Giraud, E. (2013) Veganism as affirmative biopolitics : moving towards a posthumanist ethics? PhaenEx, 8 (2). pp. 47-79.
Abstract
This article addresses tensions within the emerging field of animal studies, which have arisen in the process of trying to craft an ethics that is not grounded in humanist rights-frameworks, by--firstly--mapping how these debates are manifested and--secondly--positing Cary Wolfe’s concept of "affirmative biopolitics" as means of overcoming these conceptual rifts. Building on work that attributes these tensions to the influence of posthumanism (Weisberg; Pedersen; Giraud), it argues that the embrace of posthumanist thought has marginalised critique by (misleadingly) framing perspectives such as ecofeminism and critical animal studies as irredeemably humanist (thus of no use in forging a non-anthropocentric ethics). To counter this marginalisation, Wolfe’s recent work on biopolitics is used to create a much-needed conversation between these perspectives. Debates surrounding veganism provide a route into instigating this dialogue, due to it being a contested practice that crystallises the differences between "mainstream" and critical animal studies. This framing of veganism not as a totalising practice but as a form of "affirmative biopolitics," however, is not solely intended to highlight affinities between apparently antagonistic perspectives, but offered as a contribution to broader debates about how a "posthumanist ethics" could be enacted in practice.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2013 The Author. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Sociological Studies (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 27 Jul 2021 09:48 |
Last Modified: | 27 Jul 2021 09:48 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | University of Windsor |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.22329/p.v8i2.4087 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:176550 |