Teaching and Learning Guide for: Animals and Sociology
Authors: Irvine Leslie 
Published: March 2009

Author's introduction

Non‐human animals constitute an integral part of human society. They figure heavily in our language, food, clothing, family structure, economy, education, entertainment, science, and recreation. The many ways we use animals produce ambivalent and contradictory attitudes toward them. We treat some species of animals as friends and family members (e.g., dogs and cats), while we treat others as commodities (e.g., cows, pigs, and chickens). Our constructions of animals and the moral and legal status we grant them provide rich topics for sociological study.

This teaching and learning guide can serve as a resource for those who want to learn more about the field or for those preparing to teach a course on animals and society. The materials have the common theme of examining animals within the context of larger social issues. The guide begins with an annotated list of major works in the area. It then lists useful online resources. Finally, it provides a sample syllabus, concluding with ideas for course projects and assignments.

Author recommends:

Arnold Arluke and Clinton R. Sanders, Regarding Animals (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1996).

Regarding Animals was the first book‐length sociological work on human‐animal relationships. Arluke and Sanders focus on the ambivalent and contradictory ways that we humans view other species. It examines how we cherish some animals as friends and family members, while we consider others as food, pests, and resources. Based on research in animal shelters, veterinary clinics, primate research laboratories, and among guide‐dog trainers, the book provides sociological insight into how we construct animals – and how in the process we construct ourselves.

Arnold Arluke and Clinton R. Sanders, Between the Species: A Reader in Human‐Animal Relationships (Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 2009).

Arluke and Sanders have divided this reader into three units. The first, animal, self, and society, includes topical sections on ‘Thinking with Animals’, ‘Close Relationships with Animals’, ‘The Darkside’, and ‘Wild(life) Encounters’. The second unit, which focuses on animals in institutions, includes readings on science, agriculture, entertainment and education, and health and welfare. The third unit is organized around the ‘changing status and perception of animals’. Its chapters examine healing, selfhood, and rights. The articles, drawn largely from social science journals, have been edited for readability at the undergraduate level.

Clifton Flynn, Social Creatures: A Human and Animal Studies Reader (New York, NY: Lantern, 2008).

Flynn's edited volume examines the role of animals in language, as food, and as companions. It delves into issues of animal abuse and grief after pet loss. It contains over 30 chapters, mostly reprints of articles in scholarly journals, representing a range of perspectives. Part I gives an overview of the field of human–animal studies. Part II focuses on studying human‐animal relationships. Part III offers comparative and historical perspectives on those relationships. Animals and culture is the focus of Part IV. Part V examines attitudes toward animals. Part VI offers essays on criminology and deviance. Inequality and interconnected oppression focuses the essays in Part VII. The chapters in Part VIII concern living and working with animals, and Part IX includes readings on animal rights, as both philosophy and social movement. Each chapter offers study questions for study and discussion.

Adrian Franklin, Animals & Modern Cultures: A Sociology of Human‐Animal Relations in Modernity (London, UK: Sage, 1999).

This book examines the changes in human‐animal relationships over the 20th century. It argues that at the start of the century, animals were regarded most often as resources. Moreover, we drew a distinct boundary between humans and other animals. By the end of the century, our attitudes toward animals had changed, and we began to question the subordination implicit in the human–animal boundary. Franklin highlights companionship with animals, hunting and fishing, the meat industry, and leisure activities involving animals, such as bird watching and wildlife parks. He emphasizes variations by gender, class, ethnicity, and nation.

Leslie Irvine, If You Tame Me: Understanding our Connection with Animals (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 2004).

This book examines our relationships with dogs and cats, arguing that animals have a sense of self. Drawing on research conducted at an animal shelter, in dog parks, and in interviews and observation, the author argues that animals become such important parts of our lives because of the subjective experience they bring to the relationship. Challenging the view that we simply anthropomorphize animals, Irvine offers a model of animal selfhood that explains what makes relationships with animals possible. Offering an alternative to George Herbert Mead's perspective on the self, Irvine argues that interaction with animals reveals complex subjectivity, emotionality, agency, and memory.

Linda Kalof and Amy Fitzgerald, The Animals Reader: The Essential Classic and Contemporary Writings (New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007).

This edited volume is notable for its diversity in perspectives. It includes readings on ethics, philosophy, sociology, cultural studies, environmental studies, history, and anthropology. It examines questions ranging from ‘what is an animal?’ to those surrounding the ethics of cloning. Part I examines animals as philosophical subjects. Part II includes essays that suggest that animals are reflexive thinkers. Part III considers the various roles of animals as domesticates, ‘pets’, and food. The chapters in Part IV focus on animals in sport and spectacle. Part V focuses on animals as symbols. Part VI examines animals as scientific objects. Each chapter offers an introduction and list of further readings.

David Nibert, Animal Rights/Human Rights: Entanglements of Oppression and Liberation (Lanham MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2002).

David Nibert connects oppression based on species, gender, ethnicity, and social class to the institution of capitalism. By modifying Donald Noel's theory of ethnic stratification, Nibert explains the oppression of non‐human animals in all forms, from meat eating to vivisection. He then argues that the systematic oppression of animals led to the oppression of other humans.

Online materials

Animals and Society Section of the American Sociological Association

http://www2.asanet.org/sectionanimals/

This website offers membership information specifically for sociologists interested in human–animal studies. It is especially notable for its online syllabi from courses on animals and society.

Animals and Society Institute

http://www.animalsandsociety.org/

The Animals and Society Institute includes programs in three areas: Human–animal Studies; AniCare, a program dedicated to animal abuse and other forms of violence; and the Animals’ Platform, a set of guidelines for animal protection legislation at the state, local, or national levels. The website's homepage includes a link to a video introducing the institute and its programs. The ‘Resources’ link leads to useful web and print documents and other web pages, including lists of human–animal studies centers and courses.

Animal Studies Bibliography

http://ecoculturalgroup.msu.edu/bibliography.htm

This extensive, well‐organized bibliography is the project of the Ecological & Cultural Change Studies Group at Michigan State University. It includes works on Animals as Philosophical and Ethical Subjects; Animals as Reflexive Thinkers; Domestication and Predation; Animals as Entertainment and Spectacle; Animals as Symbols and Companions; Animals in Science, Education, and Therapy; and a ‘miscellaneous’ category.

HumaneSpot.org

http://www.humanespot.org/node

HumaneSpot is the creation of the Humane Research Council. It requires registration as a user, and users must complete a short online application and attest that they are animal advocates, but advocacy in the form of scholarship counts. Once registered, users have access to extensive research on all aspects of animal welfare. Users can also have summarized updates of recent studies delivered by email.

The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium (HARC)

http://www.tufts.edu/vet/cfa/hoarding/

The HARC website offers a collection of research on animal hoarding or ‘collecting’. The studies address issues of animal welfare, public health, mental health, connections with other forms of abuse, and intervention.

Pet‐Abuse.com

http://www.pet‐abuse.com/

Alison Gianotto started Pet‐Abuse.com after someone kidnapped one of her cats and set him on fire. The cat died of the subsequent injuries and the abuser was never caught. Despite its name, Pet‐Abuse addresses abuse among many species, not just those commonly kept as pets. The project tracks incidents of cruelty throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, and Spain. The website offers a database that is searchable by location, type of cruelty, gender of offender, and more. It also allows for the creation of real‐time graphic displays of statistics on cruelty cases.

Sample syllabus

Part I: introduction and overview

What is human–animal studies? How can we study animals sociologically? What can the study of animals offer to the field?

Reading:

Arnold Arluke, ‘A Sociology of Sociological Animal Studies,’Society & Animals 10 (2002): 369–374.

Leslie Irvine, ‘Animals and Sociology,’Sociology Compass 2 (2008):1954–1971.

Jennifer Wolch, ‘Zoöpolis,’ In: Jennifer Wolch and Jody Emel (eds), Animal Geographies: Identity in the Nature Culture Borderlands (London, UK: Verso), 119–138.

From Social Creatures:

Kenneth J. Shapiro, ‘Introduction to Human: Animal Studies’

Clifton Bryant, ‘The Zoological Connection: Animal‐related Human Behavior’

Barbara Noske, ‘The Animal Question in Anthropology’

Part II: studying human‐animal relationships

How can we study our interactions and relationships with animals? What approaches have been used, and what are their strengths and weaknesses?

Leslie Irvine, ‘The Question of Animal Selves: Implications for Sociological Knowledge and Practice,’Qualitative Sociology Review 3 (2007): 5–21.

From Social Creatures:

Kenneth J. Shapiro, ‘Understanding Dogs through Kinesthetic Empathy, Social Construction, and History’

Alan M. Beck and Aaron H. Katcher, ‘Future Directions in Human – Animal Bond Research’

Clinton R. Sanders, ‘Understanding Dogs: Caretakers’ Attributions of Mindedness in Canine – Human Relationships’

Part III: historical and comparative perspectives

In this section, we examine how people have regarded animals in other times and places.

Reading:

Lynda Birke, ‘Who – or What – are the Rats (and Mice) in the Laboratory?’Society & Animals 11 (2003): 207–224.

From Social Creatures

Barbara Noske, ‘Speciesism, Anthropocentrism, and Non‐Western Cultures’

Michael Tobias, ‘The Anthropology of Conscience’

Harriet Ritvo, ‘The Emergence of Modern Pet‐keeping’

Part IV: animals and culture

This section focuses on how animals are portrayed in language, advertisements, and other media. It also considers how culture influences our attitudes toward animals.

Reading:

Rhonda D. Evans and Craig J. Forsyth, ‘The Social Milieu of Dogmen and Dogfights,’Deviant Behavior 19 (1998): 51–71.

Fred Hawley, ‘The Moral and Conceptual Universe of Cockfighters: Symbolism and Rationalization,’Society & Animals 1 (1992): 159–168.

Linda Kalof and Amy Fitzgerald, ‘Reading the Trophy: Exploring the Display of Dead Animals in Hunting Magazines,’Visual Studies 18 (2003): 112–122.

Jennifer E. Lerner and Linda Kalof, ‘The Animal Text: Message and Meaning in Television Advertisements,’The Sociological Quarterly 40 (1999): 565–585.

From Social Creatures:

Andrew Linzey, ‘Animal Rights as Religious Vision’

Leslie Irvine, ‘The Power of Play’

Tracey Smith‐Harris, ‘There's Not Enough Room to Swing a Dead Cat and There's No Use Flogging a Dead Horse’

Part V: attitudes toward other animals

This part of the course examines how we think about animals, including what research reveals about how our attitudes develop.

Reading:

Mart Kheel, ‘License to Kill: An Ecofeminist Critique of Hunters’ Discourse,’ In: Carol J. Adams and Josephine Donovan (eds), Animals and Women: Feminist Theoretical Explorations (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1995): 85–125.

From Social Creatures:

Harold Herzog, Nancy S. Betchart, and Robert B. Pittman, ‘Gender, Sex‐role Orientation and Attitudes toward Animals’

Elizabeth S. Paul and James A. Sarpell, ‘Childhood Pet Keeping and Humane Attitudes in Young Adulthood’

David Nibert, ‘Animal Rights and Human Social Issues’

Part VI: criminology and deviance

This section examines animal abuse and neglect, and its possible connections to other forms of violence, particularly that directed at human beings.

Reading:

Arnold Arluke, ‘Animal Abuse as Dirty Play,’Symbolic Interaction 25 (2002): 405–430.

From Social Creatures:

Frank R. Ascione, ‘Children Who Are Cruel to Animals: A Review of Research and Implications for Developmental Psychology’

Linda Merz‐Perez, Kathleen M. Heide, and Ira J. Silverman, ‘Childhood Cruelty to Animals and Subsequent Violence against Humans’

Clifton P. Flynn, ‘Women's Best Friend: Pet Abuse and the Role of Companion Animals in the Lives of Battered Women’

Gary J. Patronek, ‘Hoarding of Animals: An Under‐recognized Public Health Problem in a Difficult‐to‐study Population’

Part VII: inequality – interconnected oppressions

This section considers how our treatment of other animals influences our treatment of others, especially women and people of color.

Reading:

Isabel Gay Bradshaw, ‘Not by Bread Alone: Symbolic Loss, Trauma, and Recovery in Elephant Communities,’Society & Animals 12 (2004): 144–158.

Linda Kalof, Amy Fitzgerald, and Lori Baralt, ‘Animals, Women, and Weapons: Blurred Sexual Boundaries in the Discourse of Sport Hunting,’Society & Animals 12 (2004): 237–251.

From Social Creatures:

Marjorie Spiegel, ‘An Historical Understanding’

Carol J. Adams, ‘The Sexual Politics of Meat’

David Nibert, ‘Humans and Other Animals: Sociology's Moral and Intellectual Challenge’

Part VIII: living and working with other animals

We hold contradictory attitudes toward animals. We love our pets, but we consider some animals as disposable. What do our close living and working relationships with animals reveal about the roles of animals in society?

Reading:

Leslie Irvine, ‘Animal Problems/People Skills: Emotional and Interactional Strategies in Humane Education,’Society & Animals 10 (2002): 63–91.

Rik Scarce, ‘Socially Constructing Pacific Salmon,’Society & Animals 5 (1997): 115–135.

From Social Creatures:

Andrew N. Rowan and Alan M. Beck, ‘The Health Benefits of Human—Animal Interactions’

Rose M. Perrine and Hannah L. Osbourne, ‘Personality Characteristics of Dog and Cat Persons’

Gerald H. Gosse and Michael J. Barnes, ‘Human Grief Resulting from the Death of a Pet’

Stephen Frommer and Arnold Arluke, ‘Loving Them to Death: Blame‐displacing Strategies of Animal Shelter Workers and Surrenderers’

Mary T. Phillips, ‘Savages, Drunks, and Lab Animals: The Researcher's Perception of Pain’

Part IX: animal rights – philosophy and social movement

This section examines the leading animal rights perspectives. It also considers who animal activists are and how animal rights exists as a social movement.

Corwin Kruse, ‘Gender, Views of Nature, and Support for Animal Rights,’Society & Animals 7 (1999): 179–197.

From Social Creatures:

Peter Singer, ‘All Animals are Equal’

Tom Regan, ‘The Case for Animal Rights’

Josephine Donovan, ‘Animal Rights and Feminist Theory’

Lyle Munro, ‘Caring about Blood, Flesh, and Pain: Women's Standing in the Animal Protection Movement’

Project ideas

Essay topics

Write an essay on each of the following topics:

Topic 1: Focus on any species (other than dog or cat) and explore and present the nature of human–animal relations for that species. You should find and evaluate scholarly and popular print and Internet resources regarding this species and its relationships with humans. At least two of your sources should come from articles in scholarly journals.

Topic 2: Find current media coverage of an event or issue that applies and extends material in the assigned text. This can involve an individual animal, a group of animals, or an entire species. For example, coverage of the role of livestock in global warming could be approached through several of the readings in the course. You cannot predict when these events will occur, so be continually on the lookout throughout the semester.

Journaling

To help you think about the readings and ideas we are discussing, as well as relate the material to your own lives, you must keep a journal throughout the semester. You must have two entries per week. These need not be long; one page for each entry will suffice. However, they must demonstrate that you are thinking about the issues we are studying. The entries are to be analysis, not cute stories of how much you love animals. You must apply the material to your thoughts about and/or your interaction with animals. Each entry should have three parts: a personal reflection, a sociological insight, and an action step.

1. Personal reflection

(In this section, note any new observations, feelings, epiphanies, or other insights prompted by the course material.)

Example: I never knew, or even thought about, the emotional lives of farm animals. Somehow, I have been able to draw a line between pets and other animals. I know many wild animals have emotions. I have seen programs about elephants experiencing grief, for example. However, I always bought into the idea that cows, chickens, and pigs were ‘dumb’. I guess we have to think of them that way in order to treat them the way that we do. I was particularly struck by ...

2. Sociological insight

(In this section, draw out some of the sociological relevance of the material.)

Example: Farm animals have such a huge role in so many institutions. So much of the economy has to do with raising animals, transporting animals, killing them, processing their skin, muscle, organs, coats, and bones. It makes sense that we have commercials promoting ‘Beef, it's what's for dinner’ and ‘Got Milk’ ads. If it were ‘natural’ and necessary to consume animals, we would not need advertising campaigns designed to encourage us to do so. The ‘animal industrial complex’ depends on a steady supply of consumers. Vegetarians and vegans are very threatening to the status quo. No wonder popular culture makes fun of them.

Farm animals also have a huge role in families. We eat animals on most of our holidays and other occasions. In addition, the histories of agricultural families go back ...

3. Action Step(s)

(In this section, note at least one and as many as three ways that you will share your new knowledge. Action steps might include taking your cat to the vet, finding out about volunteering at an animal shelter, or becoming vegetarian.)

Example: I intend to tell my roommates about the emotional lives of farm animals, and about the animal industrial complex. I will look for information about Farm Sanctuary online and pass it on to my sister.