Alimentary Relations, Animal Relations

Dear Colleagues,

Societies is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal of sociology published quarterly online by MDPI. For this special topics issue, we seek articles that theorize particular types of relations between humans and nonhuman animals, for instance: companion relations, relations between urban humans and feral animals, hunter-prey relations, scientist-test subject relations, sexual relations and alimentary relations. Because one of the primary ways that humans interact with nonhuman animals today is by eating them, we are particularly interested in articles that address the ways that humans relate to nonhuman animals as food, and what processes enable us to see them as such. Food Studies scholars have demonstrated the significance of what we eat to identities and processes of subjectification, while social and political theorists have argued for the need to think about subjectivity relationally. Bringing together these strands of thought, we encourage authors to submit articles that consider animal foods in terms of relationships and relational subjectivity. How do our diets and alimentary practices involve relationships with others (human and nonhuman animals in the food industry, food providers, servers and cooks)? How do we relate to ourselves as dieters or eaters? How is food a factor in our relationship choices (e.g., vegan sexuality, changing—or not changing—our diets due to relationships)? How should we theorize the practices of cooking and eating with others, and eating the cuisines of others (e.g., postcolonial concerns)? How do people engaging in counter-cultural alimentary practices (e.g., veganism) negotiate relationships with others who do not engage in these dietary regimes? We welcome submissions that engage with these or any other topics involving the theme of animal relations.

Dr. Chloe Taylor
Ms. Kelly Struthers-Montford
Dr. Bryan Hogeveen
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Societies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.