Chapter 4 Species Traitor?
Foundations and Tensions in Human/Animal Scholarship and Advocacy
In: Like an Animal: Critical Animal Studies Approaches to Borders, Displacement, and OtheringPurchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Abstract
Debra Merskin explores how animals are the ultimate Others. Being referred to as an animal or animal-like is the lowest regard one can be assigned and is often the phrase media turn to when describing groups of immigrants and refugees and what individuals themselves reference when describing dehumanizing experiences. Yet where does that leave animals? This chapter is a theoretical reflection on this intersectionality including how this perspective can help unpack concepts of nationalism, anthropocentrism, and species exceptionalism. Also addressed are tensions inherent within and between social justice groups for considering animal suffering as on par with that of human, in particular immigrant and refugee humans.