
The Animal Turn
Animals are increasingly at the forefront of research questions – Not as shadows to human stories, or as beings we want to understand biologically, or for purely our benefit – but as beings who have histories, stories, and geographies of their own. Each season is set around themes with each episode unpacking a particular animal turn concept and its significance therein. Join Claudia Hirtenfelder as she delves into some of the most important ideas emerging out of this recent turn in scholarship, thinking, and being.
The Animal Turn
S1E10: Grad Review with Hira Jaleel and Paulina Siemieniec
In this final episode of Season 1, Claudia talks to Paulina Siemieniec and Hira Jaleel about the theme of Animals and the Law. Together they unpack some of the overarching ideas to emerge in episodes 1 to 9 and highlight areas that could be explored more in future.
Date recorded: 7 July 2020
Guests: Hira Jaleel is a lawyer based out of Pakistan. Hira has recently graduated with an LLM in Animal Law from Lewis & Clark Law School on a Fulbright scholarship. Hira’s LLM thesis – titled “Wildlife Protection in Pakistan – An Overview of Statutory and Case Law” – analyzed the historical development of wildlife protection laws and jurisprudence in Pakistan, the weaknesses and strengths of existing laws as well as how superior courts in Pakistan approach wildlife disputes. During her LLM, Hira interned with Animal Law Reform South Africa and was part of the Animal Law Litigation Clinic – the first and only law clinic in the US focused specifically on animal law litigation and on farmed animals. You can connect with her on Twitter (@hirajaleel) or via email (hirajaleel@gmail.com).
Paulina Siemieniec is a PhD student in the Department of Philosophy at Queen’s University under the supervision of Will Kymlicka. Her research interests include animal politics, ethics and law as well as intersectional (eco)feminism and animal care theory. She is the recipient of the 2019-2020 R.S. McLaughlin Fellowship. She has presented her work at the 2019 European Association for Critical Animal Studies conference in Barcelona, Spain and at the University of Victoria for the Animals and Society Research Initiative’s 2019 Emerging Scholars Workshop in Law, Animals, and Society. She is also the coordinator of the A.P.P.L.E. reading group at Queen’s University and volunteers at Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre as part of her doctoral research project. You can connect with her via email (13ps75@queensu.ca).
Host: Claudia Hirtenfelder is a PhD Candidate in Geography and Planning at Queen’s University and is currently undertaking her own research project that looks at the historical relationships between animals and cities. Connect with her on Twitter (@ClaudiaFTowne).
Featured readings/speeches: Animals as Legal Beings: Contesting Anthropocentric Legal Orders by Maneesha Deckha (forthcoming, Fall 2020), Zoopolis: A Political Theory of Animal Rights written by Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka; Keynote Speech
A.P.P.L.EAnimals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities.
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The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website.
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