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Preece, Rod
Dr. Rod Preece is Professor Emeritus at Wilfrid Laurier University and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Leicester. He is the author, co-author, and editor of seventeen books, including Animals and Nature: Cultural Myths, Cultural Realities, which was named a Choice Distinguished Academic Book and short-listed for the Raymond Klibansky Prize for the best book in the humanities, and Awe for the Tiger, Love for the Lamb: A Chronicle of Sensibility to Animals (2002). His most recent volumes are William Drummond’s The Right of Animals and Man’s Obligation to Treat Them with Humanity (with Chien-hui Li; The Edwin Mellen Press, 2005) and Brute Souls, Happy Beasts and Evolution: The Historical Status of Animals (2005).
2001 0-7734-7442-0“It is hard to imagine any other editor who could situate Young’s book so clearly in the thought, culture and politics of his day, and perceive so many links with previous ethical thought and the subsequent developments that were to occur over the next two centuries. The combination of Young and Preece reminds us that the relationship of humans to other species is one of our most persistent moral problems, one which we revisit century after century, and, fortunately, one which has consistently attracted thoughtful and compassionate commentators.” – David Fraser “Thomas Young’s Essay on Humanity to Animals, along with Rod Preece’s Introduction and Notes, will be a valuable addition to the Mellen Animal Rights Library. The Essay’s historical importance is equaled, if not surpassed, by its analytical merits. . . . In his footnotes, he cites the leading modern proponents of various positions along the scale of animal rights. All of this information will be very useful to those seeking an overview of the territory. . . his exposition of Young’s argument is helpful, perceptive, and eminently clear. . . Dr. Preece has done a terrific job of editing the text. Those who are exploring the issue of human relations with nonhuman animals will appreciate having Young’s Essay readily available. They will also appreciate the intelligence of Dr. Preece’s additions and the leads he provides for further investigation.” – Marian Scholtmeijer
2002 0-7734-7021-2
2004 0-7734-8726-3
Buckner’s 1903 treatise argues for the moral necessity of reparation for animal suffering, and emphasizes the evil of cruelty. Dedicated to various American animal protection societies, it provides a unique insight into the discussion of the status of animals at the turn of the century.
2000 0-7734-7947-3
This book is a seminal contribution to the development of Enlightenment values concerning our responsibilities toward nature and toward other species. Rod Preece’s introduction provides an analysis of the historical context of Nicholson’s thought, its relationship to previous and contemporary literature, and its influence. Preece’s notes offer a detailed elucidation of Nicholson’s references, quotations and commentary. This examination of Nicholson’s work, in conjunction with Preece’s introduction and notes, allows the modern reader an unparalleled insight into the ideas that occasioned the early 19th century animal welfare legislation that promoted and protected the interests of non-human species.
2005 0-7734-6069-1
Whether animals possessed immortal souls was a controversial topic in the nineteenth century. Answers to the question constituted an important manner of addressing the status of animals. While relatively little was written on the theme, the issue was a common topic of conversation, as it had also been in the prior centuries. The contributions to the subject presented in this volume were among the most significant of the Victorian era, coming from members of the newly established veterinary profession and from an author with a general interest in theological questions. These essays demonstrate Victorian patterns of thought on the human-animal relationship and help modern scholars understand the complexities of the contemporary approach to the status of animals. In addition to the essays, the editor provides a substantial introduction and detailed annotation which allow the modern scholar to both place Victorian ideas on this topic in the context of the thought of prior and later centuries, and also to understand the context of Victorian society in which these matters were addressed.
2003 0-7734-6838-2
2005 0-7734-6212-0
William Drummond's The Rights of Animals is one of several early nineteenth century volumes dedicated to arousing a recognition of the importance of the well-being and protection of animals. Ljke a number of contemporary works, this book was written at the behest of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, to which the prefix 'Royal' was soon to be added. Of these volumes The Rights of Animals is the most learned and, along with that of the veterinarian William Youatt (volume 11 in this Series), the most significant in stating the animal cause as seen from the perspective of the pre-Darwinian nineteenth century. This 1838 book was authored by William Hamilton an Irish Unitarian Minister of Scottish extraction. By adding a contextual Introduction and copious explanatory Editorial Notes, Drs. Preece and Li have put this work into its historical and literary setting, thus rendering the work much more readily comprehensible to the scholar of the twenty-first century.