Sheffield Animal Studies Research Centre (ShARC)

Animal Studies is a burgeoning sub-field of interdisciplinary academic inquiry, largely across the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences but also some branches of Life Sciences, that conducts qualitative inquiry about nonhuman animals and human–animal relations. Over the last 15 years or so, animal studies has seen a steady growth in terms of conferences, journal special issues, monograph and book-series publications, graduate research, masters and undergraduate courses and programmes.

The University of Sheffield is recognised as a leader in this field, with the Millennial Animals conference (2000) regarded by the Papers of the Modern Language Association as foundational in the field. At the University of Sheffield, animal studies research is and has been conducted across the Faculties of Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences in a number of disciplines (Literature, Film, Performance, Philosophy and Critical Theory, SIIBS, Music, History, Archaeology, Politics, Sociology, Geography, and Law).

Sheffield is unique in having a significant number of prominent scholars in their respective disciplinary areas of animal studies inquiry, given its still-growing status. This has led to the development of the Sheffield Animal Studies Research Centre (ShARC), a network of scholars, graduate and undergraduate students which has hosted a number of speakers over the past two years, as well as reading groups and other events including a meeting of the British Animal Studies Network. A particular focus of research expertise in ShARC is the political and cultural representation of animals; however, the proposed centre’s remit is conceived more broadly to include any form of qualitative understanding of animal life and of human–animal relations.

Aims of the Sheffield Animal Studies Research Centre

The Sheffield Animal Studies Research Centre aims to become the preeminent location internationally for research in the Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences (and these areas’ interactions with other fields of research) that considers nonhuman animals and human–animal relations.

The Centre is led by our three directors: Dr Robert McKay, Dr John Miller (English) and Dr Alasdair Cochrane (Politics).

Sheffield Animal Studies Research Centre (ShARC)’s tracks

• ShARC Podcast: Sarah Bezan Interviews Lucinda Cole by Sheffield Animal Studies Research Centre (ShARC)
• ShARC Podcast: Peter Sands Interviews Thom van Dooren by Sheffield Animal Studies Research Centre (ShARC)
• ShARC Podcast: Christie Oliver-Hobley Interviews Steve Baker by Sheffield Animal Studies Research Centre (ShARC)