University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2017 The “V” Word: An Inquiry into Vegan Student Experience in Calgarian Schools Thirukkumaran, Meneka Rosanna Thirukkumaran, M. R. (2017). The “V” Word: An Inquiry into Vegan Student Experience in Calgarian Schools (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/28421 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/3739 doctoral thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY The “V” Word: An Inquiry into VegAn Student Experience in CAlgAriAn Schools by MenekA RosAnnA ThirukkumarAn A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN EUCATIONAL RESEARCH CALGARY, ALBERTA APRIL, 2017 © Meneka Rosanna ThirukkumarAn 2017 Abstract In this study, I conducted focus group reseArch to exAmine the school experience of vegan youths. This reseArch wAs situAted in the context of AlbertAn trAditions And VAlues, which emphAsize rugged cowboy imagery And hAVe been especiAlly hostile towArds VegAns And VegetAriAns. AdditionAlly, little is known about the school experience of vegan children And young Adults. The majority of studies deAling with youth VegAnism primarily Attend to whether or not nutritionAl needs Are being AdequAtely met. Furthermore, the field of educAtion hAs been lArgely Anthropocentric, with no dominAnt curriculAr theorists discussing the significAnce of nonhuman Animals in relAtion to human leArning. The field of CriticAl Animal Studies hAs recently begun to theorize nonhumans bAck into pedAgogicAl frAmeworks, but the experience of VegAn students hAs not (until this study) been exAmined. I chose to study how this group of students experience school becAuse I belieVe thAt their Viewpoints cAn help to better inform curriculAr policies And practices. I conducted focus group research with ten vegan students who attended CalgAriAn public schools. I used An interView guide with semi-structured questions to help lead discussions. Throughout this process, I focused on eleVating the position of students to theorists, with VAlid concerns And recommendAtions for the field of educAtion. After AnAlyzing the trAnscriptions of the focus group sessions, I discoVered thAt these students discussed their VegAnism through three interconnected domains: society, identity, And school. CurriculAr findings specificAlly fell into explicit, implicit, And null curriculAr themes. I wAs Also surprised to find significant differences between lower And higher grades. Ultimately, this study reVeAled A need for curriculAr reform And for prActitioners to be cognizant of alternatiVe, non-dominAnt Viewpoints. In particular, students emphAsized A need for strong relAtionships with fAmily, peers, And teAchers in order to feel better supported in their VegAnism. Further reseArch into the AreA of VegAn student experience is recommended. Keywords Critical Animal Studies, CriticAl Discourse AnAlysis, humane educAtion, veganism. ii Acknowledgements Personal acknowledgements I thAnk my lAte superVisor, Dr. LisA PAnAyotidis, who worked with me fiercely And kindly, And who got me through cAndidAcy with minimal teArs. I Am Also grAteful for my superVisor Dr. Jim Field, who chAllenged me, corrected me, And grAciously took me on As A student despite his unrelenting loVe of meAt. I owe so much to my committee members, Dr. CAtherine Burwell And Dr. Anthony NocellA for their thoughtful insights, cAreful feedbAck, And tremendous support during this endeAVor. There were many other professors who celebrAted the milestones of this process with me, especiAlly the magicAl Dr. JAckie Seidel, who offered words of encourAgement and general inspirAtion. I must Acknowledge the wonderful, brAVe, And thoughtful students who Allowed me to interView them And shAre their words, stories, And experiences through this reseArch. I Am certAin thAt I would neVer hAVe made it this fAr without All my colleAgues, most notAbly SoniA AujlA-Bhullar and TowAni Duchscher, who supported me And tAught me oVer endless coffee dAtes. Likewise, I thAnk MAthew Cohen, who instigAted numerous spirited debAtes (MAt, we’re still friends). I Am grAteful for MegAn Pope And Ali MAgee for literAlly nourishing me throughout this process. Thank you everyone At VegFest for showing me thAt it is possible to enjoy working collAborAtiVely. I Am so incredibly grAteful for Jennifer BAssett And our tradition of collecting degrees together At the sAme UniVersities. FinAlly, I must express the biggest thAnk you of All to my fiAncée, YVAn RepkA, for his unwAVering support, humour, generosity, And willingness to persist through this journey with me. Institutional Acknowledgements This reseArch wAs made possible by seVerAl generous scholArships from the University of Calgary: The Queen Elizabeth II award, Faculty of Graduate Studies TrAVel AwArd, GrAduAte Student Conference AwArd, GrAduAte ProgrAms in EducAtion EngAgement scholArship, and two entrance scholArships. iii Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii Personal Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... iii InstitutionAl Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii Chapter 1- Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 Background and Situating Myself ................................................................................................ 1 A Note on Word Choice ................................................................................................................................. 4 Statement of Problem and Research Question ........................................................................ 6 Methodology and Study Design .................................................................................................... 7 Delimitations ...................................................................................................................................... 9 The Myth of HumAne ExploitAtion And the LocAVore MoVement ............................................ 10 OperAtionAl Definitions ............................................................................................................................. 14 Summary and Structure ............................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 2: Literature Review ........................................................................................... 18 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 18 A Brief Overview of Veganism and Human-Animal Relations in Canada .................... 19 Contextualizing Veganism in Alberta ...................................................................................... 27 Zoophil Psychosis and the Dismissal of Counter-Hegemonic Viewpoints .................. 32 Nonhuman Animals in Philosophy ........................................................................................... 38 Nonhumans in Educational Theory ......................................................................................... 40 Humane Education ........................................................................................................................ 47 A Brief History of HumAne EducAtion ................................................................................................. 47 ContemporAry UnderstAndings of HumAne EducAtion ................................................................ 49 CriticAlly ExAmining ContemporAry HumAne EducAtion Models ............................................ 51 A Dialogue Around Curricula ..................................................................................................... 54 Summary ........................................................................................................................................... 57 Chapter 3: Methodology ..................................................................................................... 59 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 59 Philosophical Position- An Introduction to Critical Animal Theory ............................. 60 A Brief History ............................................................................................................................................... 60 Embodied PrAxis ..........................................................................................................................................