Research in Human-Animal Interaction
Special Issue, June 2012
Submissions due April 1, 2012
Dear Colleague,
Throughout history, humans have experienced many different relationships with animals: companion and helper, enemy, food, entertainment, totem and god. We anthropomorphize animals. We grieve at the loss of our animal companions. We learn about humans from the work of ethologists in the scientific study of animal behaviour including aggression, altruism, communications, dominance/submission, emotions, imprinting, mating, and sex. For our June 2012 Special Issue of Clio’s Psyche: Understanding the “Why” of Culture, Current Events, History and Society, we welcome your thoughts on a variety of related subjects including those below. We seek psychoanalytic/psychological insights on the psychology of:
• The domestication of the wild and the human-animal bond
• Fear (zoophobia) & loathing of animals
• Animals as food: changing fantasies about and historical changes in taste; explorations of the eating & killing of animals, and the rejection of both
• Animals as companions, curiosities, food, pests, surrogates, totems, etc.
• Companion animal end of life issues & rituals, loss and bereavement
• Why different owners choose certain pets
• Animals as family members we love enough to pick up their feces
• Childhood relationships to animals: stuffed animals, fantasy and mythical animals (unicorns, centaurs), perceptions of pets in childhood compared to later in life (fantasy vs. reality), circuses or 4-H clubs and fairs
• The healing power of pets and animal companions, & animal-assisted therapy
• When pets assume the role of children for childless couples & empty nesters
• Control & power in human-animal interactions: obedience training, etc.
• Ethology: what we learn about humans from the scientific study of animals
• Working dogs for the disabled, military, and police
• Freud and his dogs (Chow Chow Jo-Fi, etc.) in the therapeutic setting
• Psychological correlations between exotic (extreme) pets (snakes, spiders/insects, small mammals) and the personalities of their owners
• Observing elusive animals in the wild
• Animals in circuses, laboratories, photos, workplaces, or zoos
• Extinction in fantasy, history, psychology, and science
• From killing to saving animals: Darwin, Theodore Roosevelt, et al.
• Historical & religious views on animals
• Reviews/review essays on books (The Vindication of Brutes, 1792), exhibits, films (Black Beauty, Sea Biscuit), plays (War Horse), shows, or Web sites
We seek articles from 500-1500 words—including your brief biography—by April 1, 2012. An expression of interest now and then an abstract or outline by March 10 would be helpful. An article of up to 4,000 words for a possible symposium would need to be submitted by March 1, 2012. Send documents in Microsoft Word (*.doc) or rich text (*.rtf) format to “Human-Animal Relationships” guest editor Bob Lentz at lentz@telusplanet.net.
It is the style of our scholarly quarterly to publish thought-provoking, clearly written articles based upon psychoanalytic/psychological insight, developed with examples from history, current events, and the human experience. We are open to all psychological approaches and prefer that articles be personalized, without psychoanalytic/psychological terminology or jargon, and with parenthetical citations (author, title, year, and page) but without foot/endnotes or bibliography. Submissions the editors deem suitable are anonymously refereed.
For those who are not familiar with our publication and its sponsor, Clio's Psyche is completing its 18th year of publication by the Psychohistory Forum, a 29-year-old organization of academics, therapists, and laypeople holding regular scholarly meetings in Manhattan and at international conventions. For additional information, subscription/membership questionnaire and other information may be found on our website at cliospsyche.org.
We hope you can join this important endeavor. Many of our subscribers tell us that they find our publication to be a lively, compelling read that provides in-depth analyses. Please forward this Call for Papers to any colleagues (including associations or electronic mailing lists) who may be interested. If you have any questions, please e-mail Bob Lentz at lentz@telusplanet.net or me at pelovitz@aol.com.
Sincerely yours,
Paul H. Elovitz, PhD, Historian, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist, Professor, and Editor, Clio's Psyche
P.S.: Our Thanks to Irene Javors and Nancy Unger for their ideas for this Call for Papers.