A Sociology of Sociological Animal Studies

I am convinced that the most formidable barriers to the future development of sociological nonhuman animal studies are internal rather than external to sociology. The obstacles come from sociologists, both those who do and do not do research in this area, and how they think about the study of humananimal relationships. As I considered these barriers, and how future research could address or remedy them, I found myself asking some “old” questions that some sociologists have asked before, such as why is there a lack of interest within sociology to animal studies, and some new questions, such as should sociologists who do animal studies adopt a different approach to this area? Despite the fact that some of these issues are inevitably part of the formation and growth of any new specialty, I do not think it is a waste of time to pose these “sociology of sociology” concerns and revisit them from time to time to foster healthy self-reflection and awareness, if not some new strategies for growth.