Beyond Animal Testing: Open Rescue, Sentient Empathy, and Research-Informed Theatre - As an Extension of Ourselves… at Our Sentient Best!
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Beyond Animal Testing: Open Rescue, Sentient Empathy, and Research-Informed Theatre - As an extension of ourselves… at our sentient best! by Davis B. Mirza A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Davis B. Mirza 2016 Beyond Animal Testing: Open Rescue, Sentient Empathy, and Research-Informed Theatre- As an extension of ourselves… at our sentient best! Davis B. Mirza Masters of Art Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto 2016 Abstract If sentience is defined as the capacity of living beings to experience sense, cognition and feelings, then the concept of sentient empathy can be described as the direct identification with, understanding of, and affection to another animal's situation, feelings, and motives. As a pressing social issue, can an awareness of animal testing within universities elicit sentient empathy among a wider public? This thesis explores this question by analysing the findings from interviews with three ‘open rescue’ activists. It then examines the possibilities of utilizing Research-informed Theatre (RIT) for sharing the interview findings, with a view toward eliciting sentient empathy among the public. Keywords: Animal Ethics; Animal Testing; Sentient Empathy as Activism; Speciesism; Social Justice Education; Research Informed Theatre. ii Acknowledgements My thesis project about sentient empathy, ‘open rescue’ and Research Informed Theatre (RIT) was undertaken with the support of an incredibly smart, dedicated and creative network of artists, activists and educators. I owe them a great deal of thanks and appreciation. First, I want to thank my interview respondents, whose hard work and dedication not only helped bring this thesis to life but helped to save hundreds of animal lives for which I am forever grateful and in awe. You remind us all that animals deserve kindness, respect, compassion, empathy and love and I hope I have honoured your tireless commitment to animal rights and welfare by drafting RIT scripts that you can all be proud of. Secondly, I want to thank the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE-UT) for providing institutional support for this project. I benefited greatly from the instruction and guidance of two inspiring academics, Professor Tara Goldstein, my thesis advisor and Associate Professor Ruben Gaztambide-Fernandez, my student advisor, who with their feedback, long hours of reading, editing and brainstorming, helped breathe life into this thesis from its infancy in 2013 to its maturity in 2016. Their feedback helped deepen my analysis and sharpen my argument so that stories of ‘open rescue’ remained integral to the overall theme of the project –the promotion of sentient empathy among the public. Thirdly, I want to acknowledge and thank Irena Kohn for her diligent editing skills and the hours of hard work crafting the social justice education component of this project. By keeping me focused in the summer months, Ms. Kohn helped to shape an argument that had not yet revealed itself. Also, kudos go out to one of the most gifted formatters I have ever had the pleasure to work with – Megan McIntosh, who in one week helped to format the entire thesis while remaining positively engaged in her daily comments. I do not think I could have met the deadline without Ms. McIntosh’s consistent attention to detail and unflagging spirit. Thank you both. Finally, I want to acknowledge and thank my partner, Rhonda Costas, who never let me forget why animals need our help and empathy. Your guidance to, love of and excitement toward the completion of this project is a testament to our commitment to each other and to the cause of social justice. Amazing as always, RC! iii Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................. iv List of Figures ...................................................................................................................... viii List of Appendices ................................................................................................................ ix CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction: Purpose Statement ...................................................................................................1 Animal Testing: Statistics ...............................................................................................................2 What are the Alternatives? ............................................................................................................3 Animal Experimentation: Out-dated and Unnecessary ....................................................................4 Devaluing Animal Suffering: Intrinsic Worth as the “good of its own” ..............................................5 Hidden from View: Sentient Proximity Obstructed ..........................................................................7 Transparency: Canadian Council on Animal Care .............................................................................9 Maligning an Activist Movement .................................................................................................. 10 How and Why Do Human Beings Detach from Sentience? ............................................................. 11 Enforced Marginalization: Reducing the Animal ............................................................................ 12 Animal Studies: Disengaging Sentience ......................................................................................... 13 Empathy Deficit within Academia ................................................................................................. 13 Empathy Deficit within Public Education ....................................................................................... 14 Haraway: “Political and Scientific Emergency” .............................................................................. 15 Institutionalization of Speciesism ................................................................................................. 16 Institutional Indoctrination .......................................................................................................... 18 Disease Pathology as a Discourse ................................................................................................. 18 External Inconsistency.................................................................................................................. 20 Animal Testing: Deferring an Informed Debate ............................................................................. 23 iv Outline of the Thesis .................................................................................................................... 23 CHAPTER TWO..................................................................................................................... 26 Holism and Feminist Care Theory ................................................................................................. 26 ‘Open Rescue’: An Emotive and Subjective Response .................................................................... 30 Bridging the Gap: Taylor and Signal’s “Empathy and Attitudes to Animals” .................................... 33 Pedagogies that Imperil and Poison .............................................................................................. 36 Unpatients: The Structural Violence of Animals in Medical Education ............................................ 37 Critical Animal Studies ................................................................................................................. 38 Decentring Research: “the most vocal and the least vocal” ........................................................... 39 Feminist Care Theory in Animal Ethics .......................................................................................... 40 Carol J. Adams: Feminist Care Tradition in Animal Ethics ............................................................... 41 PETA vs Open Rescue ................................................................................................................... 41 Resistance: Empathy Springs Eternal ............................................................................................ 44 ‘Open Rescue’ Movement ............................................................................................................ 45 ‘Open Rescue’ versus Animal Liberation Front .............................................................................. 46 Moral Theory of Animal Rights: Affirming Emotions ...................................................................... 48 Pepper Rescue: “Saving Lives and Changing Hearts” ...................................................................... 49 CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................. 51 Interview Findings.......................................................................................................................