Introduction to Perceptual Encounters: “Sensing” the Field of Human-Animal Studies

We first came together at the Human-Animal Studies Summer Institute Program in the summer of 2017. Hosted by the Animals and Society Institute and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, this symposium was an opportunity to hear from and ask questions of people in the field of human-animal studies, to give and receive feedback on works in progress from colleagues in a range of fields, to see and listen to examples of animal-centered art, to visit a local goat farm, and to engage with the multitude of species found in Champaign, Illinois. Many encounters took place at this event. Early career scholars mingled with people who helped to build the field of human-animal studies. Academics who frequently work within traditional fields of study collaborated across disciplinary boundaries. The fine arts met the humanities. The hard sciences met the social sciences. Artists, musicologists, literary critics, gender studies scholars, historians, sociologists, political scientists, veterinarians, equine therapists, lawyers, and many more were working together in the same space. Those who primarily identify as researchers joined academics whose main identity is that of teacher. Some considered themselves activists first. Vegans and vegetarians dined at the same tables as pescatarians and meat-eaters. We all encountered nonhuman life: the companion dogs who came to visit with people who lived nearby; the goats and dog at the aforementioned farm; an injured owl and falcon from a local wildlife rescue; the snake brought in by a member of the group; the fireflies or lightning bugs that were a phenomenal new sight for some participants from other countries; the campus squirrels; the dead baby rabbit found on a sidewalk that a colleague decided to bury; and for some of us, the food on our plates. With all these encounters, slippages occurred between humans and nonhuman animals, between fields of study,