completed both pre- and post-workshop measures of attitudes towards working with transgender women, comfort in working with transgender women, and confidence in providing services to transgender women. In addition, participants responded to open-ended questions regarding terminology, and awareness of referrals related to the link between DVA and animal abuse. Statistically significant changes were identified on all measures, with workshop attendees reporting more positive attitudes, greater comfort, and greater confidence after completing the workshop. Analysis of open-ended responses found that attendees developed a better understanding of both appropriate terminology, and referrals for women who present to services with animal companions. We conclude with suggestions for how programs and services may become more welcoming and inclusive of transgender women experiencing DVA.
Animals are increasingly being used in a range of social work settings and extant research demons... more Animals are increasingly being used in a range of social work settings and extant research demonstrates they can offer a wide range of benefits to humans. With other professions, social work is oriented toward caring for people but does not officially recognise (non-human) animals. Given the rise in animal related interventions and emergence of Veterinary Social Work, we argue that this needs to change. We recognise that obstacles to change include social work's history of dichotomising (or falsely dividing) humans from animals, and focussing on human experiences of social problems (such as poverty). Using a program example of a canine assisted therapy project for child sexual abuse victims/survivors in Bundaberg (Central Queensland, Australia), we consider some of the ethical and practical issues associated with animal-assisted therapies (AATs). We examine whether animal-assisted therapies (AATs) can benefit both humans and animals by positively changing peoples' attitudes and behaviours towards animals. We argue that the ethical legitimacy of AATs rests on their willingness to understand animals as sentient beings with needs of their own, not just possessions or tools for humans to use.
FOR FULL ARTICLE SEE LINK TO THE URL ABOVE Under the remit of an expanded definition of sustainab... more FOR FULL ARTICLE SEE LINK TO THE URL ABOVE
Under the remit of an expanded definition of sustainability – one that acknowledges animal agriculture as a key carbon intensive industry, and one that includes interspecies ethics as an integral part of social justice – institutions such as Universities can and
should play a role in supporting a wider agenda for sustainable food practices on campus. By
drawing out clear connections between sustainability objectives on campus and the shift away
from animal based products, the objective of this article is to advocate for a more consistent
understanding and implementation of sustainability measures as championed by university
campuses at large. We will draw out clear connections between sustainability objectives on
campus and the shift away from animal based products. Overall, our arguments are
contextualised within broader debates on the relationship between sustainability, social justice
and interspecies ethics. We envisage that such discussion will contribute to an enriched, more
robust sense of sustainability—one in which food justice refers not only to justice for human
consumers and producers of food and the land used by them, but also to justice for the
nonhuman animals considered as potential sources of food themselves.
Child Abuse Review, 2021
The study reported in the present paper investigates psychosocial assessment practices relating t... more The study reported in the present paper investigates psychosocial assessment practices relating to potential animal welfare concerns within child protection cases seen by oneSouth Australian service. Specifically, this paper focuses on instances of potential animal abuse mentioned in the context of child protection referrals. Although the findings presented in this paper are brief and represent a small sample, they nonetheless illustrate two main points. First, child protection referrals which mention animals may prompt the assessing clinician to consider this aspect of the child's
environment, however clinicians rarely enquire about animals in the home unless so prompted. Second, psychosocial assessment practices which include consideration of animals within the home may increase the likelihood that child abuse allegations are substantiated.
Journal of Sociology, 2020
This paper explores the intersections of human and animal lives in the context of violence and ma... more This paper explores the intersections of human and animal lives in the context of violence and marginalisation. It draws on two studies, the first involving a subsample of 23 open-ended survey responses completed by transgender and non-binary (TNB) people taken from a larger study exploring the intersections of animal and human directed violence, and the second involving eight interviews with TNB people focused on the meaning of animal companionship. Together, the findings suggest that animal companionship can be a protective factor for TNB people experiencing marginalisation and/or distress, whether in the context of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) or in the context of other forms of intra-or inter-personal points or adversity. The findings suggests that animal companions can provide TNB people with comfort and non-judgmental emotional interactions in the face of DVA and other life stressors. However, the risk of violence directed towards animals must also be considered. The paper concludes with discussion of the implications for DVA service provision and research.
This paper reports on a thematic analysis of open-ended questions about how humans respond to vio... more This paper reports on a thematic analysis of open-ended questions about how humans respond to violence directed towards animals in the context of violent human relationships, derived from an Australian-UK survey of people of diverse genders and/or sexualities. From the 137 responses, three major themes were identified (1) Animals are an important source of support, (2) Humans actively protect animal companions, and (3) Witnessing animal abuse can trigger leaving violent relationships. The findings offer unique insights for practitioners
into the help-seeking needs of people of diverse genders and/or sexualities who live with animal companions in the context of domestic violence.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2018
Over the past three decades a growing body of research has focused on experiences of domestic vio... more Over the past three decades a growing body of research has focused on experiences of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) amongst people of diverse genders and/or sexualities. Missing, however, has been a focus on what is known as ‘the link’ between DVA and animal cruelty with regard to people of diverse genders and/or sexualities. The present paper reports on a study of 503 people living in either Australia or the United Kingdom, who reported on both their intimate human relationships and their relationships with animals, including relationships that were abusive. In terms of ‘the link’, a fifth of respondents who had experienced violence or abuse also reported that animal cruelty had been perpetuated by the violent or abusive partner. Statistical interactions were found between having witnessed animal cruelty perpetrated by a partner, gender and sexuality, and both psychological distress and social connectedness. Female participants who had witnessed animal cruelty reported greater psychological distress and lower levels of social support, and both lesbian and bisexual participants who had witnessed animal cruelty reported lower levels of social support. The paper concludes by considering the implications of these findings for future research and service provision.
Journal of Family Issues
A significant body of research in the field of human-animal studies has focused on animals who li... more A significant body of research in the field of human-animal studies has focused on animals who live alongside humans within the home, with such animals often considered family members. To date, however, this research has focused almost exclusively on the experiences of heterosexual cisgender people, overlooking other diverse genders and/or sexualities. This paper seeks to address this gap by reporting on findings from a study of 503 people living in Australia or the United Kingdom. Specifically, the research sought to explore links between psychological distress, social support, family violence, and views about animal companions. Notable amongst the findings was an interaction between having experienced familial violence and living with an animal companion, and the impact of both on psychological distress and social support. The paper concludes by considering the implications of the findings for better understanding the lives of people of diverse genders and/or sexualities.
INTRODUCTION: Empathy is associated with engagement, compassion, social support and emotional sen... more INTRODUCTION: Empathy is associated with engagement, compassion, social support and emotional sensitivity, and it is a hallmark of good social work practice. Empathy rightfully receives much attention in social work practice, however, interspecies empathy has yet to be included. This article has been written to address this gap.
The link between domestic violence and animal abuse has now been well established, indicating tha... more The link between domestic violence and animal abuse has now been well established, indicating that where there is one form of abuse, there is often the other. Research on this link, however, has almost exclusively focused on heterosexual cisgender people's relationships. Lacking, then, is an exploration of the possibly unique links between domestic violence and animal abuse in the context of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people's relationships. In this paper we adopt a feminist intersectional approach informed by Critical Animal Studies to advocate for a non-pathologising approach to understanding LGBT people's relationships with regard to the link between domestic violence and animal abuse.
‘I want to bring him from the aeroplane to here’: The meaning of animals to children of refugee o... more ‘I want to bring him from the aeroplane to here’: The meaning of animals to children of refugee or migrant backgrounds resettled in Australia