Critical Terms for Animal Studies

AnimalStudiesisarapidlygrowinginterdisciplinaryfielddevotedtoexamining,understanding,andcriticallyevaluatingthecomplexrelationshipsbetweenhumansandotheranimals.ScholarshipinAnimalStudiesdrawsonavarietyofmethodologiestoexplorethesemulti-facetedrelationshipsinordertohelpusunderstandthewaysinwhichotheranimalsfigureinourlivesandweintheirs.Bringingtogethertheworkofagroupofinternationallydistinguishedscholars,thecontributioninCriticalTermsforAnimalStudiesoffersdistinctvoicesanddiverseperspectives,exploringsignificantconceptsandaskingimportantquestions.Howdowetakenon-humananimalsseriously,notsimplyasmetaphorsforhumanendeavors,butassubjectsthemselves?Whatdowemeanbyanthropocentrism,captivity,empathy,sanctuary,andvulnerability,andwhatworkdotheseandothercriticaltermsdoinAnimalStudies?Suretobecomeanindispensablereferenceforthefield,CriticalTermsforAnimalStudiesnotonlyprovidesaframeworkforthinkingaboutanimalsassubjectsoftheirownexperiences,butalsoservesasatouchstonetohelpusthinkdifferentlyaboutourconceptionsofwhatitmeanstobehuman,andtheimpacthumanactivitieshaveonthemorethanhumanworld.