Sunaura Taylor's Beasts of Burden:
A Book Presentation and Artist Talk
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
6 to 8pm
[Image Description: The front cover of Sunaura Taylor’s book Beasts of Burden. Against a light sea green background in white lettering at the top “‘Sunaura Taylor will turn your world inside out."‘ - Rebecca Solnit.” is written. Beneath the quote in a deep blue color is written BEASTS OF BURDEN with the subtitle “Animal and Disability Liberation” written in a chartreuse color. Below that, in white, is a cow to the left with their head down; it is implied that their hind legs use a wheelchair also in white. To the right of the cow is a person in a wheelchair. Below the image is the author’s name “Sunaura Taylor” in white.]
In her recently published book Beasts of Burden, artist Sunaura Taylor proposes that issues of disability and animal justice - which have heretofore primarily been presented in opposition - are in fact deeply entangled. Fusing philosophy, memoir, science, and the radical truths these disciplines can bring - whether about factory farming, disability oppression, or our assumptions of human superiority over animals - Taylor draws attention to new worlds of experience and empathy that can open up important avenues of solidarity across species and ability. How can thinking about disability help us to see animals differently?
In her work Taylor says "I found that the disabled body is everywhere in animal industries. I also found that the animal body is integral to the ways disabled bodies and minds are oppressed in the United States today." Thus begins her thoughtful investigation in which she uncovers how the path to liberation for animals is intertwined with the ongoing fight for disability rights. All bodies are subjected to the oppression of ableism. Beasts of Burden is an elegantly written work of activism, philosophy and the personal, by a brilliant voice.
Sunaura Taylor is an artist and writer based in New York City and the author of Beasts of Burden: Animal and Disability Liberation (The New Press). She has written for AlterNet, American Quarterly, BOMB, Monthly Review, Qui Parle, and Yes! magazine and has contributed to the books Ecofeminism, Defiant Daughters, Occupy!, Stay Solid, and Infinite City. Taylor and Judith Butler's conversation is featured in the film Examined Life and the book of the same name, published by The New Press.