UBC CAS Student Directed Seminar

Introduction to CAS (Critical Animal Studies) will explore how systems of oppression which marginalize humans are intertwined with those that harm nonhuman animals. The literature, research and theoretical frameworks which ground this seminar are those of CAS scholars whose work is rooted in the connection between theory and practice, with an unapologetic emphasis on nonhuman animal liberation from human exploitation. Students in the seminar will choose a topic within CAS which most interests them and lead a lecture and group discussion with their fellow classmates, write reflections on readings, engage in peer review of assignments and write a research paper or complete a creative project. In class we will explore how critical animal studies is connected with and informed by racism, settler colonialism, disability, feminism, domestication, cisheteronormativity, capitalism, media studies, veganism, and grassroots activism.