Larry Carbone
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195161960
- eISBN:
- 9780199790067
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195161960.003.0002
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology
This chapter presents a behind-the-scenes tour of an animal laboratory. It describes what an animal experiment is, what kinds of animals are in laboratories, who the people who work in animal ...
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This chapter presents a behind-the-scenes tour of an animal laboratory. It describes what an animal experiment is, what kinds of animals are in laboratories, who the people who work in animal laboratories are, and what regulations they operate under.Less
This chapter presents a behind-the-scenes tour of an animal laboratory. It describes what an animal experiment is, what kinds of animals are in laboratories, who the people who work in animal laboratories are, and what regulations they operate under.
Lesley A. Sharp
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780520299245
- eISBN:
- 9780520971059
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520299245.003.0002
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Medical Anthropology
Chapter 1 is the first of two in part 1 of the book, “Intimacy.” A premise of this chapter is that intimate human-animal encounters are an inescapable, everyday aspect of lab work and that this ...
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Chapter 1 is the first of two in part 1 of the book, “Intimacy.” A premise of this chapter is that intimate human-animal encounters are an inescapable, everyday aspect of lab work and that this intimacy engenders affective responses. Whereas regulatory apparati and associated research practices necessitate that animals be quantified in a host of ways (most evident in numbering and logging systems), still other practices abound that evidence how lab personnel understand animals as more than mere data points or objects of research. The underlying “sentimental structures” (a phrase long used in anthropology to reference kindredness) offer rich evidence of an affective, moral registry at work in labs. Further, different species engender different sorts of responses among lab professionals, a reality I describe as species preference, where iconic species of science (e.g., lab rats and mice, macaques) evidence this. The more specifically charismatic qualities of chimpanzees and dogs are especially powerful in this way, where affective responses can vary not only from one individual lab worker to another, but also within or across a lab’s labor hierarchy, consisting of researchers, animal technicians (also known as “caretakers”), and veterinarians.Less
Chapter 1 is the first of two in part 1 of the book, “Intimacy.” A premise of this chapter is that intimate human-animal encounters are an inescapable, everyday aspect of lab work and that this intimacy engenders affective responses. Whereas regulatory apparati and associated research practices necessitate that animals be quantified in a host of ways (most evident in numbering and logging systems), still other practices abound that evidence how lab personnel understand animals as more than mere data points or objects of research. The underlying “sentimental structures” (a phrase long used in anthropology to reference kindredness) offer rich evidence of an affective, moral registry at work in labs. Further, different species engender different sorts of responses among lab professionals, a reality I describe as species preference, where iconic species of science (e.g., lab rats and mice, macaques) evidence this. The more specifically charismatic qualities of chimpanzees and dogs are especially powerful in this way, where affective responses can vary not only from one individual lab worker to another, but also within or across a lab’s labor hierarchy, consisting of researchers, animal technicians (also known as “caretakers”), and veterinarians.
Lesley A. Sharp
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780520299245
- eISBN:
- 9780520971059
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520299245.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Medical Anthropology
What are the moral challenges and consequences of animal research in academic laboratory settings? Animal Ethos considers how the inescapable needs of lab research necessitate interspecies encounters ...
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What are the moral challenges and consequences of animal research in academic laboratory settings? Animal Ethos considers how the inescapable needs of lab research necessitate interspecies encounters that, in turn, engender unexpected moral responses among a range of associated personnel. Whereas much has been written about the codified, bioethical rules and regulations that inform proper lab behavior and decorum, Animal Ethos, as an in-depth, ethnographic project, probes the equally rich—yet poorly understood—realm of ordinary or everyday morality, where serendipitous, creative, and unorthodox thought and action evidence concerted efforts to transform animal laboratories into moral, scientific worlds. The work is grounded in efforts to integrate theory within medical anthropology (and, more particularly, on suffering and moral worth), animal studies, and science and technology studies (STS). Contrary to established scholarship that focuses exclusively on single professions (such as the researcher or technician), Animal Ethos tracks across the spectrum of the lab labor hierarchy by considering the experiences of researchers, animal technicians, and lab veterinarians. In turn, it offers comparative insights on animal activists. When taken together, this range of parties illuminates the moral complexities of experimental lab research. The affective qualities of interspecies intimacy, animal death, and species preference are of special analytical concern, as reflected in the themes of intimacy, sacrifice, and exceptionalism that anchor this work.Less
What are the moral challenges and consequences of animal research in academic laboratory settings? Animal Ethos considers how the inescapable needs of lab research necessitate interspecies encounters that, in turn, engender unexpected moral responses among a range of associated personnel. Whereas much has been written about the codified, bioethical rules and regulations that inform proper lab behavior and decorum, Animal Ethos, as an in-depth, ethnographic project, probes the equally rich—yet poorly understood—realm of ordinary or everyday morality, where serendipitous, creative, and unorthodox thought and action evidence concerted efforts to transform animal laboratories into moral, scientific worlds. The work is grounded in efforts to integrate theory within medical anthropology (and, more particularly, on suffering and moral worth), animal studies, and science and technology studies (STS). Contrary to established scholarship that focuses exclusively on single professions (such as the researcher or technician), Animal Ethos tracks across the spectrum of the lab labor hierarchy by considering the experiences of researchers, animal technicians, and lab veterinarians. In turn, it offers comparative insights on animal activists. When taken together, this range of parties illuminates the moral complexities of experimental lab research. The affective qualities of interspecies intimacy, animal death, and species preference are of special analytical concern, as reflected in the themes of intimacy, sacrifice, and exceptionalism that anchor this work.
