Encircling the animal-industrial complex: Social science reflections on Animal Rebellion and the legacy of direct action for climate/animal activism
Wednesday, June 30- 10:30-12:00(BST)
Chair: Alex Lockwood, PhD (University of Sunderland)
Presentation 1: Why Language?
Speaker: Emma Franklin (University of Sheffield)
Abstract
When direct action is required, few people think of language. In some forms of activism, language intervention can even be met with hostility: we need bolt cutters, not better words. But language itself is a form of direct action; language disrupts, controls, persuades and resists. The language we choose to use, as well as the language we hear, has an immeasurable impact on our thoughts, our actions, and the world around us, and awareness of language is a powerful tool to have in our arsenal. This talk will draw on the works of Arran Stibbe, Joan Dunayer and George Lakoff to demonstrate the critical role of language in achieving justice for animals, both in terms of our everyday interactions and in our organised campaigns. Clever use of framing and narrative has long been recognised as a cornerstone of activism in other social justice movements, and only now is it beginning to receive serious attention in the case of animal justice. In this talk, specific examples will be used to illustrate the importance of framing to our cause, and the case will be made for a carefully considered, language-driven strategy.
Presentation 2: Creativity and Strategic Narrative in Telling Animal Stories.
Speaker: Alex Lockwood (University of Sunderland)
Abstract
“As Dr Franklin shows us, the language we use to tell the stories of more than human worlds and the other animals who live in them is critical in shaping our relationships with them. Here, I present findings from research conducted from interviews with the core initiating team of Animal Rebellion as well as close reading and textual analysis of the movement’s materials, exploring how many Animal Rebellion employed narrative models to make a sea change in animal rights activism in the UK. I then look at ways to deconstruct and reconstruct these concepts to defamiliarize normal exploitative relations and present opportunities to reframe and so reform relationships into more just, equal and co-creative multispecies worlds.
From this research, I present a framework for how a better understanding of story structure and the way narrative operates within social movements can aid national and local level advocacy organisations in creating more effective messaging strategies for its target audiences as well as for movement cohesion and efficacy. This can then bring about long-lasting pro-animal shifts in behaviour. And frustrated by the many calls across activism and civil society calling for ‘a new story’ without actually providing one, this talk will offer up specific examples developed through this process. Here, multiple stories fit together to create new strategic narratives that can, over time, change the common sense conversation towards one where we think of animals as moral subjects in their own right. “
Presentation 3: Rebelling for All Species: A Case Study in Connecting Climate and Animal Justice.
Speaker: Kerri Waters (Animal Rebellion)
Abstract
Over the last year, as names like Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion have become commonplace in UK households, the public has become more attuned to the climate crisis than ever before. Yet for a long time, public dialogue has largely glossed over the environmental damage of animal farming. Meanwhile, despite animal advocates and environmentalists sharing plenty of common ground, the climate movement has seldom discussed how animals ought to be included in society’s visions for climate justice. In an effort to bring the animal justice and climate movements together, in 2019 a group of animal advocates formed Animal Rebellion, a mass movement organisation working alongside Extinction Rebellion and which argues that if we hope to end the climate emergency, we must end the animal farming and fishing industries. This talk will tell the story of Animal Rebellion from an organiser’s perspective, reflecting upon experiences in the streets to draw out key learnings about movement strategy, coalition building, not just with fellow activists but with farming groups, and how we might move forward in building public support for a transition away from animal farming.
Presentation 4: Social Movements, Strategy, Grassroots, Organising.
Speaker: Dan Kidby (Animal Think Tank)
Abstract
Social change happens in a myriad of ways: 1-1 personal transformation, such as vegan outreach; creating of alternatives, whether sanctuaries, clean meat, or direct action; and political campaigning, including social movements. This talk will explore some of the work on best practice from past and contemporary social movements that is applicable to Animal Justice, including the lived experience of organising with Animal Rebellion. In particular the session will consider the different aspects of ‘Momentum-driven Organising’, notably: story, strategy, organising structure, culture and leadership development. Momentum-driven Organising builds on the work of Gene Sharp’s nonviolent civil resistance and other theorists and organisers to offer a framework for organising social movements. Key components are Story-based Strategy, which is well established as a methodology, and decentralized organising and movement culture. The approach has been fully or partially adopted by many grassroot campaigning groups in North America in particular, including Sunrise, 350.org, IfNotNow, Black Lives Matter, etc. Sharp’s underlying theory has been applied particularly across the global south and ex-USSR states to remove dictators, as exemplified by Otpor! In Serbia. The talk will explore how the approach can be applied to Animal Justice, and ask what questions remain for social movement organisers and researchers to explore and understand in order to build a mass movement for Animal Justice.