Wednesday, February 17, 2010

How things have changed since the mid-90s

I just took advantage of this one day sale from Indiana UPress (hurry, and some of you may be able to, as well). Well, I picked up a copy of Reinventiong Biology, which is an edited collection dealing with experimental biology and animals published in 1995. When looking at the Amazon.com description of the book, the closing lines of the review caught me eye:
A welcome addition to the literature critiquing science and an excellent resource for courses on the conceptual framework of science or objectivity in science.

What is worth noting here is that a book that is primarily about the intersection of science and animals (with some about plants and other non-human beings), is being sold for courses about science rather than courses about science and/or animals. I have no real proof of this, but I have trouble believing such a description would be written about the book if it were being published today. I think in general the idea that we have courses on animals or something called critical animal studies or animal studies or whatever exists.
Just a random throwaway thought before I get back to work.