Full Description
This book presents a cultural history of human-animal relations in Germany, Japan, Russia and the United States, with a focus on the uses of animals for comfort, healing and in developing a sense of well-being. Fujimura and Nommensen discuss the contexts in which the culture of wellbeing has developed and incorporated alternative therapies with animals. The authors turn to qualitative research conducted over a period of two years in veterinary clinics, hospices, reading programs, search and rescue organizations as well as an extensive review of existing literature on cultural studies of human-animal relations to inform their analysis of complex ways in which humans and animals interact. The extent to which animals are accepted either as members of society or, in contrast, as mere material possessions poses a cultural contradiction leading to questions of the ethical treatment of animals.
Contents
Chapter 1: Animals as Therapists: How We Discovered Them and What They Do
Chapter 2: Cultural Foundations of Human-Animal Relations
Chapter 3: Well-Being through Communication with and about Our Pets
Chapter 4: Mutual Benefits through Human-Animal Contact and Training: What Science and Personal Narratives Tell
Chapter 5: The Animal's Perspective
