Animal geographies
Encyclopedia
Animal geographies is an area of study in geography
, studying the spaces and places occupied by animal
s in human culture.
An interest in animal geographies emerged in human geography
in the mid 1990s. This was marked by a special edition of the journal Environment and Planning D: Society and Space in 1995 and a book by Jennifer Wolch
and Jody Emel called Animal Geographies: place, politics and identity in the nature-culture borderlands published in 1998.
This movement was prompted by the basic fact that social life and space is heavily populated by animals of many differing kinds and in many differing ways (e.g. farm animals, pets, wild animals in the city). It was also prompted by ecofeminist and other environmentalist
viewpoints on nature-society relations (including questions of animal welfare
and rights
).
This sub-discipline within human geography quickly developed, another landmark being the book Animal Spaces, Beastly Places: New Geographies of Human-Animal Relations.
Papers regularly come out in a number of geographical journals and in journals such as Society and Animals.
Animal geographies is now part of a wider interest of non-human or 'more-than-human' geographies which pays close attention not only to animals but all the things, living and non-living, that help to make up the everyday ‘social’ world and its spaces and places. (See also: Non-representational theory
)
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, studying the spaces and places occupied by animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s in human culture.
An interest in animal geographies emerged in human geography
Human geography
Human geography is one of the two major sub-fields of the discipline of geography. Human geography is the study of the world, its people, communities, and cultures. Human geography differs from physical geography mainly in that it has a greater focus on studying human activities and is more...
in the mid 1990s. This was marked by a special edition of the journal Environment and Planning D: Society and Space in 1995 and a book by Jennifer Wolch
Jennifer Wolch
Jennifer Wolch is a professor of Urban Planning, Geography and dean of the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design.Before accepting the dean position, Wolch was the Founder and Director of the Center for Sustainable Cities at the University of Southern California...
and Jody Emel called Animal Geographies: place, politics and identity in the nature-culture borderlands published in 1998.
This movement was prompted by the basic fact that social life and space is heavily populated by animals of many differing kinds and in many differing ways (e.g. farm animals, pets, wild animals in the city). It was also prompted by ecofeminist and other environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
viewpoints on nature-society relations (including questions of animal welfare
Animal welfare
Animal welfare is the physical and psychological well-being of animals.The term animal welfare can also mean human concern for animal welfare or a position in a debate on animal ethics and animal rights...
and rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
).
This sub-discipline within human geography quickly developed, another landmark being the book Animal Spaces, Beastly Places: New Geographies of Human-Animal Relations.
Papers regularly come out in a number of geographical journals and in journals such as Society and Animals.
Animal geographies is now part of a wider interest of non-human or 'more-than-human' geographies which pays close attention not only to animals but all the things, living and non-living, that help to make up the everyday ‘social’ world and its spaces and places. (See also: Non-representational theory
Non-representational theory
Non-representational theory is a theory developed in human geography, largely through the work of Nigel Thrift , and his colleagues such as J.D. Dewsbury . It challenges those using social theory and conducting geographical research to go beyond representation...
)