Session I: The Wild in Fire: Public Discourse on Aid to Wildlife in the Thomas Fire
Sub-theme
Research and Theory
Keywords
disaster, anthropocene, animals, fire
Start Date
13-10-2018 9:00 AM
End Date
13-10-2018 10:15 AM
Abstract
Should you help a wild rabbit fleeing a wall of flame? What happens when non-expert publics seek to care for the wildlife affected by the fires of the Anthropocene? In this study, we examine discourse in social media and journalism surrounding two cases of public aid to wildlife popularized online. Through our analysis of news articles, Facebook posts, and Instagram comments, we uncover ethical quandaries posed by public desires to aid wildlife and the expert responses to them, digging deeply into the relationships between humans, nonhumans, and the entanglement of their ecologies in an age of climate crisis. Ultimately we argue for the need for a more critical and holistic approach to social responsibility and environmental issues broadly, capable of including both macro-level, ecological considerations and micro-level, interactional ones regarding our affective, personal relations to the nonhuman world that may stimulate environmental concern in the first place.
Session I: The Wild in Fire: Public Discourse on Aid to Wildlife in the Thomas Fire
Should you help a wild rabbit fleeing a wall of flame? What happens when non-expert publics seek to care for the wildlife affected by the fires of the Anthropocene? In this study, we examine discourse in social media and journalism surrounding two cases of public aid to wildlife popularized online. Through our analysis of news articles, Facebook posts, and Instagram comments, we uncover ethical quandaries posed by public desires to aid wildlife and the expert responses to them, digging deeply into the relationships between humans, nonhumans, and the entanglement of their ecologies in an age of climate crisis. Ultimately we argue for the need for a more critical and holistic approach to social responsibility and environmental issues broadly, capable of including both macro-level, ecological considerations and micro-level, interactional ones regarding our affective, personal relations to the nonhuman world that may stimulate environmental concern in the first place.
