Mariam Motamedi Fraser, "Dog Politics: Species Stories and the Animal Sciences" (Manchester UP, 2024)
Jan 15, 2025
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Mariam Motamedi Fraser, author of "Dog Politics: Species Stories and the Animal Sciences," explores the intricate relationship between humans and dogs. She critiques the scientific narratives shaping our understanding of canine behavior and emphasizes the importance of recognizing dogs as individuals. The conversation delves into how historical contexts, such as colonialism and anti-racist movements, inform these species stories. Fraser also highlights the emotional complexities of dogs, urging a reevaluation of research methodologies to improve their welfare.
The evolving relationship between dogs and humans suggests a complex dynamic that goes beyond simplistic notions of companionship and dependence.
Critical examination of species classification reveals how it can perpetuate harmful expectations, undermining individual dogs' identities and needs.
The concept of 'polite research' advocates for ethical methodologies in studying dogs, emphasizing their individuality and expanding our understanding of their experiences.
Deep dives
Exploring the Dog-Human Bond
The relationship between dogs and humans is often characterized as a unique bond that has evolved over thousands of years. This connection is rooted in the belief that dogs, being the first domesticated animals, inherently require and depend on human companionship. However, the assumption that all aspects of a dog's behavior and identity are shaped by this bond may oversimplify their individual experiences. There is a growing concern that emphasizing this bond perpetuates a narrow understanding of dogs, reducing their identities to mere reflections of human needs and emotions.
Challenging Species Assumptions
The concept of species, particularly when applied to dogs, is critically examined and is posited to contribute harmful expectations regarding their behavior and treatment. This includes the idea that dogs must conform to a certain set of standards defined through a species lens, effectively erasing their individuality. The historical context of species classification often reinforces a hierarchy where the needs and challenges faced by individual dogs are overlooked. As a result, behavioral issues in dogs may be labeled as problems rather than understood as responses to their environments and relationships with humans.
The Authority of Science in Animal Studies
Science has traditionally held a dominant role in the study of animals, establishing categories and principles that often marginalize other forms of knowledge. This hegemony has a deep historical context, where the division between the sciences and humanities has led to a lack of consideration for individual narratives and local understandings. Even as scientific advancements call existing divisions into question, the prevailing focus remains on biological and physiological aspects, sidelining the social and emotional dimensions of animals' lives. This reliance on a scientific perspective can sometimes restrict the understanding of the broader implications of animal behavior and the relationships they form.
The Implications of Dog Socialization
Dog socialization has become a focal point in addressing canine behavior, yet it comes with its own complexities and ethical questions. The concept suggests that proper socialization is necessary for a dog to function well within human-centric environments, which can lead to detrimental expectations regarding their natural behavior. When dogs exhibit fear or aggression, solutions typically lean toward modifying the dogs' behavior instead of reassessing the human environments that may be the root cause of those issues. This dynamic illustrates how societal pressures impact the lives of dogs, forcing them into molds rather than recognizing their unique emotional experiences.
Rethinking Research Practices with Dogs
The idea of 'polite research' proposes a new framework for examining how research can be conducted with dogs, emphasizing the importance of securing a dog's interest and recognizing individual differences. This approach encourages the exploration of what dogs can express and experience beyond preconceived notions shaped by species narratives. By focusing on relational dynamics between dogs and researchers, it opens up a discourse on the ethical implications of how studies are designed and the validity of their outcomes. Ultimately, this calls for a re-evaluation of methodologies to better accommodate the individuality of dogs, highlighting the complexity of their lives within human environments.
Do dogs belong with humans? Scientific accounts of dogs' 'species story,' in which contemporary dog-human relations are naturalised with reference to dogs' evolutionary becoming, suggest that they do. Dog Politics: Species Stories and the Animal Sciences(Manchester UP, 2024) by Dr. Mariam Motamedi Fraser dissects this story.
This book offers a rich empirical analysis and critique of the development and consolidation of dogs' species story in science, asking what evidence exists to support it, and what practical consequences, for dogs, follow from it. It explores how this story is woven into broader scientific shifts in understandings of species, animals, and animal behaviours, and how such shifts were informed by and informed transformative political events, including slavery and colonialism, the Second World War and its aftermath, and the emergence of anti-racist movements in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The book pays particular attention to how species-thinking bears on 'race,' racism, and individuals.
This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose forthcoming book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars.
