Library Activities
Diane Beers 2:30pm on December
4, 2007
Frost 309
About the Author
Originally from south central Pennsylvania, Diane L. Beers graduated
Summa Cum Laude from Hood College in Maryland and earned a Ph.D.
in U.S. history at Temple University in Philadelphia. While at
Temple, she combined her interests in social justice movements,
animal rights, and environmentalism by writing her dissertation
on the history of animal advocacy in America. This research evolved
into her first book, For the Prevention of Cruelty: The History
and Legacy of Animal Rights Activism in the United States,
released in July 2006 by Ohio University Press. Currently, Diane
is a professor of history at Holyoke Community College in Massachusetts
where she teaches courses in social, environmental, African American,
civil rights, and women’s history. She also chairs the Critical
Cultural Studies department at HCC. Beyond her work, Diane contributes
time to several environmental and animal advocacy organizations
and enjoys hiking with friends.
About the Book
Publishers Weekly
May 8, 2006
*Starred Review*
Destined to become a classic in its field, historian Beers's study
of the animal advocacy movement in the U.S. since the ASPCA's
founding in 1866 fills a glaring historical gap with exceptional
style, accuracy and insight. Beers observes that while involvement
in the animal rights movement has exploded since the 1975 publication
of Peter Singer's Animal Liberation, with more than 7,000 organizations
today representing more than 10 million members, the movement
has "historical amnesia." To counter this, she shows
how animal rights activism "has been far more successful
historically and has had a far greater impact of society than
previously suggested." Displaying an impressive mastery of
social and environmental contexts, the author reviews a range
of activism, from the influence of the abolitionist movement on
the "radical humanists" working for the emancipation
of animals in the post-Civil War era, through the antivivisection
movement of the late 19th century (which numbered Mark Twain as
a member), to the impact of historical legislation such as the
1958 federal Humane Slaughter Act. Beers delivers a superbly convincing
account of how early animal advocates "made the developments
of 1975 and the years thereafter possible." B&W illus.
(July)
Publisher's
page about the book
Audio Interview
Hear Diane
Beers interviewed on NPR's “Diane Rehm Show”
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