Entomotourism: The Allure of the Arthropod

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 733-750
Author(s):  
Raynald Harvey Lemelin ◽  
Elizabeth Y. S. Boileau ◽  
Constance Russell
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Monarch Butterfly ◽  
Whale Watching ◽  
The Public ◽  
Wildlife Tourism ◽  
The Social ◽  
Tourism Studies ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
Public Imagination

AbstractWildlife tourism is often associated with charismatic megafauna in the public imagination (e.g., safaris, whale watching, bear viewing). Entomotourism (insect-focused tourism) typically is not on the radar, but each year thousands of peoples visit monarch butterfly congregations and glow worm caves, and participate in guided firefly outings. Elsewhere, millions of peoples visit butterfly pavilions, insectariums, and bee museums. Calculations of visitation numbers aside, researchers in tourism studies have largely ignored the appeal of these animals, relegating these types of activities to the recreational fringe. By highlighting the popularity of entomotourism, this article challenges the vertebrate bias prevalent in the social sciences and seeks to move entomotourism from the margins to the mainstream of research on tourism in human/animal studies.

Throwing the Baby out with the Bathwater: Towards a Sociology of the Human-Animal Abuse ‘Link’?

2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nik Taylor ◽  
Tania Signal
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Animal Abuse ◽  
The Social ◽  
Significant Interest ◽  
Current Article ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
Sociological Thought ◽  
Human Social Life

The prevalence of animals in society, and recognition of the multiplicity of roles they play in human social life, has invoked significant interest from certain subsections of the social sciences. However, research in this area, to date, tends to be at an empirical and inherently psychological level. It is the contention of the current article that we need to redress this imbalance if we are to create a legitimate space wherein sociology can be used to investigate human-animal relations/interactions. In order to achieve this, an examination of the foundations of sociological thought is needed. This is explored in the current article through the use of one substantive, highly topical, subject in human-animal studies: the human-animal abuse ‘link.’

scholarly journals Lupine Becomings—Tracking and Assembling Romanian Wolves through Multi-Sensory Fieldwork

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kieran O’Mahony ◽  
Andrea Corradini ◽  
Andrea Gazzola
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human Animal

AbstractThis paper outlines the fieldwork methods utilized by ecologists in (re)presenting wolves in Romania. By revealing the processes and performances of this aspect of wildlife conservation, the paper highlights the complex more-than-human assemblages that make up wolf ecology. It briefly discusses the waysHAS(Human-Animal Studies) and the social sciences have addressed conservation and unpacked the oft obscured hinterland of bodies and technologies. It then blends field stories and ethnographic narrative to emphasize the multi-sensory techniques employed in non-invasive wolf research. By using this novel case, the paper contextualizes the significance of concepts such as becoming, affect, and attunement in creating partial affinities between researchers and wildlife. It argues that these contribute to an emplaced knowledge that allows practices to adapt to contingencies in field. This is important when modern, remote technologies aimed at minimizing effort in the field are seen to be a panacea for monitoring elusive wildlife.

scholarly journals Human-Animal Relations at the Center of Attention: A Chance/Case Study of Serbia

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja Žakula
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
The Public ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
Short Time ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

In late 2018 and early 2019, the city of Belgrade was host to as many as four different exhibitions with the topic of human-animal relations. The fact that these exhibitions were held in such a short time in a city the size of Belgrade is in itself interesting, seeing as the topic of human-animal relations is still not part of the academic and artistic mainstream globally, let alone in Serbia. The themes and messages of these exhibitions seem even more relevant with regard to the current global situation. Thus, the two main goals of this paper are: 1. to point out the importance studying human-animal relations in the social sciences and the humanities can have for the understanding of different economic, political and ideological assemblages of the anthropocene that make human civilization, seemingly apart from nature, susceptible to catastrophes such as the current COVID-19 global pandemic – through the analysis of the contents of the exhibitions and the panel discussions that accompanied them; 2. to indicate the welcome rise in interest in issues of human-animal relations evident in both the general public and academic and artistic contexts in Serbia. The paper offers an analytical overview of the contents of the of Animals and Humans, Covoyagers, Instinct and Terrain and Emil/Specimen B5044 exhibitions, the ensuing discussions with the public and some of the main issues raised within these discussions such as the issue of responsibility humans have toward other species we share the planet with, as well as the issue of the accountability of big polluters, which is often swept under the rug through the utilization of discourse on the impact of Man – with a capital m – on the environment. The paper also emphasizes the importance of these topics for life in the anthropocene, and calls attention to the emergent interest in human-animal relations and innovative theoretical approaches to them in Serbian academia, especially in ethnology and anthropology and archaeology. 

Perspectives

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Szollosy
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Human Relationships ◽  
Cultural Imagination ◽  
Personal Lives ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Organizations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human Augmentation ◽  
Public Imagination

This chapter introduces the “Perspectives” section of the Handbook of Living Machines offering an overview of the different contributions gathered here that consider how biomimetic and biohybrid systems will transform our personal lives and social organizations, and how we might respond to the challenges that these transformations will inevitably pose to our ‘posthuman’ worlds. The authors in this section see it as essential that those who aspire to create living machines engage with the public to confront misconceptions, deep anxieties, and unrealistic aspirations that presently dominate the cultural imagination, and to include potential users in questions of design and utility as new technologies are being developed. Human augmentation and enhancement are other important themes addressed, raising important questions about what it means fundamentally to be ‘human’. These questions and challenges are addressed through the lens of the social and personal impacts of new technologies on human selves, the public imagination, ethics, and human relationships.

scholarly journals Scientists: Engage the Public!

mBio ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika C. Shugart ◽  
Vincent R. Racaniello
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Social Stigma ◽  
Public Communication ◽  
The Public ◽  
Advanced Society ◽  
The Social

ABSTRACT Scientists must communicate about science with public audiences to promote an understanding of complex issues that we face in our technologically advanced society. Some scientists may be concerned about a social stigma or “Sagan effect” associated with participating in public communication. Recent research in the social sciences indicates that public communication by scientists is not a niche activity but is widely done and can be beneficial to a scientist's career. There are a variety of approaches that scientists can take to become active in science communication.

scholarly journals Inayatullah, Rubina Saigol, and Pervez Tahir (eds). Social Sciences in Pakistan: A Profile. Islamabad: Council of Social Sciences, 2005. 512 pages. Hardbound. Rs 500.00.

2004 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faiz Bilquees
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Mass Communication ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
The State ◽  
Educational Discourse ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Peace And Conflict ◽  
Peace And Conflict Resolution ◽  
And Linguistics

Commissioned by the Council of Social Sciences (COSS), this volume evaluates the seventeen social sciences departments in the public universities in Pakistan for a given set of parameters. The social sciences departments or the topics covered in this volume and their respective authors include: Teaching of International Relations in Pakistani Universities (Rasul Bakhsh Rais); Development of the Discipline of Political Science in Pakistan (Inayatullah); The Development of Strategic Studies in Pakistan (Ayesha Siddiqa); The State of Educational Discourse in Pakistan (Rubina Saigol); Development of Philosophy as a Discipline (Mohammad Ashraf Adeel); The State of the Discipline of Psychology in Public Universities in Pakistan: A Review (Muhammad Pervez and Kamran Ahmad); Development of Economics as a Discipline in Pakistan (Karamat Ali); Sociology in Pakistan: A Review of Progress (Muhammad Hafeez); Anthropology in Pakistan: The State of [sic] Discipline (Nadeem Omar Tarar); Development of the Discipline of History in Pakistan (Mubarak Ali); The Discipline of Public Administration in Pakistan (Zafar Iqbal Jadoon and Nasira Jabeen); Journalism and Mass Communication (Mehdi Hasan); Area Studies in Pakistan: An Assessment (Muhammad Islam); Pakistan Studies: A Subject of the State, and the State of the Subject (Syed Jaffar Ahmed); The State of the Discipline of Women’s Studies in Pakistan (Rubina Saigol); Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies (Moonis Ahmar and Farhan H. Siddiqi); and Linguistics in Pakistan: A Survey of the Contemporary Situation (Tariq Rahman).

scholarly journals The Social Life of the “Forever Chemical”

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 146-163
Author(s):  
Daniel Renfrew ◽  
Thomas W. Pearson
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
Toxic Event ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Polyfluoroalkyl Substances

This article examines the social life of PFAS contamination (a class of several thousand synthetic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and maps the growing research in the social sciences on the unique conundrums and complex travels of the “forever chemical.” We explore social, political, and cultural dimensions of PFAS toxicity, especially how PFAS move from unseen sites into individual bodies and into the public eye in late industrial contexts; how toxicity is comprehended, experienced, and imagined; the factors shaping regulatory action and ignorance; and how PFAS have been the subject of competing forms of knowledge production. Lastly, we highlight how people mobilize collectively, or become demobilized, in response to PFAS pollution/ toxicity. We argue that PFAS exposure experiences, perceptions, and responses move dynamically through a “toxicity continuum” spanning invisibility, suffering, resignation, and refusal. We off er the concept of the “toxic event” as a way to make sense of the contexts and conditions by which otherwise invisible pollution/toxicity turns into public, mass-mediated, and political episodes. We ground our review in our ongoing multisited ethnographic research on the PFAS exposure experience.

scholarly journals Village Dogs in Coastal Mexico

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 510-530
Author(s):  
Eliza Ruiz-Izaguirre ◽  
Paul Hebinck ◽  
Karen (C.H.A.M.) Eilers
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Public Health ◽  
The Social ◽  
Management Policies ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
Local Narratives

Abstract Village dogs are important for households in coastal Mexico, yet they are seen as out of place by etic stakeholders (public health and wildlife experts, and animal welfarists). Caregivers of village dogs are considered irresponsible, a view that is reinforced by Mexican policy. We describe two contrasting etic discourses in this article that have emerged from ideologies based on human-dog relation theories. The article is part of an ongoing shift in the social sciences that has seen attempts to move beyond anthropocentrism and to explore human-animal relations outside the parameters of the traditional nature-culture dichotomy. Local narratives hinge on different experiences with dogs. Villagers perceive their dogs as adults, capable of and subject to judgment. Etic discourses are currently the basis for dog management policies. Attaching the label of “irresponsible owner” to the caregivers of village dogs prevents their inclusion as legitimate participants in policy processes.

Human-Animal Studies, G.H. Mead, and the Question of Animal Minds

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy J. Gallagher†
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Conscious Awareness ◽  
Symbolic Language ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Animal Minds ◽  
Contemporary Science ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
Contemporary Approach

In the field of human-animal studies (has), also known as anthrozoology, the question of nonhuman animal minds is central. During the first three decades of the 20th century, the social psychological G.H. Mead was among the first to take an explicitly contemporary approach to the question of mind in nature. Mead’s approach to the question of the nature of mind is consistent with contemporary science. His approach was characterized by empiricism, interdisciplinarity, comparative behavior and anatomy, and evolutionary theory. For Mead, symbolic language was required for mind as he defined it. This stipulation has been called into question by scholars today. The evidence for the nature of animal minds today suggests that a symbolic language is not required for conscious awareness, deliberation, and decision making. Nonetheless, Mead has an historical relevance to the field ofhasfor both the breadth of his work on the nature of consciousness, his contemporary approach, and the fact that some of his insights could be useful to contemporary scholars who are exploring the nature of mind, both human and nonhuman.

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