Eva Meijer on Political Animal Voices

Everyone welcome.

Title: The role of language in interspecies politics: Towards a theory of political animal voices.

Abstract: Research shows that non-human animals have their own languages and cultures. They are individuals with their own perspectives on life, who form social and political relations with human and non-human others. In current legal and political systems, they are however still seen and used as objects. Animal rights theorists challenge this, arguing that non-human animals are sentient beings whose interests should be taken into account morally. In my talk I will argue this is not enough: we should recognize that other animals speak and act politically, and see this as co-constitutive for building new interspecies democracies.

[Photo Credit (Dogs): We Animals Media - WAM 29243]