This is the final installment of "Power and Pleasure at the Dinner Table." Find part 1, An Invitation, part 2, The Party Table, and part 3, The Community Table, in previous posts. I intuitively feel the pull of how eating together can be pleasurable, a site of connection. Yet I suspect many of us likely have examples of exclusion when it comes to sharing food with others. Sometimes feelings of exclusion indicate opportunities for new experiences, such as being an omnivore at a vegan potluck. … [Read more...]
Running with Arendt
My name is Janet. I’m an Applied Philosophy PhD student at the University of Waterloo. I’m an advocate for people with addiction. And I’m a runner. Running doesn’t quite fit in with the other descriptors. When I meet new people, I get asked about what I do, where I’m from, or what I hope to do after I graduate. Running, by comparison, is something I only talk about with people who know me more personally. Friends and family are the only ones that know, for example, that I got ‘serious’ about … [Read more...]
What’s in a tweet?
There’s something almost poetic about a tweet. Consider what Audre Lorde had to say about poetry: “Of all the art forms, poetry is the most economical. It is the one which is the most secret, which requires the least physical labor, the least material, and the one which can be done between shifts, in the hospital pantry, on the subway, and on scraps of surplus paper … poetry has been the major voice of poor, working class, and Colored women. A room of one's own may be a necessity for writing … [Read more...]
Climate concerns and ambiguities of consumer action
When a vegan and a cattle farmer share a table I sat down at a table, my plate piled high with grape leaves, hummus, baba ganoush, pita, green salad, and quinoa salad. The person sitting next to me was complaining about plant-based options like the Beyond or Impossible Burger compared with beef. "They're processed. It's not good for you. not like beef." Putting aside questions about "healthy," I thought this remark missed the point. I pushed, trying to expand the conversation beyond … [Read more...]
Poets for the animals
I've been thinking about story-telling and relationships with particular animals. Consider the following two snippets: Peter Singer doesn’t love animals In the preface to the 1975 edition of Animal Liberation, Peter Singer shares a story about a time he was invited to tea. He'd begun working on Animal Liberation. Much to the surprise of his host, Singer admitted that he isn't an animal lover (p. 9). Singer came to his theory of animal liberation through rational argument, not a relationship … [Read more...]