The Rise of Therapy Animals’ Personhood

A Note on the Ontological Dimensions of Professional Dynamics

Author(s)

  • Jérôme Michalon University of Lyon Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52537/humanimalia.9456

Abstract

Based on a sociohistorical description of the emergence of animal assisted care practices, this research note explores the link between professional dynamics and the recent evolution of human-animal relationships. A joint process of professionalization and subjectivation is observed: the more these practices are defined as “therapy,” involving healthcare professionals, the more animals are seen as singular beings, even persons. It is argued that looking at human-animal relationships can bring to light the ontological dimensions of professional dynamics, and, symmetrically, that looking at professions can be relevant to understand the evolution of human-animal relationships, and contribute to reflections on animal work.

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Author Biography

  • Jérôme Michalon, University of Lyon

    Jérôme Michalon is a researcher in Sociology at The French National Centre for Scientific Research. He’s currently working at the Triangle laboratory (UMR 5206 – University of Lyon). His research interests are human-animal relationships, science studies, sociology of mobilization, and sociology of health. His work consists of a sociological exploration of social dynamics within the “benevolence towards animals’ communities.” His PhD dissertation about Animal-Assisted Therapies as a social phenomenon was published in 2014 (Panser avec les animaux. Sociologie du soin par le contact animalier, Presses de Mines, Paris). He tries to understand how health care changes the social status of some animals (namely dogs and horses). He’s also working on animal rights activism, and especially the links between advocacy and academia. He has recently published a paper about how social sciences deal with the animal issue: https://booksandideas.net/The-Animal-Cause-and-the-Social-Sciences.html

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Published

2020-03-20

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

“The Rise of Therapy Animals’ Personhood: A Note on the Ontological Dimensions of Professional Dynamics”. 2020. Humanimalia 11 (2): 131-62. https://doi.org/10.52537/humanimalia.9456.