03/13/2023
By Nicholas Evans
Where: O'Leary 222, South Campus
When: March 21, 3:30 to 5 p.m.
The Department of Philosophy is hosting a talk by Bethany Brookshire in O'Leary 222 on March 21, 3:30pm-5:00pm on her new book "Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains." The author will give a talk and Q&A based on the book for students and faculty. The event will be moderated by Nicholas Evans, chair of the Department of Philosophy at UML.
Bethany Brookshire is a science writer and author of the book "Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains," to be published by Ecco. She is also a podcast host on the podcast Science for the People, where she interviews scientists and science writers about the science that will impact people’s lives. From 2013 to 2021, she was a staff writer with Science News magazine and Science News for Students, a digital magazine covering the latest in scientific research for kids ages 9-14. She loves to write about neuroscience, pharmacology, environmental science, science fiction and the practice and pressures of the scientific life. She has recently published in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, and other outlets, and her voice has appeared on NPR, the CBC, WHYY Philadelphia and more.
At the intersection of science, history, and narrative journalism, Pests is not a simple call to look closer at our urban ecosystem. It’s not a natural history of the animals we hate. Instead, this book is about us. It’s about what calling an animal a pest says about people, how we live, and what we want. It’s a story about human nature, and how we categorize the animals in our midst, including bears and coyotes, sparrows and snakes. Pet or pest? In many cases, it’s entirely a question of perspective.
Bethany Brookshire’s deeply researched and entirely entertaining book will show readers what there is to venerate in vermin, and help them appreciate how these animals have clawed their way to success as we did everything we could to ensure their failure. In the process, we will learn how the pests that annoy us tell us far more about humanity than they do about the animals themselves.