Carrie P. Freeman, PhD, is a professor of communication at Georgia State University and is a co-founder of Animals and Media.
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We wouldn’t say “it” or “that” when referring to humans, so why would we for other sentient individuals?
By Alicia Graef, Carrie P. Freeman and Debra Merskin in Animal Rights | In Defense of Animals and Earth Food Life Project | English
Carrie P. Freeman, PhD, is an associate professor of communication at Georgia State University and is a co-founder of Animals and Media. She publishes work about and teaches media ethics, activist communication, environmental communication, and critical animal studies.
Dr. Freeman is a teacher in media studies and a critical/cultural studies media researcher who has published in over 15 scholarly books and journals on media ethics, strategic communication for activists, environmental communication, and critical animal studies, with a specialty in animal agribusiness and veganism. Her first book is Framing Farming: Communication Strategies for Animal Rights.
In 2015 she co-edited (along with Nuria Almiron & Matthew Cole) the anthology Critical Animal and Media Studies: Communication for Nonhuman Animal Advocacy. She is particularly interested in identifying the role of values and ideology in communication about animals and nature, and deconstructing the human/animal dualism. Read her work at freeman/ http://works.bepress.com/carrie_freeman/.
In addition to a previous career in non-profit public relations and corporate professional development and training, Dr. Freeman has been active in the animal rights and vegetarian movement for two decades, serving as a volunteer director for local grassroots groups in Florida, Georgia, and Oregon. She currently co-hosts an environmental radio program (In Tune to Nature) and an animal rights program (Second Opinion Radio) on Atlanta’s indie station WRFG-Radio Free Georgia.Publications by this author
Brill; Rodopi | January | 2014
Finalist of the 2016 National Indie Excellence Book Awards in the Social/Political Change Category
This award honors outstanding books from smaller or independent publishers that deserve recognition "for going the extra mile to produce books of excellence in every aspect." The book was originally published by Rodopi and acquired by Brill in January 2014.
To what extent should animal rights activists promote animal rights when attempting to persuade meat-lovers to stop eating animals? Contributing to a classic social movement framing debate, Freeman examines the animal rights movement’s struggles over whether to construct farming campaign messages based more on utility (emphasizing animal welfare, reform and reduction, and human self-interest) or ideology (emphasizing animal rights and abolition). Freeman prioritizes the latter, “ideological authenticity,” to promote a needed transformation in worldviews and human animal identity, not just behaviors. This would mean framing “go veg” messages not only around compassion, but also around principles of ecology, liberty, and justice, convincing people “it’s not fair to farm anyone”. Through a unique frame analysis of vegan campaign materials (from websites, to videos, to bumper stickers) at five prominent U.S. animal rights organizations, and interviews with their leaders, including Ingrid Newkirk and Gene Baur, Freeman answers questions, such as: How is the movement defining core problems and solutions regarding animal farming and fishing? To which values are activists appealing? Why have movement leaders made these visual and rhetorical strategic choices – such as deciding between appealing to human self-interest, environmentalism, or altruism? To what extent is the animal rights movement actually challenging speciesist discrimination and the human/animal dualism?
Appealing to both scholars and activists, Framing Farming distinctively offers practical strategic guidance while remaining grounded in animal ethics and communication theory. It not only describes what 21st century animal rights campaigns are communicating, it also prescribes recommendations for what they should communicate to remain culturally resonant while promoting needed long-term social transformation away from using animals as resources.Co-authors: Matthew Cole and Núria Almiron | Routledge | April | 2018
This book aims to put the speciesism debate and the treatment of non-human animals on the agenda of critical media studies and to put media studies on the agenda of animal ethics researchers. Contributors examine the convergence of media and animal ethics from theoretical, philosophical, discursive, social constructionist, and political economic perspectives.
The book is divided into three sections: foundations, representation, and responsibility, outlining the different disciplinary approaches’ application to media studies and covering how non-human animals, and the relationship between humans and non-humans, are represented by the mass media, concluding with suggestions for how the media, as a major producer of cultural norms and values related to non-human animals and how we treat them, might improve such representations.
Because everyone mourns differently, guided journal writing is a useful tool for navigating the phases of grief in a personalized, private way. The Widow's Journal is written in a frank yet hopeful style by lifelong journaler Carrie P. Freeman, PhD, a communication professor, who set out to write the kind of book she could have used when, just prior to her thirtieth birthday, she lost her own husband to cancer.
Unlike other bereavement books, The Widow's Journal doesn't tell you what to do, it isn't a memoir or collection of other people's stories, and it isn't limited to any particular spiritual outlook. Instead it provides over one hundred guiding questions (from the practical to the profound) that you can use to progress through the grieving process, culminating in a collection of your most useful insights for reflection.
Freeman's thoughtful questions prompt you to reflect on your feelings, but more importantly, provide a gentle path toward productively coping with intense grief while making plans to build a meaningful new life.
This journal works like a guided diary or workbook, with beautifully decorated pages on which to write and/or color. It is designed to be a useful, caring gift for those whose husband, wife, or life partner has died within the last year.
The author's book website is www.thewidowsjournal.com.