References Cited

Agnew, Robert. “The Causes of Animal Abuse: A Social-Psychological Analysis.” Theoretical Criminology, vol. 2, no. 2, May 1998, pp. 177–209.

In a turn of perspective, Robert Agnew analyzes the social-psychological and criminal side of animal abuse and tries to determine why we continue to abuse and neglect animals, and why some people even enjoy it. He cites an "ignorance regarding the abusive consequences of our behavior of animals", "belief that abusive treatment is justified", and the belief that the "perceived benefits of abuse outweigh the costs". He also acknowledges that individual traits and experiences will affect the degree of abuse or neglect, which fits nicely with the idea that most people do not outright abuse animals but can still justify taking their power away to maintain the hegemonic system of hierarchy and inequality.

Dahl, Robert A. On Democracy. Yale Nota Bene, 2000.

In On Democracy, Dahl presents an unparalleled and applicable overview of the history of democracy on our planet. Along with this historical account, he provides some context for democracy and corrects some misconceptions that many people hold about it, such as the idea that it was not created all at once, but was (and is) a continually shifting and evolving form of self-governance that came to be over time. His account of democracy allows for an incredible foundation to be set on what exactly it means to be democratic, why we have it, and how to obtain and maintain it. His five criterion for having a democracy are "effective participation, equality in voting, gaining enlightened understanding, exercising final control over the agenda, [and] inclusion of adults" (38). These criteria are incredibly important for understanding why and how animals are not yet our equals in our global discourse; they do not have any of these criterion because we will not let them. The only thing keeping animals from being our equals, is us.

Fraser, Nancy. Rethinking the Public Sphere: a Contribution to the Critique of Actually Existing Democracy. Duke University Press, 1990.

In terms of examining the idea of discourse and civil society, Nancy Fraser does it best with her rethinking of the public sphere. Throughout her essay, she clearly outlines the idea of the public sphere and how it has changed over time. The idea of the public sphere is that people can come together and collectively examine the intricacies of issues facing the population without the separation of privacy or distance. By allowing the public sphere to be defined this way, Fraser allows for a universal platform to be created that allows all parties involved to come together so that everybody can obtain a holistic perspective and therefore strive to create a holistic solution. This also allows the idea of counterpublics to stand, meaning that groups that may not hold the dominant train of thought can and do exist, and through the public sphere we can ensure that their voices are heard as well. In much of this project, I learned that in regards to ensuring that animals are treated as our equals I am part of a small, but growing counterpublic. Because of this, the idea of the public sphere is integral to the success of this change for which we are pushing; without a level playing field in which to dissent, we are ignored and mocked. Unfortunately, the animals we are representing do not have access to this public sphere simply because the general public does not believe they should be included in the debate because we are above them, which fails to meet Fraser's criteria of öpen access, participatory parity, and social equality". In this regard, our current public sphere is not truly a public sphere, because not all who are involved in the impacts of decisions made there can voice their opinions. However, her depictions give us as a society a goal of what we need to achieve to have true equality amongst ourselves and all living beings on the planet.

Gordon, Robert. Going Abroad: Traveling like an Anthropologist. Routledge, 2015.

Throughout Gordon's book Going Abroad, he introduces the idea of the anthropological perspective and why it is crucial. As one of the first readings done for Anth 1200 - Culture and Power in Democracy, it was a beautiful introduction to the idea that the world is more than we may see at face value. His inclusion of concept of "participant observation" is incredibly crucial to this project, and is referenced many times throughout. Participant observation is crucial to understanding the world, especially with incredibly tough topics or unique cultures, because without it it is easy to dismiss things that are different from what we are comfortable with as "weird" or worse than our methods, but by partaking in the culture and discussing with individuals who understand it, it is easier for us to comprehend and accept their beliefs, methods, or ways of thinking.

Jasper, Hames M, and Dorthy Nelkin. “Reading 21: The Animal Rights Crusade.” Life in Society, 8th ed., vol. 1, Pearson, 2007.

In their chapter about animal rights, Jasper and Nelkin provide a unique context to the idea of animal rights by explaining how our perceptions of animals are shaped by our experiences and societal norms, and how the animal rights movement is beginning to question many of the mainstream ideas about animals. They give multiple points of view, and explain how some people can justify maintaining animals as obedient pets and as tools, and how others have decided to challenge those opinions. They also provide details about the moral justifications many people make for harming creatures such as insects or small invertebrates, but not the cat they keep inside their home. It is interesting to understand why we have kept our hierarchical system in place for so long and the unique ways that we justify it through placing animals on a sort-of equality scale, where we see animals such as dogs, cats, or horses as more like us and more worthy of life and freedom (although obviously not totally), but ants are deserving of poison.

Lappé, Frances Moore. Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity, and Courage in a World Gone Mad. Small Planet Media, 2007.

Frances Moore Lappé, much like Dahl, contributes to the idea of why we perceive animals to be less than us; because we do not give them any kind of power in what we believe is our world. When compared to Lappé's "Spiral of Powerlessness" (page unknown), it is clear to see that we have essentially put the rest of the planet down that spiral by disenfranchising every other living being and removing their agency, thereby forcing them to live by our rules with no representation or platform to voice their dissent. Looking further into the book, it is clear that "since we create culture through our daily choices, then we do, each of us, wield enormous power" (75). This power currently comes at the cost of the natural world and the animals we use, but since we can create culture, we can change it, which is what I propose we do. The diagram on page 78 that explains what power is vs. what it could be is also incredibly insightful, and as such I have included it here (see below). It outlines clearly what we can change about how we perceive power today, which would clearly benefit the natural world we are currently excluding and exploiting.

Regan, Tom. Animal Rights, Human Wrongs: an Introduction to Moral Philosophy. Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.

Tom Regan provides a perspective that closely aligns with my own, and in fact the first chapter opens with a dramatic explanation of the "animal rights movement" that includes abolishing commercial use of animals, as well as use for scientific purposes. This allows for a nice comparison to be drawn between what I have established is what needs to be done to solve animal inequality and what is already being done. Regan explains the steps that have been taken so far, and how we are making slow progress towards the true foundation of animal rights. That being said, topics still tend to be presented from a human point of view but Regan does a better job than most at delving into the human perspective, why we do what we do, and what we can do better. The topics contained within tend to be more philosophical, but that is just one of the many required perspectives needed to form a truly holistic solution.

W., Tegan: Interview

My interview with Tegan was incredibly insightful, and her thoughts on why we have seen such little progress in the quest for animal equality were impressive. Unlike me when I began this project, she truly believes that we can change the system and ensure that animals are perceived as our equals. She was uncertain of how to phrase her ideas, but when I gave her some of the context from class she articulated her ideas well. She believes that legislation is a good place to begin, but that it will take time for true societal changes to be made. She also believes that it will take intense dedication and perseverance to keep the push alive, as many people are likely to become complacent and satisfied with the progress they have already made.

Young, Ralph F. Dissent: the History of an American Idea. New York University Press, 2018.

Throughout his introduction for his book Dissent, Young defines the idea that dissent is something that the United States is built upon and explains how and why that is the case. He defines dissent as a method of ensuring that your opinions are heard, even in times before the United States was created, and explains that the US was built upon people coming here out to escape persecution because their dissent was not legitimized, and then founded a nation by dissenting with the principles and actions of their motherland. He continues through a historical account of how dissent has so greatly shaped the United States as a nation and culture, and really expresses the idea that dissent is what allows for change to happen when the people want it. This idea is important for my Community Engagement Project for two reasons: the first is that dissent is something that we have not given or listened to from the natural world, and our ignorance is what is keeping us in power over animals which allows us to feel justified in neglecting or abusing them; the second is that it is through dissent that we will be able to give power and agency to the natural world and overturn the hegemonic system that has kept us unfairly in power.