Barbara J. King

{{Infobox academic

| name = Barbara J. King

| image =

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1956|08|18}}

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| death_cause =

| region =

| nationality =

| other_names =

| occupation =

| period =

| known_for =

| title =

| boards =

| awards =

| website = people.wm.edu/~bjking/

| education = {{unbulleted list|University of Oklahoma {{small|(MA/PhD)}}|Douglass College {{small|(BA)}}}}

| alma_mater =

| thesis_title =

| thesis_url =

| thesis_year =

| school_tradition =

| doctoral_advisor =

| influences =

| era =

| discipline =

| sub_discipline =

| workplaces = College of William & Mary {{small|(1988–2015)}}

| doctoral_students =

| notable_students =

| main_interests =

| notable_works =

| notable_ideas =

}}

Barbara J. King (born 18 August 1956) is professor emerita, retired from the Department of Anthropology at the College of William & Mary where she taught from 1988 to 2015, and was chair of the department of Anthropology.{{cite web|url=http://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/author/K/B/au12234046.html |title=Barbara J. King |publisher=Press.uchicago.edu |accessdate=9 May 2017}}

Biography

Since 2011, King has written weekly for the National Public Radio blog Cosmos and Culture,{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/people/336055111/barbara-j-king|title=Barbara J. King|website=NPR.org|language=en|access-date=2018-10-24}} which explores humans' relationships to each other, their environment, and the planet. Specifically, King focused often on the "inner lives" of intelligent animals like primates, the octopus, squid, pigs, and dolphins, arguing that humanity should consider how best to communicate and accommodate these species' lives without anthropomorphization or exploitation.

King also utilized the blog format to relate personal stories for a general audience, such as her treatment for uterine cancer (2013){{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2013/11/28/247220289/a-messy-sort-of-gratitude-giving-thanks-for-radiation|title=A Messy Sort of Gratitude: Giving Thanks For Radiation|work=NPR.org|access-date=2018-10-24|language=en}} and her retirement from active teaching (2015).{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2015/11/05/454830482/after-27-years-a-goodbye-to-college-teaching|title=After 27 Years, A Goodbye To College Teaching|work=NPR.org|access-date=2018-10-24|language=en}}

King has been a full-time science writer since 2015, publishing stories in Scientific American, book reviews in the Washington Post, and essays in The Atlantic.{{Cite news|url=https://www.worldsciencefestival.com/participants/barbara-j-king/|title=Barbara J. King {{!}} World Science Festival|work=World Science Festival|access-date=2018-10-24|language=en-US}}

A review for Animals’ Best Friends in the American Scientist described King as an "expert on animal cognition and emotion".[https://www.americanscientist.org/blog/science-culture/bettering-the-lives-of-animals "Bettering the Lives of Animals"]. americanscientist.org. Retrieved 3 December 2023.

Personal life

King is a pescatarian in her personal life, stating that she supplements her "almost-vegetarian" diet with occasional fish.King, Barbara J. (2017). Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat. University of Chicago Press. p. 79. {{ISBN|978-0-226-19518-6}} "I myself (owing to some long-term health challenges) feel healthiest when I supplement my almost-vegetarian diet with an occasional fish."[https://www.wbur.org/npr/226436971/we-are-all-part-time-vegans-now "We Are All Part-Time Vegans Now"]. WBUR News. Retrieved 26 December 2019. "My own way of eating is conventionally described as pescatarian: I eat fish, but not other meats. I don't count as a vegetarian because of the fish, and because I eat cheese, yogurt and other dairy products."[https://pressblog.uchicago.edu/2014/05/16/on-animals-part-iii-a-conversation-with-barbara-j-king-and-jessica-pierce.html "On Animals, Part III: A Conversation with Barbara J. King and Jessica Pierce"]. University of Chicago Press. Retrieved 26 December 2019. "At the moment, I’m myself a pescatarian, and I’m grappling with what that means and whether I want to continue to eat fish and if so, which fish." She has also described herself as a "reducetarian".[https://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2017/personalities-on-the-plate-explores-reasons-to-resist-the-temptations-of-the-flesh-eater.php "'Personalities on the Plate' explores reasons to resist the temptations of the flesh-eater"]. College of William & Mary. Retrieved 26 December 2019.

Selected publications

The Information Continuum: Evolution of Social Information Transfer in Monkeys, Apes, and Hominids. School of American Research Press, 1994. {{ISBN|978-0933452398}}
The Dynamic Dance: Nonvocal Communication in African Great Apes. Harvard University Press, 2004. {{ISBN|978-0674015159}}
Evolving God: A Provocative View on the Origins of Religion. Doubleday, 2007. {{ISBN|978-0385511049}}
Being with Animals: Why We Are Obsessed with the Furry, Scaly, Feathered Creatures Who Populate Our World. Doubleday, 2010.
How Animals Grieve. University of Chicago Press, 2013. {{ISBN|978-0226436944}}
"When Animals Mourn", Scientific American, July 2013.
Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat. University of Chicago Press, 2017.{{cite web|author=Fiona Wilson |url=https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/wildlife-nature/article/personalities-on-the-plate-the-lives-and-minds-of-the-animals-we-eat-by-barbara-j-king-5lts2lsvm |title=Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of the Animals We Eat by Barbara J King | Saturday Review | The Times & The Sunday Times |work=Thetimes|date=22 April 2017 |access-date=10 May 2017}}{{cite book|url=http://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo19085093.html |title=Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat, King |publisher=Press.uchicago.edu |accessdate=10 May 2017}}{{cite web|last=King |first=Barbara J. |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2017/03/16/520364913/a-look-at-the-personalities-on-our-plates |title=Excerpts From Barbara J. King's 'Personalities on the Plate: The Lives & Minds of Animals We Eat' : 13.7: Cosmos And Culture |publisher=NPR |date=16 March 2017 |accessdate=10 May 2017}}{{cite news|last=Morell |first=Virginia |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/before-you-put-that-fennel-and-garlic-scented-chicken-leg-in-your-mouth-read-this/2017/04/20/9855cdc8-19f6-11e7-855e-4824bbb5d748_story.html |title=Before you put that fennel and garlic-scented chicken leg in your mouth, read this |newspaper=The Washington Post|date=20 April 2017 |accessdate=10 May 2017}} {{ISBN|9780226195186}}
Animals' Best Friends: Putting Compassion to Work for Animals in Captivity and in the Wild. University of Chicago Press, 2021.

Awards

2018 - World Science Festival Participant{{Cite news|url=https://www.worldsciencefestival.com/festival/participants/?letter=K|title=Participants {{!}} World Science Festival|work=World Science Festival|access-date=2018-10-24|language=en-US}}
2013 - Tack Lecture Series
1999-2002 - University Professor for Teaching Excellence, College of William and Mary{{Cite web|url=https://www.thegreatcourses.com/professors/barbara-j-king/|title=Professor Bio Page|website=www.thegreatcourses.com|language=en|access-date=2018-10-24}}
2002 - Guggenheim Fellowship

References

External links

{{Official website|http://www.barbarajking.com/}}
[https://www.scientificamerican.com/author/barbara-j-king1/ Stories by Barbara J. King] - Scientific American

Category:Living people

Category:1956 births

Category:American animal welfare scholars

Category:American science writers

Category:American women anthropologists

Category:Animal cognition writers

Category:College of William & Mary faculty

Category:Douglass College alumni

Category:University of Oklahoma alumni

Category:20th-century American anthropologists

Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers

Category:20th-century American women writers