About the Course
Multispecies Imagination is a free, online course on animal studies, an interdisciplinary field that explores humans' relationship with other animals. Why is it called multispecies imagination? Multispecies imagination, the ability to take the perspective of other animals, is one of the most important insights animal studies has to offer. When we look at our lives with a multispecies imagination, we will see a world that is otherwise hidden. Consider the photograph on the right. When we learn to see the physical and metaphorical tracks animals leave in our lives, we will uncover a much more diverse and exciting world.
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By Anne Burgess, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14477383
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Course Aims
The course aims to introduce you to animal studies and some of its key concepts like multispecies imagination and value paradigms. It also aims to help you apply animal studies and its key concepts to your own life.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
Lessons
To meet its aims and objectives, the course offers several lessons, which you can access by clicking on the Lessons tab in the top bar. Each lesson begins with a set of learning objectives and assessments, followed by five types of activities: Learn, Apply, Reflect, Share, and Discuss. Learn activities are presentations, articles, and other readings to help you learn about animal studies and its key concepts. Apply activities are tasks to help you apply animal studies and its key concepts to your interactions with other animals and the animal-human relationship. Reflect activities are journal entries, revisions, and other writings to help you reflect on the connections among animal studies, its key concepts, your interactions with other animals, and the animal-human relationship. Share activities are forum, blog, and other posts to help you share your thoughts on animal studies with your peers. Discuss activities are forum, blog, and other comments to help you discuss animal studies with your peers.
Blog, Forum, and Resources
In addition to the lessons, the course offers a blog, forum, and resource list, which you can access by click on the Forum, Blog, and Resources tabs in the top bar. The forum features course-related discussion threads as well as additional animal studies-related discussion threads. The blog features course-related posts as well as additional animal studies-related posts. The resource list features a course bibliography as well as additional animal studies resources.
Other Information
Communication Policy
To communicate in the course, we will be using email, Google Drive, and the course forum. For a more detailed communication policy, please click here.
Technology Requirements
To complete the course, you will need a computer, internet access, an email account, Google Drive access, and Slack access. For more detailed technology requirements, please click here.
Required Texts and Readings
All required texts and readings are freely available online and accessible through the lessons. For a complete list of required texts and readings, please click here.
Grading
Currently, you cannot receive credit for taking this course, and you will not receive a grade for it. However, I will give you detailed feedback on each of your course assignments and actively participate in course discussions along with you.
The course aims to introduce you to animal studies and some of its key concepts like multispecies imagination and value paradigms. It also aims to help you apply animal studies and its key concepts to your own life.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Define animal studies and its key concepts in your own words.
- Explain the connections among animal studies and its key concepts.
- Apply animal studies and its key concepts to your interactions with other animals and the animal-human relationship.
- Explain how animal studies and its key concepts can help improve your interactions with other animals and the animal-human relationship.
- Discuss animal studies and its key concepts with your peers.
Lessons
To meet its aims and objectives, the course offers several lessons, which you can access by clicking on the Lessons tab in the top bar. Each lesson begins with a set of learning objectives and assessments, followed by five types of activities: Learn, Apply, Reflect, Share, and Discuss. Learn activities are presentations, articles, and other readings to help you learn about animal studies and its key concepts. Apply activities are tasks to help you apply animal studies and its key concepts to your interactions with other animals and the animal-human relationship. Reflect activities are journal entries, revisions, and other writings to help you reflect on the connections among animal studies, its key concepts, your interactions with other animals, and the animal-human relationship. Share activities are forum, blog, and other posts to help you share your thoughts on animal studies with your peers. Discuss activities are forum, blog, and other comments to help you discuss animal studies with your peers.
Blog, Forum, and Resources
In addition to the lessons, the course offers a blog, forum, and resource list, which you can access by click on the Forum, Blog, and Resources tabs in the top bar. The forum features course-related discussion threads as well as additional animal studies-related discussion threads. The blog features course-related posts as well as additional animal studies-related posts. The resource list features a course bibliography as well as additional animal studies resources.
Other Information
Communication Policy
To communicate in the course, we will be using email, Google Drive, and the course forum. For a more detailed communication policy, please click here.
Technology Requirements
To complete the course, you will need a computer, internet access, an email account, Google Drive access, and Slack access. For more detailed technology requirements, please click here.
Required Texts and Readings
All required texts and readings are freely available online and accessible through the lessons. For a complete list of required texts and readings, please click here.
Grading
Currently, you cannot receive credit for taking this course, and you will not receive a grade for it. However, I will give you detailed feedback on each of your course assignments and actively participate in course discussions along with you.
About the Instructor
My name is Stephen Vrla, and I'm a Dual Major PhD candidate in Sociology and Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education at Michigan State University. I'm also earning Graduate Specializations in Animal Studies and Environmental Science & Policy, as well as a Certification in College Teaching. I created this course because I'm passionate about animal studies and want to introduce more people to it. In particular, I'm hoping to reach people who are unable to take animal studies courses taught at colleges and universities. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me here.
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By Geoffrey Vrla
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My Experience with Animal Studies
As a senior in college, I took an elective course on environmental studies. In that course, my professor, Dr. Bill Lynn, introduced me to animal studies and one of its key concepts: value paradigms, conceptual maps of who we include in our moral community. More specifically, he introduced me to the value paradigms of anthropocentrism, biocentrism, ecocentrism, and geocentrism. According to anthropocentrism, Western society's dominant value paradigms, humans are included in the moral community, but other animals and the environment are not. In contrast, biocentrism includes humans and other animals; ecocentrism includes humans and the environment; and geocentrism includes humans, other animals, and the environment. Until that point in my life, I had not even considered the possibility that I could include other animals and the environment in my moral community. Since then, I have devoted my life to expanding the boundary of my moral community to include other animals and the environment, as well as teaching other people about animal studies and its key concepts.
As a senior in college, I took an elective course on environmental studies. In that course, my professor, Dr. Bill Lynn, introduced me to animal studies and one of its key concepts: value paradigms, conceptual maps of who we include in our moral community. More specifically, he introduced me to the value paradigms of anthropocentrism, biocentrism, ecocentrism, and geocentrism. According to anthropocentrism, Western society's dominant value paradigms, humans are included in the moral community, but other animals and the environment are not. In contrast, biocentrism includes humans and other animals; ecocentrism includes humans and the environment; and geocentrism includes humans, other animals, and the environment. Until that point in my life, I had not even considered the possibility that I could include other animals and the environment in my moral community. Since then, I have devoted my life to expanding the boundary of my moral community to include other animals and the environment, as well as teaching other people about animal studies and its key concepts.