SOCI8033
Co-presence – Human-animal relationships in modern cities
Offer semester
Lecture time
Lecture venue
Credits awarded
2nd semester
Wednesday
19:00 - 21:50
CPD-LG.18
6
Animals are everywhere in modern societies - on the Internet, in the media, and as symbols in our languages and cultural practices. Animals are also nowhere in modern cities - factory farms and slaughter houses are obscured, wild animals are segregated, and urban animals are managed. Except for the animals people brought in their homes as pets and those kept in entertainment facilities, we live separate lives.
In a globalised world amidst environmental crisis, consumption ethics and justice, the e
ntanglement and future of human-animal relationships have become an increasingly urgent topic of inquiry. Is vegetarianism simply another dietary trend? Could companion animals fill the lonely hearts of city dwellers? How should we get rid of cruelty and violence against animals? Should animals have a rightful place in our legal system? Is there a species specific boundary of ethics and biotechnology? These are a few among many questions we face with human-animal co-presence in modern cities.
In this course, we will set our scope of inquiry under the discipline of Human Animal Studies and reflect our manifold relationships with animals, especially through the media representations and cultural practices in modern cities, with particular connections to local experiences in Hong Kong.
On completing the course, students should be able to:
Understand key theoretical concepts and debates in human-animal studies and human-animal relationships.
Reflect on their daily interactions with animals and consumption of animal products in relations to global connection and development.
Understand the importance of human decision and habits in affecting the lives and welfare of animals in urban cities.
Aware of the global development of animal rights movement and the relevance to human/animal liberation and the environment.
Tasks
Weighting
Participation and class discussion
15%
Readings presentation
15%
Project Presentation
20%
Reflective essay
20%
Research essay
30%
Ascione, F. 2008. The International Handbook of Animal Abuse and Cruelty: Theory, Research and Application. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press
Kalof, L. 2017. The Oxford Handbook of Animal Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Taylor, N. and Twine, R. 2014. The Rise of Critical Animal Studies: From the Margins to the Centre. Routledge. London, New York: Routledge.
Adams, C.K. 1990. The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-vegetarian Critical Theory. New York: Continuum.
Beauchap, T.L. & R.G. Frey eds. 2011.The Oxford Handbook of Animal Ethics. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.
Bodice, R. ed. 2011. Anthropocentrism: Humans, Animals, Environments(Human-Animal Studies Vol.12.) Leiden, Boston: BRILL.
Corbey, R. & A. Lanjouw eds. 2013. The Politics of Species: Reshaping our Relationships with Other Animals. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wright, L. ed. 2021. The Routledge Handbook of Vegan Studies. Oxon: Routledge.
Derrida, J. 2008. The Animals That Therefore I am. New York: Fordham University Press.
De Waal, F. 2016. Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Fitzgerald, A. 2015. Animals as Food: (Re)connecting Production, Processing, Consumption, and Impacts. Michigan: Michigan State University Press.
Merskin, D.L. 2018. Seeing Species: Re-presentations of Animals in Media & Popular Culture. NY: Peter Lang Publishing.
Molly, C. 2011. Popular Media and Animals. Palgrave Macmillian.
Nibert, D. 2013. Animal Oppression and Human Violence: Domesecration, Capitalism, and Global Conflict. New York: Columbia University Press.
Nibert, D. ed. 2017. Animal Oppression and Capitalism. Santa Barbara: Praeger.
Overall, C. 2017. Pets and People: The Ethics of Companion Animals.Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Peña-Guzmán, D.M. 2022. When Animals Dream: The Hidden World of Animal Consciousness. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press.
Regan, T. 2004. The Case for Animal Rights. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Singer, P. 2009. Animal Liberation. New York: Harper Collins.
Smil, V. 2013. Should We Eat Meat? Evolution and Consequences of Modern Carnivory. New York: Wiley.
Sunstein, C. R. & M. Nussbaum eds. 2004. Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions. New York: Oxford University Press.
Taylor, N. & H. Fraser 2019. Companion Animals and Domestic Violence: Rescuing Me, Rescuing You. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.
Tuan, Y.F. 2003. Dominance and Affection: The Making of Pets. New Have: Yale University Press.
Twine, R. 2010. Animals as Biotechnology: Ethics, Sustainability and Critical Animal Studies. New York: Earthscan from Routledge.
Waldau, P. 2013. Animal Studies: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Offer Semester | Lecture Day | Lecture Time | Venue | Credits awarded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2nd semester | Wednesday | 19:00 - 21:50 | CPD-LG.18 | 6 |
