Animal Studies is a rapidly growing interdisciplinary field devoted to examining, understanding, and critically evaluating the complex relationships between humans and
other animals. Scholarship in Animal Studies draws on a variety of methodologies to explore these multi-faceted relationships in order to help us understand the ways in which other animals figure in our lives and we in theirs.
Bringing together the work of a group of internationally distinguished scholars, the contribution in
Critical Terms for Animal Studies
offers distinct voices and diverse perspectives, exploring significant concepts and asking important questions. How do we take non-human animals seriously, not simply as metaphors for human endeavors, but as subjects themselves? What do we mean by
anthropocentrism
,
captivity
empathy
sanctuary
, and
vulnerability
, and what work do these and other critical terms do in Animal Studies?
Sure to become an indispensable reference for the field,
not only provides a framework for thinking about animals as subjects of their own experiences, but also serves as a touchstone to help us think differently about our conceptions of what it means to be human, and the impact human activities have on the more than human world.