Radical History Review's Special Issue on Transnational Environments
Radical History Review has released a special issue on "Transnational Environments: Rethinking the Political Economy of Nature in a Global Age" Volume 2010, Number 107, Spring 2010. See http://chnm.gmu.edu/rhr/rhr.htm. There are many very interesting pieces here including an interview with Donald Worster revisiting his 1982 essay "World Without Borders" as well as notes on teaching Animal Histories.
Animals & Animality Across the Humanities and Social Sciences: An Interdisciplinary Coming-Together
On June 26th and 27th, 2010, Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario hosted an interdisciplinary and international conference titled Animals and Animality Across the Humanities and Social Sciences. Through paper presentations and workshops, as well as written and visual creative expressions, over 60 local, national, and international conference participants showcased a wealth of research in animal and animality studies. Presentations and discussions addressed topics such as sexuality, globalization, nationalism, race, and ethics, and the ways in which these issues emerge through our conceptual and manifest relationships to nonhuman animals.
Plenary addresses for the conference were provided by independent scholar Carol Adams, author of The Sexual Politics of Meat (1990) and Neither Man Nor Beast: Feminism and the Defense of Animals (1994); and Dr. David Clark, who teaches at McMaster University in the Departments of English and Cultural Studies and Health Studies, and who is currently at work on a manuscript entitled Towards a Pre-History of the Post-Animal: Kant, Levinas, and the Regard of Brutes. Dr. Molly Wallace (Department of English, Queen’s) and Dr. Myra Hird (Department of Sociology, Queen’s) convened workshops that addressed, respectively, the politics of breed-specific legislation and the significance of micro-ontology for our consideration of the nonhuman.
In keeping with the organizers’ aim to create dialogues across disciplines, the conference was also held in conjunction with an artistic exhibition entitled Just Act Natural, which was curated by Queen’s alumnus and artist Lisa Visser. Overall, the conference was a wonderful coming-together of emergent and established animals studies scholars, artists, and community members. Its co-organizers Jaime Denike, Laura McGavin and Jess Roberts (themselves graduate students in the Department of English at Queen’s) were thrilled with the rigorous intellectual engagement and spirit of collegiality demonstrated by all in attendance.
For more information about the conference, as well as photographs of the event, please visit www.animalsandanimality.com.
Special Issue on Avian Geography in the 'Geographical Review'
According to Michael Steinberg, guest editor of the special issue on avian geography in the Geographical Review Volume 100, 2 (April 2010, iii): “Birds are geographical creatures. In fact, we can map connections between birds and politics, recreation, economics, global health, mythology, aviation, and even professional sports. In other words, birds are a pervasive presence in various geographies.”
The special issue on avian geography offers a broad overview of the contributions of geographers to the understanding of human-avian relations, bird conservation strategies, and the impact of human activities on avian habitats. The issue’s aim is to promote future research on avian geographies, as geographers provide “a broader, more complete portrait of birds in and part of a landscape, not simply birds as single units in an ecosystem” (Steinberg, 2010, iv).
Contributors to the issue include Professor Robin Doughty, one of the first human geographers to examine the relations between humans and birds within the context of the bird protection movement in the United States. Doughty is also a new member of the Transnational Ecologies project. See: Robin Doughty, Feather Fashions and Bird Preservation: A Study in Nature Protection (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975).
Links:
- Professor Robin Doughty, new member of the Transnational Ecologies project
- The articles in the special issue of Geographical Review will be inputted to the Transnational Ecologies, Birds Bibliography
- Geographical Review: http://www.amergeog.org/gr/current_issue.html
Winners Announced for Signs of the Season Photo Contest!
We are delighted to announce the winners of the Signs of the Season Photo Contest. There were three categories: surprise, beauty and creativity.
For surprise, the winner is Daniel Macfarlane's "Sprouting in NY". In this category, the judges have also awarded an honorable mention to Andrea Gill for her "Stanley Park Heron Colony".
For beauty, the winner is Lauren Wheeler for her "Spring Snow". Daniel Macfarlane's "Gatineau in Fall Fog" was awarded an honorable mention.
Finally, for creativity, the winner is Daniel Macfarlane for his "Rapid(s) Change". The honorable mention in this category goes to Jennifer Davis for "Reseeding".
The judges were a panel of artists consisting of Kari Gogol in Vancouver, Matt Rogalsky in London, UK and Sophie Edwards in Kingston, Ontario. Winners receive $50 and their photos will be featured on the NiCHE website main page. All entrants will have their work displayed on the Transnational Ecologies website. Thanks to everyone who entered. Those of you who intended to enter but never got around to it will be pleased to know that Transnational Ecologies is sponsoring a second photo contest on the theme of "Migratory Natures". Details will be announced shortly!
Photo Credit: "Spring Snow" by Lauren Wheeler.
Photo Credits: "Sprouting in NY" and "Rapid(s) Change" by Daniel MacFarlane.
What is Canada's National Bird?
Birds are commonly used as territorial symbols. The Snowy Owl embodies Québec, the Common Loon represents Ontario, while the Rock Ptarmigan symbolizes Nunavut. Yet, at present, there is no national bird of Canada.
The Canadian Raptor Conservancy (CRC) hopes to fill this void by collecting 200,000 signatures and designating the name of the bird with the largest number of petitioners to a local MP for presentation to the House of Commons.
According to the CRC, designating a national bird would boost Canada’s sense of identity similar to the maple leaf, maple syrup, ice hockey and lacrosse, and the beaver. The group has suggested the Red-tailed Hawk and the Canada Goose, but is leaving it up to Canadians to choose “their” bird.
The debate over choosing a Canadian bird is not a new one. In the early twentieth century, many nature enthusiasts struggled between the White-throated Sparrow and the Canada Goose as Canada’s national bird. Certainly, Jack Miner from Kingsville, Ontario, had strong opinions on the matter:
The white-throated is a lovely bird, but not a bit more so than the white-crowned sparrow, bluebird or some warbler, or yet the rose-breasted grosbeak. My, what a beautiful, lovely, musical variety we have to select from! And, I say, by all means let us have a Canadian national bird, but let it be the Canada Goose, the noblest creature that ever lived on land, in air, or on the water – yes, and on the ice or snow he is perfectly at home.
Miner, born in the United States, compared the Canada Goose with the American Eagle by proclaiming that “our Canada Goose is far superior.” Moralizing the bird, he professed that the Canada Goose “will settle down to raise a family, of from four to eight, as all Canadians should. Wild geese pair for life. I never knew them to even make an application for divorce.”
The CRC has outlined some criteria to the public when submitting their bird suggestion: a bird should be found in every Canadian provinces, or most of them; a bird should not already be chosen as a Canadian provincial bird or another country’s national bird; and a bird should be known by the general public and be seen on a regular basis in their daily activities. If you would like to contribute to the debate over Canada’s official bird, the bird petition can be found on the CRC website.
- See: K. Greer and L. Cameron, “‘Swee-ee-et, Can-a-da, Can-a-da, Can-a-da’: sensuous landscapes of birdwatching in the eastern provinces, 1900-1939,” Material History Review 62 (Fall 2005): 35-48