Dear ASI friend,

As we step into fall and the second half of the year, I wanted to share some recent updates with all of our members and supporters. We are excited to announce the latest release in the ASI-managed Brill Human-Animal Studies Book Series, The Relational Horse: How Frameworks of Communication, Care, Politics and Power Reveal and Conceal Equine Selves. In this anthology edited by Gala Argent (ASI's HAS Program Director) and Jeannette Vaught, human-horse relationships take the central place as the horse’s perspective is examined through questions such as: How are human-equine relationships communicated, enacted, understood, encouraged and restricted?



In addition to an interview with The Relational Horse's editors, Gala and Jeannette will discuss this new release in October’s ASI/ASA Colloquium Series. We’ll be sharing more information about the colloquium on our social media, so keep an eye on our platforms for the upcoming details.

I'm happy to share that ASI’s 2019 Human-Animal Studies International Development Program Awardee, the HAS-Hub at the University of Lisbon, is celebrating their grand finale CLAN (Children-Animal Friendships) Conference this week on September 22 – 23, 2022.

The conference will share findings and reflections from the past four years, and will address how children and companion animals build their mutual relationships in daily life. Closing remarks to be given by ASI Board President, Kenneth Shapiro. Registration for this online conference is free and can be found here. We hope to see you there!

Thank you for your ongoing support which enables us to continue advancing human knowledge to improve animal lives. 

With gratitude, 

The Animals & Society Institute is excited to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Society & Animals: Journal of Human-Animal Studies with all of our supporters. In honor of this milestone, ASI will be celebrating the 30th anniversary throughout the rest of the year by sharing Open Access articles each month.

Society & Animals: Journal of Human-Animal Studies

Volume 30 Issue 4 (July 2022)

Volume 30 Issue 4 is out and includes seven new articles, with one Open Access article, covering an array of human-animal related topics. Look out for our double 5/6 Issue soon!

Open Access Special Issue of JAAWS Highlights “Human-Animal Relationships and Welfare in the Anthropocene”

The Special Issue brings animal others into broader discussions about welfare, health, disaster management, and ethics in this time of extremes, where the current pandemic and the climate crisis facing our planet are placing both human and nonhuman animal lives and livelihoods at risk.

Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science

Volume 25 Issue 4 (2022)

The latest issue of JAAWS is out and includes eleven new and exciting articles that demonstrably enhance the welfare of nonhuman animals in various settings. 

Book Release—The Relational Horse: How Frameworks of Communication, Care, Politics, and Power Reveal and Conceal Equine Selves

We are excited to share the latest release in the ASI-managed Brill Human-Animal Studies Book Series, The Relational Horse: How Frameworks of Communication, Care, Politics and Power Reveal and Conceal Equine Selves, which includes two Open Access chapters.

ASI co-founder and Board President, Kenneth Shapiro, sat down with The Relational Horse editors to discuss human-horse relationships, cross-disciplinary theories, and ways forward for Human-Animal Studies to better include other animals’ lived experience and interests.

Brill Summer Book Sale

Brill, publisher of the ASI-managed Human-Animal Studies Book Series, is currently hosting a Summer Sale which offers 50% off all titles until September 30, 2022. The HAS Book Series includes both classic HAS texts and new work that explore the relationships between human and nonhuman animals from the perspective of various disciplines. 

Bear Poaching Elimination (BEA) Act, MINKS Are Superspreaders (MINKS) Act, Pigs in Gestation Stalls (PIGS) Act

This quarter, we outline a few animal-related bills that have been recently introduced. They are all concerned with the exploitation and farming of animals, both wild and domesticated. The response to each of these bills will likely be reflective of the way that domesticated farmed animals are perceived, compared to the farmed-but-still -wild bears and minks, who are the subjects of the first two acts.

The University of Athens: 2016 Winner Update 

In 2014 ASI launched the Human-Animal Studies International Development Program, a competitive program designed to provide one non-American university with an award each year. The selected universities received financial and consultative support to create and implement their own Human-Animal Studies (HAS) program.  

In 2016, The University of Athens (Athens, Greece) was awarded that year’s prize which funded the creation of the MA Animal Welfare, Ethics and the Law (AWEL) graduate course. In July 2022, AWEL hosted its first graduation ceremony, seeing sixteen of the original 56 students graduate. The remaining 40 students will have graduated by the end of 2022.  

“I would like to thank ASI on behalf of our director, admin, and teaching staff for helping us make this program happen! I hope this is the first of many graduations to come!” - Vicky Protopapadaki, MA Animal Welfare, Ethics and the Law Secretary. 

ASI Memberships

Are you or do you know someone graduating and interested in pursuing a career in an animal-related field? Members of ASI receive unique benefits and resources that can help them accomplish their goals and excel in a variety of areas involving human and animal interactions.

Become a part of the ASI community by joining as a Scholar, Student or Professional Member to take advantage of member benefits and help us carry on our good work.