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Anthrozoology, also known as human–nonhuman-animal studies (HAS), is the subset of
ethnobiology ] Ethnobiology is the scientific study of the way living things are treated or used by different human cultures. It studies the dynamic relationships between people, biota, and environments, from the distant past to the immediate present.culture ...
that deals with biological interaction, interactions between humans and other animals. It is an
interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...
field that overlaps with other disciplines including anthropology, ethnology, medicine, psychology,
social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
, veterinary medicine, and zoology. A major focus of anthrozoologic research is the quantifying of the positive effects of human–animal relationships on either party and the study of their interactions. It includes scholars from fields such as anthropology, sociology, biology, history and philosophy. Anthrozoology scholars, such as Pauleen Bennett recognize the lack of scholarly attention given to non-human animals in the past, and to the relationships between human and non-human animals, especially in the light of the magnitude of animal representations, symbols, stories and their actual physical presence in human societies. Rather than a unified approach, the field currently consists of several methods adapted from the several participating disciplines to encompass human–nonhuman animal relationships and occasional efforts to develop ''
sui generis ''Sui generis'' ( , ) is a Latin phrase that means "of its/their own kind", "in a class by itself", therefore "unique". A number of disciplines use the term to refer to unique entities. These include: * Biology, for species that do not fit in ...
'' methods.


Areas of study

* The interaction and enhancement within captive animal interactions. * Affective (emotional) or relational bonds between humans and animals * Human perceptions and beliefs in respect of other animals * How some animals fit into human societies * How these vary between cultures, and change over times * The study of
animal domestication The domestication of animals is the mutual relationship between non-human animals and the humans who have influence on their care and reproduction. Charles Darwin recognized a small number of traits that made domesticated species different from t ...
: how and why domestic animals evolved from wild species (paleoanthrozoology) * Captive zoo animal bonds with keepers * The social construction of animals and what it means to be animal * The human–animal bond * Parallels between human–animal interactions and human–technology interactions * The symbolism of animals in literature and art * The history of animal domestication * The intersections of speciesism, racism, and sexism * The place of animals in human-occupied spaces * The religious significance of animals throughout human history * Exploring the cross-cultural ethical treatment of animals * The critical evaluation of animal abuse and exploitation * Mind, self, and personhood in nonhuman animals * The potential human health benefits of companion animal ownership


Growth of the field

There are currently 23 college programs in HAS or a related field in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Israel and the Netherlands, as well as an additional eight veterinary school programs in North America, and over thirty HAS organizations in the US, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, France, Germany, New Zealand, Israel, Sweden, and Switzerland. In the UK, the University of Exeter runs an MA in Anthrozoology which explores human–animal interactions from anthropological (cross-cultural) perspectives. Human animal interactions (HAI) involving companion animals are also studied by the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition, which partners with the US National Institutes of Health to research HAI in relation to child development and aging. There are now three primary lists for HAS scholars and students—H-Animal, the Human-Animal Studies listserv, and NILAS, as well as the Critical Animal Studies list. There are now over a dozen journals covering HAS issues, many of them founded in the last decade, and hundreds of HAS books, most of them published in the last decade (see for example, ''Humanimalia''). Brill, Berg, Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Columbia, Reaktion, Palgrave-Macmillan, University of Minnesota, University of Illinois, and Oxford all offer either a HAS series or a large number of HAS books. In addition, in 2006, Animals and Society Institute (ASI) began hosting the Human-Animal Studies Fellowship, a six-week program in which pre- and post-doctoral scholars work on a HAS research project at a university under the guidance of host scholars and distance peer scholars. Beginning in 2011, ASI has partnered with Wesleyan Animal Studies, who will be hosting the fellowship in conjunction with ASI. There are also a handful of HAS conferences per year, including those organized by ISAZ and NILAS, and the Minding Animals conference, held in 2009 in Australia. Finally, there are more HAS courses being taught now than ever before. The ASI website lists over 300 courses (primarily in North America, but also including Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, and Poland) in 29 disciplines at over 200 colleges and universities, not including over 100 law school courses.


See also

* Animal behavior * ABMAP * Animal rights * Animal studies *
Anthropomorphism Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
* Birds in culture * Cognitive ethology * Companion animal * Critical animal studies * Domestication of the horse * Ethnozoology *
Human–animal bonding Human bonding is the process of development of a close, interpersonal relationship between two or more people. It most commonly takes place between family members or friends, but can also develop among groups, such as sporting teams and whenev ...
* Human–canine bond * Intersectionality * Insects in culture * Origin of the domestic dog * Pauleen Bennett * Service animal *
Social grooming Social grooming is a behavior in which social animals, including humans, clean or maintain one another's body or appearance. A related term, allogrooming, indicates social grooming between members of the same species. Grooming is a major soci ...
*
Trans-species psychology Trans-species psychology is the field of psychology that states that humans and nonhuman animals share commonalities in cognition (thinking) and emotions (feelings). It was established by Gay A. Bradshaw, American ecologist and psychologist.Bradsh ...
* Zooarchaeology


References


External links


Animals and Society Institute

Anthrozoology Research Group

H-Animal

Human-Animal Studies listserve
*
Humanimalia: a journal of human-animal interface studies
'
NILAS
{{Authority control Animal rights Animal welfare Anthropology Ethology Interdisciplinary subfields of sociology Environmental humanities Environmental social science Zoology