A More-than-human Perspective on Research Ethics

Keywords: Ethics, Research Ethics, Privacy, Consent, More-than-human Stakeholders, Anthropocene, Anthropocentrism, Bias

  1. Overview
  2. Peer-reviewed publications
  3. Blogs & essays
  4. Presentations
  5. Podcasts
  6. Workshops
  7. Resources related to ethics
  8. Co-authors & collaborators

Overview

For anthrozoologists, research involves both humans and other animals as active participants and actors within ethnographic investigation. Concerned with the ethical implications of research beyond the human species, anthrozoologists are often faced with navigating how to protect and advocate for more-than-human informants. We face similar issues to other researchers working with vulnerable groups where unequal power dynamics are manifest. Anthrozoology therefore presents a unique lens through which to view the current research ethic processes and practices. Other-than-human animals are involved or impacted by research in a variety of direct and indirect ways. As anthrozoologists with ethical commitments towards other-than-human animals, we engage with and problematise complex issues surrounding our own research and that of more anthropocentrically driven research approaches.

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Peer-reviewed publications

More coming soon… (under review!)

J. Hooper, T. Aiello, K. Hill, M. Szydlowski, S. Oxley Heaney (2023). Nothing More than ‘Anti-Cull Activists’: Accusations of Bias and the Politics of Research that Advocates for Non-Human Animals. Animal Studies Journal, 12(1), 70-95. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14453/asj/v12i1.6

See here for a full list of my publications.

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Blogs & essays

S. Oxley Heaney, K. Hill, M. Szydlowski, J. Hooper (2023, 8 Nov). Snap Judgments: Ethical Complexities in Photographing More-Than-Human Animals. MASTERY – Managing Sensitive Topics in Teaching and Research Confidently, University of Birmingham. Read here.

K. Hill, J. Hooper, S. Oxley Heaney, M. Szydlowski (2023, 5 May). Taking on the more-than-human perspective on research ethics. Research Ethics Association (REA) blog, Read here.

K. Hill (2022, 30 June). Respecting the privacy of my feline research participants. The Exeter Anthrozoology as Symbiotic Ethics (EASE) Blog. Read here.

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Presentations

K. Hill, J. Hooper, S. Oxley Heaney, M. Szydlowski, T. Aiello (2022, 7 October). Collaborating for a less anthropocentric anthrozoology. PGR/ECR Conference for Sociology, Philosophy, Anthropology and Politics: Collaboration and Empowerment. University of Exeter, UK (Hybrid).

K.Hill (2021, 3 December). The private lives of cats: Why, when, and how should the privacy of otherthanhuman animals be respected? Reframing Anthrozoology as Symbiotic Ethics (RASE). University of Exeter, UK (Online). Programme here.

J. Hooper, K. Hill, S. Oxley Heaney, M. Szydlowski (2021, 8 November). The Ethics of Privacy in Anthrozoological Investigations. ANIMAL/PRIVACY: Historical and Conceptual Approaches University of Copenhagen, Denmark, University of Kent, UK (Online). Programme here.

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Podcasts

A two-part episode (EP9 & EP10) of The Anthrozoology Podcast builds upon a workshop we hosted at the Research Ethics Conference 2021 (REC2021) on ‘Problematizing the Ethics Process: An Anthrozoological Perspective‘.

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Workshops

K.Hill, J. Hooper, S. Oxley Heaney, M. Szydlowski (2023, 7 July). ‘Integrity is doing the right thing when you don’t have to–when no one else is looking or will ever know’ (Marshall, 2002, p142). Research Ethics Conference 2023 (REC2023), University of Bath, UK (Hybrid). Programme here.

J. Hooper, S. Oxley Heaney, K. Hill, M. Szydlowski (2021, 3 December). Problematizing the Ethics Process: An Anthrozoological Perspective. Reframing Anthrozoology as Symbiotic Ethics (RASE), University of Exeter, UK (Online). Programme here.

J. Hooper, S. Oxley Heaney, K. Hill, M. Szydlowski (2021, 25 June). Problematizing the Ethics Process: An Anthrozoological Perspective. Research Ethics Conference 2021 (REC2021), University of Exeter, UK (Online). Programme here.

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Coming soon…

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Co-authors & collaborators

Sarah Oxley Heaney is an Anthrozoology PhD candidate at the University of Exeter. Her doctoral project ‘Kissing Sharks’, is based upon examining unique, intimate shark-human relationships through posthuman and symbolic interactionist lenses. The founder of a volunteer street-living animal charity in Saudi Arabia, Sarah continues her activist-researcher approach to study feline lives in Saudi Arabia. Read more: www.kissingsharks.com 

Michelle Szydlowski  earned her PhD in Anthrozoology from the University of Exeter in 2021. She has spent the last eight years teaching at colleges and universities, and currently serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor with Miami University’s Project Dragonfly. She has been ‘commuting’ to Nepal for more than a decade, building relationships with stakeholders of multiple species, supporting non-profits, and conducting research. Michelle especially loves large, grey animals that eat lots of vegetables. Read more: https://internationalelephants.org/

Jes Hooper earned her PhD in Anthropology from the University of Exeter in 2024 and is founder of The Civet Project, a non-profit organisation dedicated to raising awareness about the plight of civets used in coffee production. Jes is also co-founder of Emerging Voices for Animals in Tourism (EVAT).

Tom Aiello is a professor of History and African American studies at Valdosta State University in Georgia, USA. He is the author of more than twenty books and dozens of peer-reviewed journal articles. Tom also writes about the relationship between humans and animals, in particular the role of speciesism and human supremacy in creating vulnerabilities for nonhuman animals. Dr. Dr. Aiello holds two doctorates: his first PhD was in History and Africana studies, and more recently he earned a PhD in Anthrozoology. Read more: https://www.thomasaiellobooks.com/

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