In a recent New York Times article exploring the rise of the many manifestations of “animal studies” across campuses and universities nationwide, the Institute for Critical Animal Studies’ Journal for Critical Animal Studies was noted as being part of this important, growing movement in the academy. In particular, Karen L.F. Houle’s essay “Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: Ethics as Extension or Becoming? The Case of Becoming-Plant” (Volume IX, Issue 1/2, 2011) got special mention for “following in [the] word tracks” of Jacques Derrida.

The term “animal studies,” developed out of the field of animal research (i.e., nonhuman animal testing, dissection, and vivisection), can be confusing to some advocates. Two academic fields that arose at the same time in defense and advocacy of nonhuman animals are human-animal studies and critical animal studies. Moreover, human-animal studies was also mentioned under the umbrella of animal studies, but instead relates to animal advocacy, welfare, and protection. Recently, animal studies and human-animal studies have been adopted by objectivist opportunists not dedicated to promoting veganism and animal liberation, but rather, they are interested in theoretically studying the concept of the animal as subject. This can be argued,  as noted by Anthony J. Nocella II, as leading to theoretical vivisection lacking ethical consideration. Just as activist-academics from the Animals and Society Institute are trying to keep true to what human-animal studies is (i.e. animal protection and advocacy), critical animal studies and the Institute for Critical Animal Studies, a more board and radical field of study, must demand that those who use the term critical animal studies stay engaged in intersectional social justice “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).

To forward the goals of ICAS and CAS, we will be holding the 11th Annual Conference for Critical Animal Studies with a special theme “From Greece to Wall Street: Global Economic Revolutions and Critical Animal Studies.” This event is taking place from March 2-4 at Canisius College on Buffalo, NY.

No related posts.

Special Issue: Animals and Prison

________________

The connection between nonhuman animals and incarceration discourses has never been more intimately associated. It seems one cannot discuss animal liberation without conversing about prison, whether that be in the form of imprisoned nonhuman animals or human prisoners incarcerated for their role in liberating nonhuman animals. As activists continue to be sentenced under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, prison becomes more realty than metaphor in human-animal studies. At the recent Let Live Animal Rights Conference in Portland, Oregon, former political prisoner Andy Stepanian served as the opening speaker. The synopsis of his talk asks, “what if you closed your eyes and woke up a prisoner? What if you were estranged from your family and labeled a convict? What if you lived your entire life in a cage? What if you were convicted and imprisoned for trying to set beings free from their cages?” It’s unclear whether he is speaking about nonhuman animals or his own incarceration, which is exactly the point. We are at a critical moment in history with mass incarceration and mass exploitation of nonhuman animals. This issue seeks to illuminate connections between animals and prison and to generate new ways of thinking through and tackling nonhuman and human oppression.
________________

Possible Areas of Inquiry:
·    Policing bodies
·    Prison industrial complex and mass animal agriculture production
·    History of prison reform and rise of the animal rights movement
·    Nonhuman animal prisoners/ human prisoners
·    Invisibility and incarcerated hidden populations
·    Nonhuman animals in human prisons, such as dog training programs
·    Linked oppressions
·    Connection of race, animals and prison culture
·    Prison abolition/animal abolition movements
·    Discourse of prison in animal liberation material
·    Capitalism and the animal/military//agricultural industrial complexes
·    Caging, control, domination and power

________________

Papers Due: April 15, 2011 at 5pm EST

Send papers to: Professor Susan Thomas (herapellet@aol.com), Director, Gender and Women’s Studies, Associate Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies, and Political Science, Hollins University, Roanoke, VA 24020
________________

Visit http://www.criticalanimalstudies.org/?page_id89 for submission guidelines

________________

Susan L. Thomas, Director, Gender and Women’s Studies
Associate Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies, and Political Science
Hollins University
Roanoke, VA 24020
Email: herapellet@aol.com

________________

No related posts.

**Call for Nominations for Annual 2010 Critical Animal Studies Awards. Deadline Feb 25, 2010. Please send nominations to Sarat Colling: editor@politicalmediareview.org

**There are four awards see below for descriptions.
______________________________________________________________

1. Critical Animal Studies Media of the Year – For outstanding media such as documentaries, films, book, visual art, operas, plays, and music in the field of critical animal studies. The media cannot be older than two years. We stress that critical animal studies includes any topic, issue, or concern (from environmentalism to prisoners’ rights) that promotes the protection, liberation, and freedom of animals in the world and is based not only on theory, but in practice as well. The media can come from any discipline or topic including, but not limited to, international studies, ethnic studies, gender studies, religion, sociology, environmentalism, critical animal studies, social work, biology, history, economics, public administration, criminology, philosophy, anthropology, chemistry, medicine, agriculture, political science, disability studies and information studies. To nominate media for this award, simply send the media to the ICAS.
______________________________________________________________
2. Critical Animal Studies Undergraduate Paper/Project/Thesis of the Year – Awarded to an undergraduate student who has written an outstanding paper/thesis that promotes, or who has established and organized a project that fosters animal protection, liberation, and freedom. We are strongly interested in projects that bridge the gap between academia and the surrounding community. To nominate an undergraduate student for this award, the nominator must write a one page letter and include the paper or write a one page detailed description of the project.
______________________________________________________________
3. Critical Animal Studies Graduate Paper/Project/Dissertation of the Year – Awarded to any graduate student working on a masters or doctorate degree who has written an outstanding paper/thesis that promotes, or who has established and organized a project that fosters animal protection, liberation, and freedom. We are strongly interested in projects that bridge the gap between academia and the surrounding community. To nominate a graduate student for this award, the nominator must write a one page letter and include the paper or write a one page detailed description of the project.
______________________________________________________________
4. Critical Animal Studies Faculty Paper/Project of the Year – Awarded to a faculty member conducting research or working at a college, university or institute who has written an outstanding paper that promotes, or who has established and organized a project that fosters animal protection, liberation, and freedom. We are strongly interested in projects that bridge the gap between academia and the surrounding community. To nominate a professor for this award, the nominator must write a one page letter and include the paper or write a one page detailed description of the project.
__________________________________

No related posts.

The Journal for Critical Animal Studies (JCAS) seeks essays from women of color scholars and activists across a variety of disciplines and social justice initiatives to develop understandings on the issues of race, gender, and animality in critical animal studies.  Since the term “critical animal studies” was introduced by the Institute for Critical Animal Studies, there has been a void of people of color contributions to the new and developing field. Particularly absent have been the thoughts, concerns, and activism of women of color.  For critical animal studies to engage a holistic politics for total liberation, women of color must play a role in the field’s development.  The goals of this issue are (1) to vitalize the intellectual participation of women of color in critical animal studies, (2) to examine overlapping concerns that are central to critical animal studies, feminist theory, and critical race theory, and (3) to promote avenues of thought and ideas for action that can move us beyond pernicious forms of “othering” that undergird nonhuman and human animal suffering. 

Topics may include:

• addressing racism, sexism, and gender oppression in critical animal studies
• the role of white privilege in the animal rights movement
• domestication and the decolonization of mind and body
• semiotics of animality in racial discourse
• traditional ecological knowledge of animal relationships
• being an ally to nonhuman animals: animal activism from a woman of color’s perspective
• interlocking oppressions of animality, race, and gender
• racialization of the other
• invasive species and invasive races
• veganism, raw foods, and food justice
• the social construction of overpopulation and female reproductive control
• women of color ecofeminism and an ethic of care
• racism, sexism, and gender oppression in the animal rights movement
• addressing violence against women of color and nonhuman animals
• imperialism, colonialism, and the oppression of native peoples
• the future of critical animal studies for women of color
• the role of women of color in the total liberation movement

Papers Due: April 12, 2010 at 5pm EST

Visit http://www.criticalanimalstudies.org/?page_id=389 for submission guidelines (but forward all submissions for this issue to the contact below)

Send Papers to:

Anastasia Yarbrough

Institute for Critical Animal Studies

ayarbrou@ymail.com

www.criticalanimalstudies.org

No related posts.

Most recently to build a bigger and better bridge between academics and activists the Journal for Critical Animal Studies (JCAS) is now accepting for the first time commentary and summaries of events, forums, lectures. etc. See below for submission guidelines.

• Please read these guidelines below and then send your article, essay, review, research notes, conference summary, etc. to: Dr. Richard White, Chief Editor, Journal for Critical Animal Studies (JCAS). For more information about the JCAS click here.

_________________________________________

Publication Dates:
JCAS is published 3 times a year:

• Spring Issue – June
• Fall Issue – October
• Winter Issue – February

_________________________________________

Submission Guidelines:

We seek:

• research articles and essays – 2,000 to 10,000 words
• student final papers – no more than 10,000 words
• course/class summaries – no more than 2,000 words
• research notes – no more than 2,000 words
• commentary – no more than 2,000 words
• tactic and strategy analysis – no more than 10,000 words
• academic development – no more than 10,000 words
• lecture summaries – no more than 2,000 words
• conference summaries – no more than 2,000 words
• protest summaries – no more than 2,000 words
• action alert summaries – no more than 2,000 words
• film, book, art, and media reviews – no more than 3,000 words
• interviews and dialogues – between 1,000 to 10,000 words
• poems – no more than 10,000 words

_________________________________________

Style/Format:

• All submissions should have appropriate references and citations. Manuscripts should be double-spaced in 12-point font and conform to the Harvard style format.
• Commentary and Summaries can be style/format free.
• Submissions must be sent in Microsoft Word format. Submissions in other software formats will not be reviewed.
• Authors should remove all self-identification from their submissions, but all submissions must be accompanied by a title page with author(s) name and affiliation, name of type of submission (e.g., article, review, conference summary, etc.), contact information including e-mail, postal address, and phone number.
• Authors must include an abstract of no more than 150 words that briefly describes the manuscript’s contents.

_________________________________________

Review Process:

• Upon acceptance for review, the editors will send manuscripts, under a double-peer reviewed process, to no less than two, and generally three reviewers. Reviewers provide their recommendations to the editor, who makes the final decision to accept the manuscript.

_________________________________________

Submissions will be assigned to one of the four following categories:

1. accept without revisions

2. accept with editorial revisions

3. revise and resubmit for peer review

4. reject *

• Every effort will be made to inform authors of the editor’s decision within 100 days of receipt of a manuscript. Authors, whose manuscripts are accepted for publication, will be asked to submit a brief biography that includes their institutional or organizational affiliations and their research interests. The Journal for Critical Animal Studies only publishes original materials. Please do not submit manuscripts that are under review or previously published elsewhere.

_________________________________________

Copyright, Republishing, and Royalties:

• All Work published by the Journal is copyrighted by JCAS.
• Republication of Contributor’s Submitted Work may be assessed a reasonable fee for the administration and facilitation to other presses. Such fee shall be determined at the discretion of Journal for Critical Animal Studies.
• Royalties: Contributor agrees and acknowledges that no royalty, payment, or other compensation will be provided by Journal for Critical Animal Studies in exchange for or resulting from the publication of the Submitted Work.

_________________________________________

Submit to:

• Please send all submissions for the Journal via e-mail to:
  Dr. Richard White, Editor-In-Chief

_________________________________________

No related posts.

ISSN: 1948-352X

__________________________________________________

Volume VII, Issue II (2009)

Editorial Board, ICAS Report, and Editorial
pg. 1-8

The Animal Voice Behind the Animal Fable
Namma Harel
pg. 9-21

The Broken Promises of Monsters: Haraway, Animals and the Humanist Legacy
Zipporah Weisberg
pg. 22-62

The Great Unity: Daoism, Nonhuman Animals, and Human Ethics
Lisa Kemmerer
pg. 63-83

Normative Sociology: The Intuitionist Crisis and Animals as Absent Referents
Part I of II essays on animals and normative sociology
David Sztybel
pg. 84-128

BOOK REVIEW
Pattrice Jones (2007) Aftershock: Confronting Trauma in a Violent World: A Guide for Activists and their Allies, New York: Lantern
Reviewed by: Lisa Kemmerer
pg. 129-137

FILM REVIEWS
Behind the Mask (2006) Uncaged Films and ARME
Reviewed by: Sarat Colling and Anthony J. Nocella, II
pg. 138-143

Winged Migration (2001) Sony Picture Classics
Reviewed by: Nicole R. Pallotta
pg. 144-152

No related posts.

No related posts.