This is big news.
Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of Brad Goldberg of Animal Welfare Trust, New York University is launching an “Animal Studies Initiative.” The program, which will be run by Professor Dale Jamieson, will not only provide undergraduates with the opportunity to minor in animal studies, but will also help create new interdisciplinary courses, and facilitate faculty development, conferences and both undergraduate and graduate research.
For a school of the calibre of NYU to take on the subject of animal studies at this level is going to shift the whole field of study into high gear. The academic approach to animals and their place in the world is about to become the subject of serious scholarship, and none too soon. Once people really start paying attention to what’s going on, the opportunities for changing people’s consciousness could be enormous.
Like I said, big news.
Also be sure to listen to our podcast next week when our special guest will be David Wolfson, who was instrumental in creating the program and will give us the skinny on its conception, and the vision for the future of this monumental new initiative.
