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History General

Animal Metropolis

Histories of Human-Animal Relations in Canada

edited by Darcy Ingram, Christabelle Sethna & Joanna Dean

Publisher
University of Calgary Press
Initial publish date
Sep 2016
Category
General, General, Urban, Social History, Cultural, Historical Geography, Environmental Science
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781552388679
    Publish Date
    Sep 2016
    List Price
    $34.95
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781552388648
    Publish Date
    Feb 2017
    List Price
    $34.95

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Description

Animal Metropolis includes a diverse array of work on the historical study of human-animal relations in Canada. In doing so, it aims to create a starting point for an ongoing conversation about the place of animals in historical analysis and, in turn, about the way issues regarding animals fit into Canada’s political, social, cultural, economic, environmental and ethical landscapes.

One of the most striking aspects of this collection is its capacity to present a wide variety of topics, sources and methodologies within a tightly focused theme. The sources employed in these articles cover a broad spectrum, from state and legal documents to the popular press, from corporate records and NGO reports to personal diaries, and from materials on industrial agriculture to those of the tourism industry. Even more compelling than the sources are the methodological issues that the collection raises. One of our key objectives is to highlight the sheer diversity of approaches historians are employing in their efforts to analyze non-human subjects that do not produce documentary records of their own.

By focusing explicitly on urban contexts the book aims deliberately to cleave from a more obvious focus on wild animals and the wilderness environment that are so iconic to Canada. Readers will be impressed by the range of creatures, both domestic and wild: from horses and dogs to beavers and wolves to whales, fish, polar bears and captive elephants. Covering small and larger regions, and in some instances the nation as a whole, the collection offers impressive breadth in scope. Varying widely in the lenses through which human-animal relations are viewed, it brings to the forefront the contemporary as well as the historical dimensions of the issues it raises.

About the authors

Darcy Ingram teaches in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ottawa, where he works on social movements, environmentalism, and environmental governance.

Darcy Ingram's profile page

Christabelle Sethna is a professor in the University of Ottawa's Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies. She is the coauthor of Just Watch Us: RCMP Surveillance of the Women's Liberation Movement in Cold War Canada and a coeditor of Animal Metropolis: Histories of Human-Animal Relations in Urban Canada.

Christabelle Sethna's profile page

Joanna Dean is associate professor of History at Carleton University, where she teaches animal history and environmental history.

Joanna Dean's profile page

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