Understanding Animal Abuse: A Sociological Analysis

by Clifton R. Flynn PhD

Overview

First published by Simon & Schuster in 1993 and then by Continuum in 1998, Jim Mason's An Unnatural Order has become a classic. Now in a new Lantern edition, the book explores, from an anthropological, sociocultural, and holistic perspective, how and why we have cut ourselves off from other animals and the natural world, and the toll this has taken on our consciousness, our ability to steward nature wisely, and the will to control our own tendencies. Jim Mason writes: "My own view is that the primal worldview, updated by a scientific understanding of the living world, offers the best hope for a human spirituality. Life on earth is the miracle, the sacred. The dynamic living world is the creator, the First Being, the sustainer, and the final resting place for all living beings—humans included. We humans evolved with other living beings; their lives informed our lives. They provided models for our existence; they shaped our minds and culture. With dominionism out of the way, we could enjoy a deep sense of kinship with the other animals, which would give us a deep sense of belonging to our living world. "Then, once again, we could feel for this world. We could feel included in the awesome family of living beings. We could feel our continuum with the living world. We could, once again, feel a genuine sense of the sacred in the world."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781590563397
Publisher:	Lantern Publishing & Media
Publication date:	09/01/2004
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	96
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Clifton P. Flynn is provost, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and professor of sociology at the University of South Carolina Upstate. He earned his PhD from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and has been at USC Upstate since 1988. He has also served as chair of the Department of Sociology, Criminal Justice, and Women’s Studies (2008–2013), as well as associate vice chancellor for academic affairs (2013–2015).

Table of Contents

Introduction and Acknowledgments vii

1 Why Studying Animal Abuse Is Important 1

Defining Animal Abuse 2

Why Violence to Animals Was Ignored 3

Why Animal Abuse Must Receive Attention 4

2 A Sociological Approach to Understanding Animal Abuse 17

Individual/Psychopathological vs. Social/Cultural Models of Violence and Abuse 17

Social Structure and Animal Abuse 19

3 The Connections between Animal Abuse and Human Violence 33

Family Violence 33

Other Forms of Violence and Antisocial Behavior 40

4 "The Link" 47

The Progression Thesis/Graduation Hypothesis 47

Evaluating the Evidence for "the Link" 50

Issues and Challenges for Future Research on the Link 54

5 Explaining Animal Abuse: Theoretical Perspectives 63

Feminist Theories 63

Symbolic Interactionism 65

Combining the Two Approaches: A Feminist-Interactionist Explanation of Woman-Battering and Pet Abuse 75

Agnew's Social-Psychological Theory of Animal Abuse 82

6 Recommendations for Policy and Professionals and Directions for Future Research 87

Policy Recommendations 87

Directions for Future Research 95

7 Expanding the Sociological Imagination: An Inclusive Sociology of Animal Abuse 109

Conclusions 111

References 113

About the Author 131