Animals as Online Resources for Human Storytelling. Between Exploitation and Anthrozoological Empowerment
The paper deals with online representations of animals and examines the extent to which the digital age, with its media and specific characteristics, influences the representation of animals. The text introduces the basic questions of human animal studies, using Randy Malamud’s virtual animal concep...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Lodz University Press
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Czytanie Literatury |
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| Online Access: | https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/czytanieliteratury/article/view/24728 |
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| author | Iris Bauer |
| author_facet | Iris Bauer |
| author_sort | Iris Bauer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The paper deals with online representations of animals and examines the extent to which the digital age, with its media and specific characteristics, influences the representation of animals. The text introduces the basic questions of human animal studies, using Randy Malamud’s virtual animal concept to scrutinise online representations of animals in social media. Based on Spivak’s concept of subalternity, online-animals are discussed as subaltern representations, that are instrumentalised in human story telling: as an economic resource, as a projection surface for individual life writing and identity creation and as a means of social networking. Yet social media are also discussed as a space in which anthrozoological empowerment can take place. Based on Kari Weil’s concept of the contact zone, the virtual animal is discussed as a space of possibilities for a posthuman language that, with the help of digital possibilities of representation, unsettles anthropocentric hegemony. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7bb0d58a30ef481a950b876709dbddf9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2299-7458 2449-8386 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Lodz University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Czytanie Literatury |
| spelling | doaj-art-7bb0d58a30ef481a950b876709dbddf92025-01-27T14:24:49ZengLodz University PressCzytanie Literatury2299-74582449-83862024-12-0113678310.18778/2299-7458.13.0425298Animals as Online Resources for Human Storytelling. Between Exploitation and Anthrozoological EmpowermentIris Bauer0https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8247-0656University of LeipzigThe paper deals with online representations of animals and examines the extent to which the digital age, with its media and specific characteristics, influences the representation of animals. The text introduces the basic questions of human animal studies, using Randy Malamud’s virtual animal concept to scrutinise online representations of animals in social media. Based on Spivak’s concept of subalternity, online-animals are discussed as subaltern representations, that are instrumentalised in human story telling: as an economic resource, as a projection surface for individual life writing and identity creation and as a means of social networking. Yet social media are also discussed as a space in which anthrozoological empowerment can take place. Based on Kari Weil’s concept of the contact zone, the virtual animal is discussed as a space of possibilities for a posthuman language that, with the help of digital possibilities of representation, unsettles anthropocentric hegemony.https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/czytanieliteratury/article/view/24728human-animal studiescultural animal studiessocial mediahuman-animal lifewritinganthrozoological empowermentposthumanity |
| spellingShingle | Iris Bauer Animals as Online Resources for Human Storytelling. Between Exploitation and Anthrozoological Empowerment Czytanie Literatury human-animal studies cultural animal studies social media human-animal lifewriting anthrozoological empowerment posthumanity |
| title | Animals as Online Resources for Human Storytelling. Between Exploitation and Anthrozoological Empowerment |
| title_full | Animals as Online Resources for Human Storytelling. Between Exploitation and Anthrozoological Empowerment |
| title_fullStr | Animals as Online Resources for Human Storytelling. Between Exploitation and Anthrozoological Empowerment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Animals as Online Resources for Human Storytelling. Between Exploitation and Anthrozoological Empowerment |
| title_short | Animals as Online Resources for Human Storytelling. Between Exploitation and Anthrozoological Empowerment |
| title_sort | animals as online resources for human storytelling between exploitation and anthrozoological empowerment |
| topic | human-animal studies cultural animal studies social media human-animal lifewriting anthrozoological empowerment posthumanity |
| url | https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/czytanieliteratury/article/view/24728 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT irisbauer animalsasonlineresourcesforhumanstorytellingbetweenexploitationandanthrozoologicalempowerment |