In this thought-provoking and innovative book, Kendra Coulter examines the diversity of work done with, by, and for animals. Interweaving human-animal studies, labor theories and research, and feminist political economy, Coulter develops a unique analysis of the accomplishments, complexities, problems, and possibilities of multispecies and interspecies labor. She fosters a nuanced, multi-faceted approach to labor that takes human and animal well-being seriously, and that challenges readers to not only think deeply and differently about animals and work, but to reflect on the potential for interspecies solidarity. The result is an engaging, expansive, and path-making text.
Animals, Work, and the Promise of Interspecies Solidarity
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Coulter's first monograph, Revolutionizing Retail: Workers, Political Action, and Social Change was published in 2014 by Palgrave Macmillan. The book explores the retail sector, examining how the lives of workers in the industry can be improved. She first examines the nature of retail work, and then looks to the successes and promise of retail unions in changing workers' lives and situations. Coulter then considers retail more broadly, examining a range of possible avenues for political change including through public policy. Amanda Pyman, who reviewed the book for Times Higher Education, said that it was "Essential reading for all employment relations scholars ... Coulter should be commended for this valuable contribution to what is still, despite the prominence of retail in global economies, an understudied sector. In the process, she offers a valuable reminder of the importance of workers' struggles in organising for social change."[5][6] Revolutionizing Retail was awarded the 2015 Canadian Association for Work and Labour Studies book prize.[7]
AK: Can you elaborate on how interspecies solidarity is distinct as an approach from previous traditions of thought about animals, such as animal liberation? I was particularly struck by your arguments concerning the ways animals and humans are inextricably linked. Animal liberation and some other traditions of thought about animal rights seem more premised on human and animal separation than on the types of connection that interspecies solidarity imagines.
Is animal labour inherently oppressive, or can work be a source of meaning, solidarity, and social membership for animals? This challenging question drives this thought-provoking collection which explores the possibilities and complexities of animal labour as a site for interspecies justice. The book assembles an international and interdisciplinary group of scholars who carefully grapple with the many facets, implications, and entanglements of animal labour, and who, crucially, place animals at the heart of their analyses. Can animals engage in good work and have humane jobs? What kinds of labour rights are appropriate for animal workers? Can animals consent to work? Would recognizing animals as workers improve their legal and political status, or simply reinforce the perception that they are beasts of burden? Can a focus on labour help to create or deepen bonds between animal advocates and other social justice movements? While the authors present a range of views on these questions, their contributions make clear that labour must be taken seriously by everyone interested in more just and ethical multispecies futures.
In addition to offering critiques of the industries which cause extensive animal suffering, provide lousy jobs for people, and harm the environment and public health, more scholarly and political work is needed in order to identify and cultivate alternatives. Pivotal for such efforts are what I call humane jobs: that is, work that is good for both people and animals. Inspired by the promise of interspecies solidarity, in this paper, first I elucidate the key facets of a humane jobs agenda to provide a more detailed picture of the areas of potential and need. Then I examine two of the sub-sectors which warrant further attention: animal cruelty investigations and plant-based businesses. I identify challenges, accomplishments, and areas of possibility, paying particular attention to the opportunities for leadership in the political and economic realms.
Lin May Saeed's first solo museum exhibition surveys her drawings on and with paper as well as sculptures in Styrofoam, steel, and bronze. For the past 15 years, Saeed (German, b. 1973) has focused on the lives of animals and human-animal relations. With empathy and wit, she tells stories, both ancient and modern, of animal subjugation, liberation, and harmonious cohabitation with humans, working toward a new iconography of interspecies solidarity. 2ff7e9595c
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