Teaching and Advocacy: The Classroom as a Path to Activism

By Mark Berkson
Date: Sunday June 8, 2008 13:30
Duration: 20 minutes

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This presentation will discuss the ways in which teaching a course on animals and ethics can inspire future activists and itself be considered a form of activism. The talk will be based on my experience teaching a seminar on animals at Hamline University. The course, “Resources or Relatives? The Ethical Status of Non-Human Animals,” was taught exclusively to incoming first-year students as a way to introduce them to the study of animals and the process of critical, ethical reflection. I will discuss the tension between my maintaining a "neutral" or "objective" stance for pedagogical reasons and discussing my own views and commitments as a way to model the connection between ethical reflection and political action.

[End of short abstract. A more expanded discussion of the talk follows.]

An issue that loomed large in the teaching of this course was the way in which deep personal commitments and passions – of both the students and myself – shaped the trajectory of the course. As I prepared to teach this course for the first time, I had to reflect on the ways in which my personal relationships with animals, as well as my vegetarianism and political activism on behalf of animals, would or would not play a role in the classroom. The students brought a wide range of beliefs and commitments into the classroom, which produced both lively debate and periodic conflict. Within the classroom were hunters and farmers on the one hand, and animal rights activists and vegans on the other. A course on animals can therefore be the site for reflection on how to navigate passionately held differences with civility and respect.

I will also discuss the reasons that an interdisciplinary approach is required for the study of animals. Understanding the nature of the relationship between human and non-human animals and the ethical issues that arise therein, requires incorporating the perspectives of the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities. Bringing in the voices of biologists, anthropologists, theologians and novelists, among others, allows students to see the way that our understanding of animals can be illuminated through multiple methodologies.

Another issue that will be addressed is the extent to which contact with animals would be a part of the course. The limitations of speaking about animals in the abstract, and the inability to fully overcome this limitation with videos, led me to organize field trips and guest speaker opportunities that would bring students in touch with animals.

Because some students were inspired by their experiences in the course and began to reflect on possibilities for activism, I organized a symposium featuring animal activists at the end of the semester. This event gave students an opportunity to see the wide range of goals and strategies that activists employ and to hear from activists about what inspired them to commit themselves to animal causes. I conclude the talk by discussing the usefulness of putting students in dialogue with activists.