JENNIFER E. TELESCA Planetary stewardship, I hope, is mindful of “it.” How we write about, talk about, teach about, scientifically render, develop policy for, and advocate on behalf of sea creatures matters at a time of mass extinction. Surely a living being cannot be “it.” Mere semantics this is not. Simple in approach, trim in … More Cultivating care for one of the ocean’s most majestic creatures
It is not to be expected of critics as it is of poets that they should help us to make sense of our lives; they are bound only to attempt the lesser feat of making sense of the ways we try to make sense of our lives.—Frank Kermode, The Sense of an Ending *** BY … More Book Ends: On writing, being, and sensing an ending.
This post is published on the occasion of University Press Week, in which about 30 university presses have published posts on five significant topics: collaboration; your Press in pictures; connections with popular culture; a throwback look at an influential project or series; or #FollowFriday, today’s topic on university presses and social media. Find more details … More #UPWeek: Writing the Continuous Book.
BY DAVID NAGUIB PELLOWAuthor of Total Liberation and professor and Don A. Martindale Endowed Chair of Sociology at the University of Minnesota The concept of total liberation stems from a determination to understand and combat all forms of inequality and oppression. It is comprised of four pillars: an ethic of justice and anti-oppression inclusive of … More Understanding inequality—across ecosystems, species, and human populations.
So-called trash species—including pigeons, gulls, coyotes, carp, and cockroaches, among others—cause wonder as to why some species are admired while others are reviled. BY KELSI NAGYM.A. in philosophy from Colorado State University and a graduate student of anthrozoology at Canisius College in New York What is a ‘trash animal’? I am often asked this question … More Pigeons. Cockroaches. Grasshoppers. Just what is a ‘trash animal’?
“There seems to be a lingering expectation that art should provide consolation – the consolation that terrible things are only happening far away, or that artists unreservedly condemn such things.” What follows here is an interview with Steve Baker about his new book, Artist Animal, in Minnesota’s Posthumanities series (further details about the book at … More Animals, artists, and the question of ethics: A dialogue with Steve Baker.
How far apart are humans from animals—even the Vampyroteuthis infernalis, the “vampire squid from hell”?Let’s discuss. Considering the human condition along with the Vampyroteuthis infernalis condition seems appropriate because “we are both products of an absurd coincidence,” writes Vilém Flusser. Q&A WITH VAMPYROTEUTHIS INFERNALISSubject of Vilém Flusser’s Vampyroteuthis Infernalis: A Treatise Q. How are you … More Halloween special: A rare interview with the ancient vampire squid from hell.
BY JANELLE A. SCHWARTZHamilton College This past May, I attended the 2012 North American Levinas Society conference held in Anchorage, Alaska. Playing on its location in the Last Frontier, the conference was particularly interested in research focusing on “Levinas, the environment and the cultures of place,” and so it afforded me the opportunity to expand … More Frankenstein and the worm: Not "just" another essay on Frankenstein
BY RON BROGLIOAssistant professor of English and senior scholar of the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University I sat down to write this blog entry but the day got away from me. The morning began with me discussing the death of a beached whale with an artist working on the grammars of touch … More Writing amid the difficulty of reality
BY KATHY RUDYAssociate professor of ethics and women’s studies at Duke University Ellen DeGeneres recently launched a national campaign endorsing veganism, and I give her a lot of credit. Along with people like Jonathan Safran Foer and many other media stars, she is putting the question of eating meat on the table as a significant … More With veganism and animal-rights causes, a middle ground is always best.
