David Nibert

David Alan Nibert (born 1953) is an American sociologist, author, and professor of Sociology at Wittenberg University. He co-organized the "Section on Animals and Society" of the American Sociological Association. In 2005 he received their "Award for Distinguished Scholarship."

Nibert connects animal rights theory with other economic and sociological theories. According to Nibert, speciesism is an ideology that seeks to legitimize animal slavery, defending the discrimination against sentient beings on account of their species. He promotes veganism and abolitionism.

Nibert offers an "Animals and Society" course at Wittenberg University to spread awareness of animal oppression:

"Increasingly, social scientists are focusing on the ethical, environmental and social consequences of human treatment of other animals. This course will examine how human societies have viewed and treated other animals and how the interactions and the structure of the relationship between humans and other animals affect both those animals and human social organization. For example, some scholars argue that cultural practices that define and use nonhuman animals as food contribute significantly to various forms of environmental devastation. Human health research indicates that high rates of heart disease and cancer in many cultures can be attributed to the consumption of animals. Others suggest that human perception and treatment of nonhuman animals are related in significant ways to such enduring problems as racism, sexism and violence against vulnerable groups of people. This course will examine the causes of human exploitation of other animals and the issues that frame the animal rights debate."

Publications