CALL FOR PAPERS, ART, VIDEOS, INTERVIEWS, AND NARRATIVES

“Eco-Ability the Intersection of Earth, Animal, and Dis-Ability”

This special edition of JCAS will focus on intersections amongst animal liberation issues, environmentalism, ecology, dis-ability studies, and the newly forming theory, field, and movement of eco-ability. This edition, rooted in social justice, will explore these intersections of domination and exploitation to expose and dismantle interconnected oppressions. Contributors are encouraged to read and include information from Earth, Animal, and Disability Liberation: The Rise of Eco-Ability (Nocella, Duncan, Bentley, Eds.; forthcoming from Peter Lang, Fall 2012) within their final submissions. Areas for this special edition may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Intersections between dis-ability and animal rights/liberation/advocacy
• Critical personal narratives from dis-ability voices on animal advocacy and environmental protection
• A focus on racial justice, economic justice, environmental justice, disability rights, and animal advocacy
• Connections between environmental justice and dis-ability rights
• Critical perspectives on the use of nonhuman animals as service providers to humans with dis-abilities
• Examinations around interdependence of all life
• A radical defense of difference and critique of normalcy
• Critical perspectives on GMOs and other gene manipulation processes
• A dis-ability, environmental, and animal advocacy critique on science and capitalism
• Interdisciplinary explorations of social movement theories, alliance politics, bridge building, and solidarity amongst animal, Earth, and dis-ability liberation movements
• An abolitionist perspective of prisons, institutions, and industries from an intersectional perspective of dis-ability, Earth, and nonhuman animal liberation
• Experiences of nonhuman animals with dis-abilities
• Inclusion within social movements of people with dis-abilities
• Critical analysis of the “animalization” of people of color and people with disabilities
• Arguments for including the ostensibly inert/insentient environment into broader issues of liberation

Special Issue for
Journal for Critical Animal Studies

Edited By:

Judy K. C. Bentley, Ph.D.
SUNY Cortland, New York
Judy.Bentley@cortland.edu

Kim Socha, Ph.D.

Normandale Community College, Bloomington, MN

kimberly.socha@normandale.edu

&

Deanna Adams
Syracuse University, New York
dis.studies@gmail.com

“The Journal for Critical Animal Studies (JCAS) is a rigorously peer-reviewed journal devoted to developing the field of Critical Animal Studies (CAS)” (JCAS, website). “Critical Animal Studies (CAS) is the academic field of study dedicated to the abolition of animal and ecological exploitation, oppression, and domination. CAS is grounded in a broad, global, emancipatory and inclusionary movement for total liberation and freedom” (ICAS, website).

All submissions are due by January 1, 2012. All submissions will be peer-reviewed. Edition will be published on April 1, 2013. All inquiries and submissions should be submitted to Dr. Judy K.C. Bentley: bentleyj@cortland.edu

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Since 2010, Princeton University has been cited over twenty times to be in violation of the bare minimum requirements set forth by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Welfare Act. Amongst the staggering list of charges, reports unveiled that the University has neglected ailing animals, deliberately deprived animals of water and veterinary medical care, routinely subjected animals to excessive confinement, and maintained speciously incomplete record keeping.

In response to this degenerate display of Princeton University’s blatant disregard for the animals they hold captive, a large and organized anti-vivisection alliance has emerged consisting of Win Animal Rights (WAR), Animal Activists of Philly (AAP), and Friends of Animals United NY/NJ (FAUN) to bring these egregious acts into the public consciousness. While these organizations have been tirelessly campaigning against this institution for over eight months, they are now unifying their efforts by establishing a Princeton-based body of campaigners, increasing their presence on other areas of the campus (including Green Hall – the actual primate laboratory), circulating petitions, creating relevant multi-media content, and with the support/sponsorship of Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN) are developing a central website to expose the horrors behind these violations.

To join the cause, sign the petition, donate, and/or learn more please visit the links provided below:

Princeton Primate Abuse: http://www.princetonprimateabuse.com/

Friends of Animals United (FAUN): http://www.faunnj.org/

Animal Activists of Philly (AAP): http://www.meetup.com/Animal-Activists-of-Philly/

Win Animal Rights (WAR): http://www.facebook.com/WinAnimalRights

Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN): http://www.all-creatures.org/saen/

Video of the Alliance’s protest on April 28th, 2012: http://youtu.be/nAaOvh0csOk

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This presentation, sponsored by the Institute for Critical Animal Studies, makes the argument that Western culture, still in the midst of the Occupy Wall Street Movement, needs to reassess its hierarchy of rights and freedoms in consideration of the nonhuman animals we eat, wear, hunt and with whom we share our homes and lives. In kind, the presenters will also introduce the audience to Critical Animal Studies, which looks at the ways in which speciesism underpins human oppression, capitalism and environmental destruction and how all of those elements intertwine to create a culture that is based upon the exploitation of other living beings. We will then share alternatives based in anarchist principles.

Room #: C1016 at Normandale Community College, Bloomington, MN

A Panel with Travis Erikson, Kim Socha, and Anthony J. Nocella II

Presenters:

Travis Erickson is an activist and organizer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His work has mostly focused on animal rights, community and workplace organizing. A former Catholic Worker and an organizer with the Industrial Workers of the World, he is also currently pursuing his bachelor’s degree in philosophy.

Anthony Nocella II, Ph.D., Visiting Professor at Hamline University’s School of Education, is a scholar, community organizer, social justice activist, educator and co-founder of the Institute for Critical Animal Studies. He is an internationally respected speaker on issues of conflict resolution, LGBTQIA issues, prison abolition, anarchism, critical urban education, among many other topics. He has also published over ten books on issues ranging from anarchism to religion. His most recent works are Love and Liberation, co-authored with Sarat Colling (Piraeus Books, 2012) and The Accumulation of Freedom: Writings on Anarchist Economics (AK Press, 2012).

Kim Socha, Ph.D. is an English instructor at Normandale with scholarship on topics such as critical pedagogy, surrealism, critical animal studies and Latino/a literature. As her avocations, Kim has assisted survivors of domestic violence in their recoveries and works in the area of prison abolition social justice activism. Kim is also an animal liberation advocate and sits on the boards of the Institute for Critical Animal Studies and the Animal Rights Coalition. She is the author of Women, Destruction and the Avant-Garde: A Paradigm for Animal Liberation (Rodopi, 2011) and is co-editor of and contributor to the upcoming anthology New Voices From the Grass Roots: Animal Liberation Essays (McFarland, Fall 2012).

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Last week it was announced that the Royal Hanneford Circus—plagued by annual protests and recurring political pressure to school administrators—would not be returning to Michigan State University’s Breslin Events Center.

In 2008, MSU’s animal rights group spearheaded a campaign to get the event removed from campus. The initiative involved letter-writing campaigns to college and local newspapers, a petition in the form of a Facebook group, an assertive speech to the MSU Board of Trustees, and culminated in a student-organized protest that drew over 80 participants and multiple news organizations. This effort, organized by a handful of dedicated undergraduates, was enough to have the circus canceled the following year, after almost 20 years of uninterrupted Lansing appearances.

Pressure from the Michigan Farm Bureau and other agriculture lobbies killed trustee support for a circus ban, but SPAR’s work pressed on by repeating the annual protests and enlisting the help of national animal protection groups like PETA and HSUS, which helped to pressure the University and made dozens of phone calls to local businesses and advertisers and informing them of Royale Hanneford’s many Animal Welfare Act violations. This barrage of action led to a 35 percent drop in ad revenue and a cancellation of the circus on “economic” grounds.

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MAD Update, SLAPP Lawsuits, and the 2012 North American Critical Animal Studies Conference

Dylan Powell is back on the show to not only give us an update on the Marineland Animal Defense campaign but to also talk about the ways that MAD and Shark Allies Niagara have dealt with the threat of SLAPP lawsuits (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation). An important conversation considering the current climate of repression to environmental and animal rights activists.

After the break Kimberly Socha joins Dylan Powell to talk about the 11th Annual North American Critical Animal Studies Conference in Buffalo, New York from March 2-4, 2012 at Canisius College. We even get hear a little bit about Socha’s new book, “Women, Destruction, and the Avant-Garde: A Paradigm for Animal Liberation“ the first publication of a new Critical Animal Studies book series.

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The Institute for Critical Animal Studies is pleased to announce our 2012 Annual North American Conference for Critical Animal Studies Awards of the Year. Awards will be bestowed on March 3, 2012 during the conference at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY (March 2-4). We thank the many nominees for submitting their work. It was an honor to consider the wonderful nominations from around the world! Although the final decisions were difficult, we truly feel that the following award recipients have done superb work to help animals and end oppression. We are proud to recognize their contributions to the field of Critical Animal Studies.

Critical Animal Studies Grassroots Project of the Year
“Food Empowerment Project”: http://www.foodispower.org/

Critical Animal Studies Media of the Year
“Conflict Gypsy”: http://www.conflictgypsy.com/

Critical Animal Studies Faculty Paper/Project of the Year
Dr. Lori Gruen, “The first 100”: http://first100chimps.wesleyan.edu/

Critical Animal Studies Undergraduate Paper/Project/Thesis of the Year
Lara Drew: “Freirean Pedagogy and Activism: Radical Adult Education in the Animal Liberation Movement

Critical Animal Studies Graduate Paper/Project/Dissertation of the Year
James Stanescu: “The Abattoir of Humanity: Philosophy in the Age of the Factory Farm”

Critical Animal Studies Book of the Year
Jason Hribal: Fear of the Animal Planet: The Hidden History of Animal Resistance

Critical Animal Studies Tyke Scholar of the Year
Tereza Vandrovcova

Critical Animal Studies Britches Scholar of the Year
Jessica Groling

Critical Animal Studies Hilda Scholar of the Year
Adam Weitzenfeld

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A new grassroots organization, Evolve For Animals, has formed to implement a comprehensive and creative education-based approach to animal rights advocacy.  While this small group is amidst plans to develop book drives, vegan soup kitchens, plant-a-tree programs, film screenings, leafleting, and speaking engagements, there is a special focus on reaching out to the 18-25 demographic, especially those in US colleges and universities.  To deliver the vegan message to this population, EFA is promoting its informational website via student listservs, providing their literature to on-campus animal rights groups, and recently began working with college administrators and faculty to organize special events for students.

To support this organization’s efforts, learn more about their projects, or if you are an organizer/volunteer of an animal rights group that is interested in distributing EFA’s literature please use the contact information and links below.

Web:

www.evolveforanimals.org

www.facebook.com/evolveforanimals

Email:

act@evolveforanimals.org

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Women, Destruction, and the Avant-Garde: A Paradigm for Animal Liberation
By: Kim Socha
Amsterdam/New York, NY, 2012, XIV, 258 pp.
Pb: 978-90-420-3423-5
€ 54 / US$ 81

____________

ABOUT THE BOOK

This interdisciplinary study fuses analysis of feminist literature and manifestos, radical political theory, critical vanguard studies, women’s performance art, and popular culture to argue for the animal liberation movement as successor to the liberationist visions of the early twentieth-century avant-gardes, most especially the Surrealists. These vanguard groups are judiciously critiqued for their refusal to confront their own misogyny, a quandary that continues to plague animal activists, thereby disallowing for cohesion and full recognition of women’s value within a culturally marginalized cause.

This volume is of interest to anyone who is concerned about the continued—indeed, escalating—violence against nonhumans. More broadly, it will interest those seeking new pathways to challenge the dominant power constructions through which oppression of humans, nonhumans, and the environment thrives. Women, Destruction, and the Avant-Garde ultimately poses the animal liberation movement as having serious political and cultural implications for radical social change, destruction of hierarchy and for a world without shackles and cages, much as the Surrealists envisioned.

______________________________________________

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword – Helena Pedersen and Vasile Stanescu: Series Editor’s Introduction: What is “Critical” about Animal Studies? From the Animal “Question” to the Animal “Condition”

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Rooting for the Avant-Garde

I. Avant-Garde Women Writers and Destruction in the Flesh

II. Staring Back in the Flesh: Avant-Garde Performance as an ALM Paradigm

III. Convulsive Beauty, Infinite Spheres and Irrational Reasons: Reverie on a New Consciousness

Conclusion: Love and Laughter Now: Plucking at Stems or Uprooting Oppression?

Works Cited

Index

_____________________________________________
Kim Socha is an animal activist and sits on the board of the Animal Rights Coalition in Minneapolis, MN. Holding a Ph.D. in English Literature and Criticism, she works as a composition and literature instructor with publications in the areas of surrealism, Latino literature and pedagogy.

______________________________________________

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On September 9th 2011, Canisius College’s Institute for the Study of Human-Animal Relations (ISHAR) hosted “The Use of Primates in Biomedical Research: A Personal Perspective” at the Montante Cultural Center featuring guest speaker Dr. James Ha, head of the primate breeding program at the Washington National Primate Research Center (WNPRC) in the University of Washington (UW). It was here and then, where animal rights activist and student, Morgan Jamie Dunbar, was combatively arrested and detained after raising questions during the evening’s Q&A segment about the USDA-documented mistreatment of primates at UW during his tenure at that institution.

Interestingly, this speaking engagement, which was organized at the behest of Dr. Michael Noonan, Director of Canisius’ Animal Behavior, Ecology and Conservation (ABEC) Bachelors program and the event’s moderator, was billed to the student body as a “symposium.” However, with a presentation of only one viewpoint from one speaker, this speciously lopsided affair not only misrepresented itself by solely presenting Dr. James Ha’s position in favor of animal experimentation but also proceeded to suppress and censor opposing view points, as Dr. Ha repeatedly and recklessly referred to animal advocates as “domestic terrorists”, “crazy”, “wild”, and “violent.”

In a written exchange one month prior, Dunbar was promised by Noonan that the evening would present a balanced conversation that would encourage questions of the speaker, stating “My hope is that you will be part of the conversation that we have at the symposium. It is open to the public and we will welcome all points of view.”

With this in mind, Dunbar waited her turn to the microphone before raising questions regarding the fatal starvation of a stump-tailed macaque, 40 illegal primate surgeries, and the subsequent litany of USDA violations that ensued. However, before Dr. Ha could complete his response to the aforementioned points of interest, Noonan directly interrupted and intervened, Dunbar’s microphone was silenced, and she was quickly removed from the auditorium and slammed against a wall in an adjoining room, handcuffed, and told she was being arrested for “criminal trespassing in the 3^rd degree.”

Witnesses report that Dunbar’s questions were relevant and her conduct was in accordance with the symposium’s format.  Attendees watched on appalled and outraged.

In an official statement, Dunbar said “The conditions that allow for social injustice have always emerged as a result of society’s failure to recognize the rights of individuals or groups. When denial of such rights is tolerated or indeed encouraged, it is bound to fortify the bases for further repression and injustice. That is why we, as a community, must speak out in solidarity against the repression and severe violation of First Amendment Rights that occurred on September 9th.”

To voice your concerns on this matter, the following information has been provided below:

Dr. Terri Mangione- Dean of Students
(716) 888-2130
mangiont@canisius.edu

John J. Hurley- President
(716) 888-2100
hurleyj@canisius.edu

Erica Sammarco- Assistant to the President
(716) 888-8203
sammarce@canisius.edu

Dr. Michael Noonan- ABEC Director/ISHAR Director
(716) 888-2772
noonan@canisius.edu
Further Reading & Information:

The Griffin:
http://www.thegriffincanisius.com/news/student-activist-removed-forcefully-from-ishar-lecture-1.2594887?pagereq=1

Artvoice Weekly:
http://artvoice.com/issues/v10n37/week_in_review/monkey_business

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While some student-governed animal rights groups are relegated to a second-class status amongst collegiate clubs and organizations, Paths to Animal Liberation (PAL) worked to defy this norm by fulfilling their school’s requirements, policies, and guidelines to be officially recognized.  On the campus of Hunter College, the largest college in the City University of New York (CUNY) system, PAL was successfully deemed a 1st Year Charter Club by their administration, and therefore receives funds of $1,000 annually for their activities.  With official elections and an executive board, PAL not only maintains a validated and legitimized presence on their campus, but they do so with a hard-line vegan message.

Since its inception a mere nine months ago, and with a core membership of only 15 individuals, PAL exemplifies ardent activism as they have organized numerous film screenings, hosted guest speakers, distributed free vegan food samples to students and faculty, conducted public vegan cooking demonstrations, setup outreach tables on an average of twice per month, and cultivated a mailing list of over 200 people.  Most notably, PAL was also able to make incremental changes toward veganizing their campus cafeteria by inclusively educating the appropriate staff members of their needs, delivering a petition of over 300 signatures, persistently initiating all lines of communication, and inevitably succeeding in bringing specifically-labeled vegan meals to the cafeteria three days a week.

In the months to come, PAL seeks to improve the efficacy of their outreach, fully veganize their cafeteria, and increase their presence on campus.  Recently, the group has constructed a facebook page to better disseminate information and is now developing plans to design their own website.  In addition to college funds, PAL also seeks assistance and resources to expand its reach from external sources such as Farm Underground, Mercy For Animals, Win Animal Rights, and the Tri-State Area’s most active animal rights group Friends of Animals United NJ (FAUN) in organizing events, strategizing effective means of animal advocacy, and acquiring relevant outreach media/literature.

To learn more about this group, discover ways you can implement similar strategies, or to simply share ideas and resources, please feel free to contact PAL with the information below.

Contact:           Danielle Amodeo (Founder/President)
Email:               pal.hunter@yahoo.com
Facebook:       http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=158063214208388

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Andy Stepanian, cofounder of the Sparrow Media Project and defendant in the landmark SHAC7 case, will be coming to New York University’s Kimmel Center on Tuesday, April 26th to speak on matters pertaining to contemporary activist endeavors.  Specifically, he will reflect on his experiences and observations as to which tactics and strategies are effective, when to employ them, and how the inclusion of varied approaches when advocating for an issue can often yield the most positive outcomes.  Given his extensive background with non-violent direct action movements, his role in the campaign to close down Huntingdon Life Sciences, and his current work with the Sparrow Media Project, the evening is sure to be an engaging one for all who attend.  Open to the public.

Date:  Tuesday, April 26^th, 2011

Time:  6:00pm to 7:30pm

Location:  NYU’s Kimmel Center, Room 803

Relevant Links:

www.sparrowmedia.net

www.shac7.com

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Gene Baur
Author and Co-Founder of Farm Sanctuary

Book Signing and Talk

April 13, 2011

7 to 8pm

Moffett Hall 2125

SUNY Cortland, New York

Gene Baur is co‑founder and president of Farm Sanctuary, America’s leading farm animal protection organization. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from California State University, Northridge and a master’s degree in agricultural economics from Cornell University. He has conducted hundreds of visits to farms, stockyards, and slaughterhouses to document conditions. His pictures and videotape, exposing factory farming cru…elty, have been aired nationally and internationally, educating millions. Gene has testified in court and before local, state and federal legislative bodies, and has initiated groundbreaking legal enforcement and legislative action to prevent farm animal abuse. He played an important role in passing the first U.S. laws to prohibit cruel farming methods – including the Florida ban on gestation crates, the Arizona ban on veal and gestation crates, the California ban on veal and gestation crates and battery cages, and the California ban on foie gras. His efforts have been covered by leading news organizations, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, National Public Radio, ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN. His book, entitled Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food, was published by Touchstone in March, 2008 and has appeared on the Los Angeles Times and Boston Globe best seller lists.

More about Gene at: http://www.genebaur.org/

Sponsored by:
Anthony Nocella’s Deviant Behavior Course and Cortland Animal Allies

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