Angela Cassidy
Biographic Data
| ID | 3938731 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Angela Cassidy |
| GIVEN NAMES | Angela |
| FAMILY NAME | Cassidy |
| SIGNATURE | CASSIDY A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Exeter |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9815-4539 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 64 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 20 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Pest Control and Ecology
This chapter will recount how badgers came to play a surprisingly important role in the professionalisation of ecology in British academic and government science during the late twentieth century. It will explore the world and work of a second epistemic community clustering around disease ecology, alongside its adoption of the caring practices of naturalists and the newly developing field of animal welfare science. It discusses the developing con…
Cutting the Cake of Science and Policy
The publication of the Krebs review in 1997—shortly after the election of the New Labour government—marked a crucial turning point in British debates over badgers and bTB. Not only was it authored by a senior ecologist, it advocated a different organising principle for government research into bTB—that of the randomised controlled trial. These arguments were congruent with political ideas about ‘evidence-based policy’, resulting in the commission…
The Badgers Have Moved the Goalposts!
In my Conclusion, I will draw together the various stories traced throughout the book and provide some answers to how the UK got into the tangled mess that is badger/bTB—and how we might get out again. I will discuss changes in knowledge about badgers, mycobacteria, ecosystems, animal health, farming and the connections between them. I will summarise my findings in terms of TB in humans and other animals; the Great British Badger Debate; care as …
How the Badger Became Tuberculous
This chapter tells the story of how—amid the social political and economic turmoil of the early 1970s—Britain moved from optimism to panic about bTB, and from a single dead badger to a full-scale culling policy in a few short years. It will introduce the key political, social and environmental contexts of the time, and many of the dramatis personae who were to shape debates over badgers and bTB for many years to come. These included MAFF field of…
Of Badgers, Bovines and Bacteria
This chapter introduces the contested problem of how badgers and bovine TB are connected—and what to do about it—outlining the key events explored across the rest of the volume. I will discuss how my analytical approach to this research falls into three key themes: knowledge controversies and epistemic communities; good care, good work, good knowledge; and animal roles and traces. I then explore two historical backstories essential for understand…
Building a Public Controversy
This chapter will focus on the interaction between ‘backstage’ policy debates over badger/bTB and the increasingly noisy and visible ‘frontstage’ of the controversy. It will recount the interactions of media, politicians, pressure groups and multiple publics in the wider public sphere, who between them have made badger/bTB into such a hotly contested issue. It will outline some key indicators of how British newspapers have covered badgers, bovine…
Changing Veterinary Knowledge
This chapter explores in detail the world and work of the first epistemic community (knowledge network) to engage with bTB—that of animal health , comprising veterinarians, farmers, policymakers and politicians. It will recount the origins of animal health as a core aspect of agricultural governance in the UK since the late nineteenth century, and the role of Mycobacterium bovis in positioning veterinary expertise in government. This chapter will…
Protecting the Badger?
The past 50 years have seen a constantly shifting coalition of concern around the issue of badger protection in Britain, long predating any connection with bovine TB. This longstanding debate was reactivated during the mid-1960s, when campaigners drew attention to issues of badger digging and baiting. This chapter will explore the worlds of badger protection, exploring how a diverse and politically cross-cutting coalition came together to support…
Vermin, Victims and Disease
This open access book provides the first critical history of the controversy over whether to cull wild badgers to control the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in British cattle. This question has plagued several professional generations of politicians, policymakers, experts and campaigners since the early 1970s. Questions of what is known, who knows, who cares, who to trust and what to do about this complex problem have been the source of scie…
Badger-Human Conflict
Animal roles and traces in the history of medicine, c. 1880–1980
This paper argues for the need to create a more animal-centred history of medicine, in which animals are considered not simply as the backdrop for human history, but as medical subjects important in and of themselves. Drawing on the tools and approaches of animal and human–animal studies, it seeks to demonstrate, via four short historical vignettes, how investigations into the ways that animals shaped and were shaped by medicine enables us to rea…
Sexual Nature ? (Re)presenting Sexuality and Science in the Museum
The past 15 years have seen dramatic changes in social norms around sex and sexuality in the UK and worldwide. In 2011, the London Natural History Museum (NHM) contributed to these debates by opening the temporary exhibition Sexual Nature, which aimed to provide ‘a candid exploration of sex in the natural world’ whilst also drawing in an under-represented audience of young adults. Sexual Nature provides an opportunity to explore Macdonald's ‘poli…
Big science’ in the field
Since wild badgers were first connected with outbreaks of bovine TB (bTB) in UK cattle herds in the early 1970s, the question of whether to cull them to control infections in cattle has been the subject of a protracted public and policy controversy. Following the recommendation of Prof. John Krebs that a "scientifically based experimental trial" be carried out to test the effectiveness of badger culling, the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT)…
“Fox Tots Attack Shock”
On June 7, 2010, UK media outlets reported that 9-month-old twins living in East London had been rushed to hospital following a “suspected fox attack”: the babies had been seriously injured. This story received sustained coverage for several months, and became the focus of debate over the behavior of urban foxes, and how they and humans should coexist. Using textual analysis to unravel the various discourses surrounding this moment, this paper di…
Vermin, Victims and Disease
The question of whether to cull wild badgers in order to control the spread of bovine TB (bTB) in UK cattle herds has been deeply contentious for nearly 40 years, and still shows no sign of resolution. This paper will examine the strategic framing of badgers in recent debates over bTB in the UK media, which take two opposing forms: the 'good badger' as epitomised in Kenneth Grahame's children's novel 'The Wind in the Willows'; and the less famili…
Communicating the social sciences
This chapter reviews the sparse and somewhat scattered research literature that has specifically addressed the public communication of the social sciences (PCSS). This literature, in common with much research on the public communication of science and technology (PCST), lacks consistency or clear definitions of what is meant by ‘social science’, ‘natural science’ and, indeed, ‘science’. Analyses of social science media coverage indicate that the …
British Bisexuality
This article summarizes the state of bisexuality in the United Kingdom today. First the authors provide an overview of the United Kingdom Bisexual Conference (BiCon) and the studies conducted at the Conference by the Bisexual Research Group in the summer of 2004. Then they provide an in-depth examination of the representations of bisexuality in the British media to give a picture of the prevailing context in which U.K. bisexuals live. Following t…
The (sexual) politics of evolution
This article outlines the major threads of controversy around the emerging subject of evolutionary psychology in the U.K. mass media during the 1990s. Much of this controversy centered on the role of evolution in shaping human gender roles and sexualities, contributing to the subject's mass appeal. This case is used to illustrate the argument that in theorizing about evolution and humans, "human nature" and "human origins" both provide a flexible…
Evolutionary psychology as public science and boundary work
This paper explores the phenomena of public scientific debates, where scientific controversies are argued out in public fora such as the mass media, using the case of popular evolutionary psychology in the UK of the 1990s. An earlier quantitative analysis of the UK press coverage of the subject (Cassidy, 2005) suggested that academics associated with evolutionary psychology had been unusually active in the media at that time, particularly in asso…
Popular evolutionary psychology in the UK
This paper presents findings from quantitative analyses of UK press and print media coverage of evolutionary psychology during the 1990s. It argues that evolutionary psychology presents an interesting case for studies of science in the media in several different ways. First, press coverage of evolutionary psychology was found to be closely linked with the publications of popular books on the subject. Secondly, when compared to coverage of other s…
Vermin, Victims and Disease
The question of whether to cull wild badgers in order to control the spread of bovine TB (bTB) in UK cattle herds has been deeply contentious for nearly 40 years, and still shows no sign of resolution. This paper will examine the strategic framing of badgers in recent debates over bTB in the UK media, which take two opposing forms: the 'good badger' as epitomised in Kenneth Grahame's children's novel 'The Wind in the Willows'; and the less famili…
Vermin, Victims and Disease
This open access book provides the first critical history of the controversy over whether to cull wild badgers to control the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in British cattle. This question has plagued several professional generations of politicians, policymakers, experts and campaigners since the early 1970s. Questions of what is known, who knows, who cares, who to trust and what to do about this complex problem have been the source of scie…
British Bisexuality
This article summarizes the state of bisexuality in the United Kingdom today. First the authors provide an overview of the United Kingdom Bisexual Conference (BiCon) and the studies conducted at the Conference by the Bisexual Research Group in the summer of 2004. Then they provide an in-depth examination of the representations of bisexuality in the British media to give a picture of the prevailing context in which U.K. bisexuals live. Following t…
Big science’ in the field
Since wild badgers were first connected with outbreaks of bovine TB (bTB) in UK cattle herds in the early 1970s, the question of whether to cull them to control infections in cattle has been the subject of a protracted public and policy controversy. Following the recommendation of Prof. John Krebs that a "scientifically based experimental trial" be carried out to test the effectiveness of badger culling, the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT)…
Animal roles and traces in the history of medicine, c. 1880–1980
This paper argues for the need to create a more animal-centred history of medicine, in which animals are considered not simply as the backdrop for human history, but as medical subjects important in and of themselves. Drawing on the tools and approaches of animal and human–animal studies, it seeks to demonstrate, via four short historical vignettes, how investigations into the ways that animals shaped and were shaped by medicine enables us to rea…
Sexual Nature ? (Re)presenting Sexuality and Science in the Museum
The past 15 years have seen dramatic changes in social norms around sex and sexuality in the UK and worldwide. In 2011, the London Natural History Museum (NHM) contributed to these debates by opening the temporary exhibition Sexual Nature, which aimed to provide ‘a candid exploration of sex in the natural world’ whilst also drawing in an under-represented audience of young adults. Sexual Nature provides an opportunity to explore Macdonald's ‘poli…
The (sexual) politics of evolution
This article outlines the major threads of controversy around the emerging subject of evolutionary psychology in the U.K. mass media during the 1990s. Much of this controversy centered on the role of evolution in shaping human gender roles and sexualities, contributing to the subject's mass appeal. This case is used to illustrate the argument that in theorizing about evolution and humans, "human nature" and "human origins" both provide a flexible…
Popular evolutionary psychology in the UK
This paper presents findings from quantitative analyses of UK press and print media coverage of evolutionary psychology during the 1990s. It argues that evolutionary psychology presents an interesting case for studies of science in the media in several different ways. First, press coverage of evolutionary psychology was found to be closely linked with the publications of popular books on the subject. Secondly, when compared to coverage of other s…
Evolutionary psychology as public science and boundary work
This paper explores the phenomena of public scientific debates, where scientific controversies are argued out in public fora such as the mass media, using the case of popular evolutionary psychology in the UK of the 1990s. An earlier quantitative analysis of the UK press coverage of the subject (Cassidy, 2005) suggested that academics associated with evolutionary psychology had been unusually active in the media at that time, particularly in asso…
The (sexual) politics of evolution
This article outlines the major threads of controversy around the emerging subject of evolutionary psychology in the U.K. mass media during the 1990s. Much of this controversy centered on the role of evolution in shaping human gender roles and sexualities, contributing to the subject's mass appeal. This case is used to illustrate the argument that in theorizing about evolution and humans, "human nature" and "human origins" both provide a flexible…
Communicating the social sciences
This chapter reviews the sparse and somewhat scattered research literature that has specifically addressed the public communication of the social sciences (PCSS). This literature, in common with much research on the public communication of science and technology (PCST), lacks consistency or clear definitions of what is meant by ‘social science’, ‘natural science’ and, indeed, ‘science’. Analyses of social science media coverage indicate that the …
British Bisexuality
This article summarizes the state of bisexuality in the United Kingdom today. First the authors provide an overview of the United Kingdom Bisexual Conference (BiCon) and the studies conducted at the Conference by the Bisexual Research Group in the summer of 2004. Then they provide an in-depth examination of the representations of bisexuality in the British media to give a picture of the prevailing context in which U.K. bisexuals live. Following t…
“Fox Tots Attack Shock”
On June 7, 2010, UK media outlets reported that 9-month-old twins living in East London had been rushed to hospital following a “suspected fox attack”: the babies had been seriously injured. This story received sustained coverage for several months, and became the focus of debate over the behavior of urban foxes, and how they and humans should coexist. Using textual analysis to unravel the various discourses surrounding this moment, this paper di…
Vermin, Victims and Disease
The question of whether to cull wild badgers in order to control the spread of bovine TB (bTB) in UK cattle herds has been deeply contentious for nearly 40 years, and still shows no sign of resolution. This paper will examine the strategic framing of badgers in recent debates over bTB in the UK media, which take two opposing forms: the 'good badger' as epitomised in Kenneth Grahame's children's novel 'The Wind in the Willows'; and the less famili…
Big science’ in the field
Since wild badgers were first connected with outbreaks of bovine TB (bTB) in UK cattle herds in the early 1970s, the question of whether to cull them to control infections in cattle has been the subject of a protracted public and policy controversy. Following the recommendation of Prof. John Krebs that a "scientifically based experimental trial" be carried out to test the effectiveness of badger culling, the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT)…
Sexual Nature ? (Re)presenting Sexuality and Science in the Museum
The past 15 years have seen dramatic changes in social norms around sex and sexuality in the UK and worldwide. In 2011, the London Natural History Museum (NHM) contributed to these debates by opening the temporary exhibition Sexual Nature, which aimed to provide ‘a candid exploration of sex in the natural world’ whilst also drawing in an under-represented audience of young adults. Sexual Nature provides an opportunity to explore Macdonald's ‘poli…
Badger-Human Conflict
Animal roles and traces in the history of medicine, c. 1880–1980
This paper argues for the need to create a more animal-centred history of medicine, in which animals are considered not simply as the backdrop for human history, but as medical subjects important in and of themselves. Drawing on the tools and approaches of animal and human–animal studies, it seeks to demonstrate, via four short historical vignettes, how investigations into the ways that animals shaped and were shaped by medicine enables us to rea…
Pest Control and Ecology
This chapter will recount how badgers came to play a surprisingly important role in the professionalisation of ecology in British academic and government science during the late twentieth century. It will explore the world and work of a second epistemic community clustering around disease ecology, alongside its adoption of the caring practices of naturalists and the newly developing field of animal welfare science. It discusses the developing con…
Cutting the Cake of Science and Policy
The publication of the Krebs review in 1997—shortly after the election of the New Labour government—marked a crucial turning point in British debates over badgers and bTB. Not only was it authored by a senior ecologist, it advocated a different organising principle for government research into bTB—that of the randomised controlled trial. These arguments were congruent with political ideas about ‘evidence-based policy’, resulting in the commission…
The Badgers Have Moved the Goalposts!
In my Conclusion, I will draw together the various stories traced throughout the book and provide some answers to how the UK got into the tangled mess that is badger/bTB—and how we might get out again. I will discuss changes in knowledge about badgers, mycobacteria, ecosystems, animal health, farming and the connections between them. I will summarise my findings in terms of TB in humans and other animals; the Great British Badger Debate; care as …
How the Badger Became Tuberculous
This chapter tells the story of how—amid the social political and economic turmoil of the early 1970s—Britain moved from optimism to panic about bTB, and from a single dead badger to a full-scale culling policy in a few short years. It will introduce the key political, social and environmental contexts of the time, and many of the dramatis personae who were to shape debates over badgers and bTB for many years to come. These included MAFF field of…
Of Badgers, Bovines and Bacteria
This chapter introduces the contested problem of how badgers and bovine TB are connected—and what to do about it—outlining the key events explored across the rest of the volume. I will discuss how my analytical approach to this research falls into three key themes: knowledge controversies and epistemic communities; good care, good work, good knowledge; and animal roles and traces. I then explore two historical backstories essential for understand…
Building a Public Controversy
This chapter will focus on the interaction between ‘backstage’ policy debates over badger/bTB and the increasingly noisy and visible ‘frontstage’ of the controversy. It will recount the interactions of media, politicians, pressure groups and multiple publics in the wider public sphere, who between them have made badger/bTB into such a hotly contested issue. It will outline some key indicators of how British newspapers have covered badgers, bovine…
Changing Veterinary Knowledge
This chapter explores in detail the world and work of the first epistemic community (knowledge network) to engage with bTB—that of animal health , comprising veterinarians, farmers, policymakers and politicians. It will recount the origins of animal health as a core aspect of agricultural governance in the UK since the late nineteenth century, and the role of Mycobacterium bovis in positioning veterinary expertise in government. This chapter will…
Protecting the Badger?
The past 50 years have seen a constantly shifting coalition of concern around the issue of badger protection in Britain, long predating any connection with bovine TB. This longstanding debate was reactivated during the mid-1960s, when campaigners drew attention to issues of badger digging and baiting. This chapter will explore the worlds of badger protection, exploring how a diverse and politically cross-cutting coalition came together to support…
Vermin, Victims and Disease
This open access book provides the first critical history of the controversy over whether to cull wild badgers to control the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in British cattle. This question has plagued several professional generations of politicians, policymakers, experts and campaigners since the early 1970s. Questions of what is known, who knows, who cares, who to trust and what to do about this complex problem have been the source of scie…
Political science (15 works) · Badger (12 works) · Biology (12 works) · Sociology (12 works) · Geographies of human-animal interactions (10 works) · Geography (9 works) · Law (9 works) · Ecology (8 works) · History (7 works) · Politics (7 works)