About the Author

Clif Flynn is a professor of sociology at the University of South Carolina Upstate. In 2001, he was awarded the New Animals & Society Course Award by the Humane Society of the United States.

Reviews

Inspired by the dynamic new field of Human-Animal Studies (HAS), award-winning professor of sociology Clifton Flynn has gathered a collection of 30 multi-disciplinary papers in which scientists, sociologists, philosophers, and others discuss our relationship to animals. Despite the fact that more Americans raise companion animals than children, as well as our reliance on them for science, food, and entertainment, we have completely suppressed our kinship with animals in order to maintain our profoundly disrespectful treatment of them--until now. It's been just 30 years since academics have begun to take the human-animal bond seriously, prompting the development of HAS. The discipline is primarily anthropocentric, discussing what our animal-interactions teach us about humans as well as the economic, environmental, health, and cultural impact. But with contributions from the likes of Tom Regan and Carol J. Adams, Flynn hopes readers will also consider the ways in which we affect and are responsible for non-human animals.