Post-anthropocentric pedagogies: purposes, practices, and insights for higher education

Abstract

What does it mean to teach in higher education (HE) from vantage points that do not privilege human self-interest, but include nonhuman animals as significant subjects of educational practice? This paper addresses human-animal relations as a nascent area of HE pedagogy. It explores premises of, and approaches to post-anthropocentric HE pedagogies through an examination of a wide range of teacher experiences as expressed in research literature in the area. Emerging from this contested and sometimes controversial terrain in the HE landscape are three key pedagogical aspects that post-anthropocentric educators across disciplines seem to share; aspects that can offer important insights for pedagogical development in HE: A passion and commitment to critical inquiry; innovative ways of connecting theoretical subject matter to life outside university; and embracing risk-taking in the teaching and learning process as a necessary part of HE teachers’ reflective practice.