ZooCrit: An Introduction and “The Beginning”

Abstract

In this article the author examines how we might imagine justice across specied and man-made divisions. Taking into account how we are enclosed by our own social and institutional constructions, through this short story the author explores the nuances of critical inquiry, captivity, and our ecological fate.

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to credit a colleague, Bernardo Gallegos, with the creation of the term “ZooCrit.” It came about, tongue in cheek, as a reaction to an inquiry into the colonial curriculum experienced in zoos. An imagined subfield entailed and, perhaps, a valid means of inquiry into what it means to live “justly” on this earth was introduced.