New Article Published at ‘Gender, Place & Culture’

Usually, I stick with the non-academic subjects on the blog, but occasionally I like to share the academic work I’m doing. In addition to working on the dissertation, I’ve also been working on some publishing projects: a few articles and two different edited book projects. Recently, an article of mine just came out at the feminist geography journal, […]

Near Escape: A Story from a California “Livestock” Auction

A group of young breeding bulls just sold at auction were herded into the chute to the transport truck. Their coats were black and shiny and they were in good shape. Strong and energetic — the picture of health. Two men herded them, one with a paddle and the other with an electric prod. As they neared […]

“I’m not your mother!”: A Story from a California “Livestock” Auction

A day-old Holstein calf stood alone in the auction pen. Tish and I sat in the bleachers waiting for the auction to begin. The auction ring was clean — this was the first auction of the day and the wood shavings lining the floor of the pen had not yet been soiled by animals passing […]

Meatonomics by David Simon

Have you all seen this book? MEATONOMIC$, by David Simon was released earlier this month. My copy arrived in the mail late last week (I had preordered it!) and I’m eager to begin reading it. I think it will be a great text to include in my Animals, Ethics and Food class and as recommended […]

2013 ICAS Conference “(De)Colonized Bodies, (De)Colonized Lives” Talk

The Institute for Critical Animal Studies Conference this year was wonderful — I met and reconnected with so many great people and saw some really interesting talks. The ICAS organizers live-streamed all the talks so that people who could not attend the conference in person could still participate (both as speakers and audience members). Dylan […]

Sitting Quietly at a ‘Cull Market’ Auction

Every now and then, I’m deeply ashamed to be part of the human species. Last Wednesday was one of those days. I went to a cull market auction with my friend Tish, who kindly agreed to go with me and who, afterward, wrote a very nice post about buddy system research on her blog. We arrived […]

Dissertation Update & Working Through Emotional Roadblocks

I’ve had some requests from a number of readers now to talk a bit more about my dissertation research. So I thought I’d give you an update on where I am in the process. I spent the late-spring/early summer trying to gain access to small-scale dairy farms in the area. I focused on mostly the […]

Remembering Sadie

Earlier this week, I heard some very sad news. Sadie, one of the cows I met earlier this summer at Animal Place in California, died. She was fourteen. I wrote briefly about her story in “Sharing Testimony: An Activist Project for Animals” at Our Hen House earlier this summer. When I met Sadie, her story broke […]