Leslie Irvine's research focuses on the roles of animals in society. Her first book, Codependent Forevermore, examined interpersonal relationships. Irvine then turned her focus to human-animal relationships. She has studied animal sheltering, human-animal play, selfhood among animals, and the feminization of veterinary medicine. Her 2004 book, If You Tame Me: Understanding Our Connection with Animals, received the Distinguished Scholarship Award from the Animals & Society Section of the American Sociological Association. After Hurricane Katrina, she worked and conducted research at the facility that housed animals rescued from New Orleans. This resulted in her 2009 book, Filling the Ark: Animal Welfare in Disasters. In 2011, she published a reader entitled The Self in Society. Her 2013 book, My Dog Always Eats First, examines the narratives of homeless people who live on the streets with pets. At CU Boulder, she is the Director of the Animals and Society Certificate Program.
keywords
animal welfare in disasters, human-animal studies, the roles of animals in society, sociological social psychology, sociology of emotions, the self, pets, companion animals, animal shelters, animal adoption, homelessness, symbolic interaction, animal welfare, narrative, identity
