Science, Technology, and Society Program, Anthropology Program, and Environmental and Urban Studies Program Present
The Invisible Animal: The Morality of Sacrifice and Interspecies Care in Experimental Lab Science
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium
4:45 pm EDT/GMT-4
4:45 pm EDT/GMT-4
Lesley A. Sharp
Barbara Chamberlain & Helen Chamberlain Josefsberg ’30 Professor of Anthropology
Barnard College
If animal death is a frequent, and inevitable, consequence of much experimentation in laboratory science, how do human personnel understand the morality of their work? How, in turn, might anthropological understandings of death, mourning, and sacrifice facilitate our efforts to answer this question? This talk draws on data derived from long-term ethnographic research on human-animal encounters in experimental science, with a special interest in the consequences of the invisibility of animals, of human labor, and of associated lab-based practices. Whereas a focus on ethical regulations may help one root out adherence to mandated welfare practices, heeding serendipitous and innovative behaviors opens up a rich terrain where one may encounter the obscured dimensions of everyday morality and the meaning of care.
Barnard College
If animal death is a frequent, and inevitable, consequence of much experimentation in laboratory science, how do human personnel understand the morality of their work? How, in turn, might anthropological understandings of death, mourning, and sacrifice facilitate our efforts to answer this question? This talk draws on data derived from long-term ethnographic research on human-animal encounters in experimental science, with a special interest in the consequences of the invisibility of animals, of human labor, and of associated lab-based practices. Whereas a focus on ethical regulations may help one root out adherence to mandated welfare practices, heeding serendipitous and innovative behaviors opens up a rich terrain where one may encounter the obscured dimensions of everyday morality and the meaning of care.
For more information, call 845-758-7219, or e-mail [email protected].
Time: 4:45 pm EDT/GMT-4
Location: Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium