Kari Weil,Thinking Animals: Why Animal Studies Now?

"Animal Studies" is the name given to an area of study that in the last several decades has proliferated across the disciplines.In contrast to much of the history of philosophy,which sought to define the human as other than animal,animal studies generally problematizes neat categories and distinctions separating humans and other animals.And while there is often an ethical dimension to work in animal studies,it is quite different in tone from the projects of Peter Singer,Tom Regan,and some other philosophers,whose primary task,when addressing animals,is to argue that nonhuman animals have moral standing or ought to be the bearers of significant rights,such as the right not to be harmed.Instead,animal studies,or,sometimes "human-animal studies," poses questions about the meaning and representation of animals in art and literature,politics,history,sociology,anthropology,agriculture,medicine,and science.Engaging work in the natural sciences,social sciences,humanities,and the arts,animal studies seeks to understand the meaning and pervasive role of animals in our lives.