The politics of sight and bearing witness to animal suffering: lessons from the sociology of human rights

Annie Bernatchez; José Julián López

doi:10.53981/destrocos.v6i2.60286

Authors

Annie Bernatchez University of Ottawa
José Julián López University of Ottawa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0246-2028

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53981/destrocos.v6i2.60286

Keywords:

animal rights, bearing witness, critical substantivism, human rights, politics of sight

Abstract

Bearing witness is a strategy used by both Human and Animal rights activists. For Animal Justice Citizen Activists (AJCAs), bearing witness is linked to a politics of sight enacted through farm occupation. This article draws on previous analyses of the Canadian context: text media coverage of four farm occupations, two provincial ag-gag laws, and in-depth interviews with AJCAs. Using Kurasawa’s critical substantive approach, we conceptualize this politics of sight as a mode of ethico-political practice that draws attention to the tasks and perils of bearing witness. This approach, we argue, reveals challenges otherwise concealed by existing sociological frameworks.

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Author Biographies

Annie Bernatchez, University of Ottawa

Annie Bernatchez is a sociologist and part-time professor at the University of Ottawa. Her research is situated at the intersection of political sociology, social movements, and Critical Animal studies. She is also the founder and CEO of Bernatchez & Company (bernatchez.io).
José Julián López, University of Ottawa

José J. López is a full professor at the School of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Ottawa. His research is broadly concerned with developing sociological analyses of a broad range of normative phenomena such as ethics, bioethics and human and animal rights.

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