Dr. Temple Grandin will present her highly creative and scientifically acclaimed work on autism and animal husbandry. Through her autism, she has cultivated the ability to think in pictures and developed an acute sense of the emotional life of animals. In order to understand animals, Grandin says, one has to get away from language. She has harnessed her unique abilities to develop ethical guidelines and technologies for the care and slaughter of cattle and other livestock. Grandin will explore issues of animal welfare from a practical perspective.

Dr. Grandin's visit is in conjunction with the course "The Bull in the China Shop: The Oxen at the Intersection of Nature, Society, and Religion" (REL 407/507), taught by Professor Mark Unno. The course was developed during his 2009-2010 Coleman-Guitteau Teaching Fellowship.