Sunaura "Sunny" Taylor (born March 21, 1982) is an American academic, painter, writer and activist for disability and animal rights. She currently resides in Oakland, California, and is assistant professor in the department of environmental science, policy and Management at the University of California, Berkeley.[1]

Sunaura Taylor
BornMarch 21, 1982
NationalityAmerican

Biography

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A professor at UC Berkeley, Taylor earned her PhD in American Studies from New York University. Her book, Beasts of Burden: Animal and Disability Liberation won the 2018 American Book Award. She has published in both academic and popular outlets.[2]

Taylor's work has been displayed in the Smithsonian and in other important galleries across the United States.[3] She is the recipient of a 2008 Joan Mitchell Foundation Award. In 2004, she received the Grand Prize in the VSA arts Driving Force juried exhibition for emerging disabled artists.[4][5] A portion of her work deals with animal rights issues, as Taylor is an abolitionist vegan.[6][7][8][9][10]

Taylor was born with arthrogryposis, and uses a wheelchair.[11] She is active in the Society for Disability Studies and has participated in marches for disability rights.[10][12] Her work on the disability rights movement has appeared in the Marxist magazine Monthly Review,[13] and her Self Portrait with TCE was the first full-color image ever printed in the publication's long history. She has been featured on All Things Considered on National Public Radio,[14] and the Georgia Public Broadcasting series State of the Arts. Her work has also been featured frequently in Flagpole Magazine in her home town, Athens, Georgia.

Taylor argued her position against animal products in her February 17, 2009 article, "Is It Possible to Be a Conscientious Meat Eater?"[15] and again in her March 29, 2011 article, "Why There's No Such Thing as Humane Meat,"[16] both published on AlterNet.

She is also the sister of the filmmaker Astra Taylor,[17] and appeared in her 2008 film Examined Life alongside philosopher Judith Butler.[18]

Publications

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  • Taylor, Sunaura (2017). Beasts of Burden: Animal and Disability Liberation. The New Press. ISBN 978-1620971284.
  • Taylor, Sunaura (May 2024). Disabled Ecologies: Lessons From a Wounded Desert. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520393066. Retrieved 4 August 2024.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Sunaura Taylor - Assistant Professor". Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. Rausser College of Natural Resources. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Sunaura Taylor - Assistant Professor". Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. Rausser College of Natural Resources. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  3. ^ "VSA arts and Volkswagen of America, Inc. Third Annual National Awards Program". VSA Arts. 25 September 2004. Archived from the original on 1 October 2006.
  4. ^ "Driving Force - A National Juried Exhibit for Young Artists with Disabilities, Ages 16-25". VSA Arts. 2004. Archived from the original on 1 October 2006. Retrieved 16 August 2007.
  5. ^ "Driving Force: Sunaura Taylor". VSA Arts. 2004. Archived from the original on 19 September 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2007.
  6. ^ The Fallacy of Conscientious Meat, Sunaura and Alexander Taylor, accessed 21 February 2009 [permanent dead link]
  7. ^ Taylor, Sunaura (28 February 2017). "After the Ugly Laws". The Baffler. ISSN 1059-9789. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  8. ^ Aguilar, Rose (27 February 2018). "What are the connections between animal liberation and disability liberation?". KALW. Archived from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  9. ^ Kanner, Ellen (27 February 2017). "Meatless Monday: The Art of the Animal -- The Sexual Politics of Meat Reframed". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  10. ^ a b Rothman, Joshua (5 June 2017). "Are Disability Rights and Animal Rights Connected?". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  11. ^ "Sunaura Taylor". Wynn Newhouse Awards. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  12. ^ Vettese, Troy (20 December 2017). "How a Vegan's Experience with Disability Is Helping Her Heal the Divide Between Two Movements". In These Times. ISSN 0160-5992. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  13. ^ Taylor, Sunny (1 March 2004). "The Right Not to Work: Power and Disability". Monthly Review. 55 (10): 20. doi:10.14452/MR-055-10-2004-03_2. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2007.
  14. ^ Stone, Susan (6 March 2005). "Sunny Taylor: Portraits of Early Success". All Things Considered. NPR. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  15. ^ Taylor, Sunaura; Taylor, Alexander (17 February 2009). "Is It Possible to Be a Conscientious Meat Eater?". AlterNet. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.
  16. ^ Taylor, Sunaura (29 March 2011). "Why There's No Such Thing as Humane Meat". AlterNet. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  17. ^ Brown, A.L. (January 2002). "Aardvarks, Armadillos, and an Artist in Greenpoint - Sunny Taylor: A Profile". Free Williamsburg. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  18. ^ "San Francisco Film Society". Archived from the original on 2011-05-23. Retrieved 2009-02-09. San Francisco Film Society on Examined Life, accessed February 8, 2009.
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