Animals and Society: An Introduction to Human-Animal Studies

by Margo Demello

Human-animal studies is an interdisciplinary field that explores the spaces that animals occupy in human social and cultural worlds. It examines the interactions humans and animals have with each other and the ways animal lives intersect with human societies. Since existing social orders rely on the exploitation of animals to serve human needs, the questions posed by human-animal studies touch upon a wide range of fundamental issues.

Animals and Society provides a broad overview of this rapidly growing field. Margo DeMello offers students and scholars a holistic and comprehensive picture of the state of inquiry into the relationships that exist between humans and other animals. She considers interactions between animals and humans in social organizations, such as the family, the legal system, and political and religious institutions. A major focus is the social construction of animals in world cultures and the way in which these social meanings are used to reinforce and perpetuate hierarchical human relationships such as racism, sexism, and class privilege. The book also examines how different human groups construct a range of identities for themselves and for others through animals.

This second edition of Animals and Society is fully updated and expanded throughout, enhancing the book’s relevance for student and activist readers alike. It includes many new international examples, all-new case studies, and updated supplementary readings.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Philosophy, Reference, Academic, School

616 pages, Paperback

First published August 21, 2012

Reviews

[Danielle Haig]

This book was a good broad overview of the main issues of human-animal studies, very basic and for someone unfamiliar with the field. However, the writing and especially the editing was terrible, which for me took away some credibility.

[Liz]

I am going to use this book as a textbook for an animal rights course, so I kept in mind how a student would react to it as I read it. I found it to be extremely informative. The author provided a lot of historical information as well as current data, and I think she did a good job of being descriptive without trying to convince the reader to take a certain stand on each issue. The book covers many major issues regarding animals and society so all readers should find information that they are specifically interested in.

[Susan Sabo]

A good introductory book for those interested in animal/human studies. I'm centered more on ethology, but this was a good primer. I found it a bit like a textbook in the beginning, a little hard to get into, but once I got past the first chapter it was much smoother. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the subject.

[Maria]

Superb! Reads like a thriller, and makes you think. Lots of facts, skillfully organised; persuasive without preaching.

[Jessica Gullion]

I used this book to teach Animals and Society. It’s good for an undergrad course, a bit simplistic for grad students. It gets kind of repetitive, but the students seemed to enjoy it.

[Hilary Scharper]

An excellent book! Measured, well-written and comprehensive. There are plenty of opportunities to go deeper into the materials provided. The author speaks to both introductory and advanced levels of familiarity with this subject and provides helpful classroom resources such as readings, websites, films, etc.

[Season Ellison]

A great introductory text. Simple to read and insightful.