Scholars
Vasile Thomas Stanescu
Mercer University
Based in
United States
North America
Vasile Stanescu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at Mercer University (the United States). Stanescu holds a PhD in Modern Thought and Literature, with a focus on environmental rhetoric, from Stanford University. Dr. Stanescu is the co-founder and former co-senior editor of the Critical Animal Studies Book Series published by Brill/Rodopi Press, co-founder of the North American Association for Critical Animal Studies (NAACAS), fellow of the European Association for Critical Animal Studies (EACAS) and former co-organizer for the the Stanford Environmental Humanities Project. Stanescu’s areas of expertise are in animal studies, food studies, media studies, and environmental communication. Dr. Stanescu has conducted research on locavorism, humane meat, lab-grown meat, the effectiveness of plant-based meat substitutes, and the ethics of the removal of invasive species. His current focus is on greenwashing, particularly in terms of climate change, by animal agriculture. Stanecu’s research has been recognized by The Woods Institute for the Environment, Minding Animals International, The Andrew Mellon Foundation, the Culture and Animals Foundation, the Institute for Critical Animal Studies, and Institutul Cultural Român.
Country(ies) of Specialty
Canada Romania United StatesFocus areas of expertise
Greenwashing Communications research AgriculturePublications
Articles
Stanescu, Vasile. “‘Cowgate:’ Meat Eating and Climate Change Denial.” Climate Change Denial and Public Relations. Strategic Communication and Interest Groups in Climate Inaction, edited by Núria Almiron and Jordi Xifra, 1st ed., Routledge, 2019, pp. 178-194. doi:10.4324/9781351121798
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378179039_Cowgate_Meat_Eating_and_Climate_Change_Denial
“Selling Eden: Environmentalism, Local Meat, and the Postcommodity Fetish.” American Behavioral Scientist, vol. 63, no. 8, 2019, pp. 1120-1136. doi:10.1177/0002764219830462.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331415819_Selling_Eden_Environmentalism_Local_Meat_and_the_Postcommodity_Fetish
“‘White Power Milk’: Milk, Dietary Racism, and the ‘Alt-Right,’” Animal Studies Journal, vol. 7, no 2, 2018, pp. 103-128.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/363267122_Animal_Studies_Journal_’White_Power_Milk’_Milk_Dietary_Racism_and_the_’_Alt-Right’_’White_Power_Milk’_Milk_Dietary_Racism_and_the_’Alt-Right’
“The Judas Pig: The Killing of ‘Feral’ Pigs on the Santa Cruz Islands, Biopolitics, and the Rise of the Post-Commodity Fetish.” The Ethics and Rhetoric of Invasion Ecology. Edited by James Stanescu and Kevin Cummings, 1st ed., Lexington, 2017, pp. 61-86. [This is a reprint of the German version into English. It was translated and significantly expanded.]
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/363279342_The_Judas_Pig
“The Whopper Virgins: Hamburgers, Gender, and Xenophobia” Meat Culture, Brill, 2016: pp. 90-108. doi.org/10.1163/9789004325852_006
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312230154_The_whopper_virgins_Hamburgers_gender_and_xenophobia_in_Burger_King’s_hamburger_advertising
“Why ‘Loving’ Animals is Not Enough: A Response to Kathy Rudy, Locavorism, and the Marketing of “Humane” Meat” The Journal of American Culture, vol. 36, 2013, pp. 100–110.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264409363_Why_Loving_Animals_is_Not_Enough_A_Response_to_Kathy_Rudy_Locavorism_and_the_Marketing_of_Humane_Meat