Margo Demello

Assistant Professor - ANZ | Anthrozoology
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About

Dr. Margo DeMello, Assistant Professor, is an internationally known leader in Anthrozoology, having helped to build the field through her work as the first program director of Human-Animal Studies at the Animals & Society Institute, through the publication of the very first textbook in the field, Animals and Society: An Introduction to Human-Animal Studies, and through her edited teaching guide, also the first in the field, Teaching the Animal: Human-Animal Studies Across the Disciplines. She has taught in the Anthrozoology Masters program at Canisius College for the past 7 years.

Dr. DeMello is an expert in the behavior and cultural significance of rabbits. She has been involved with House Rabbit Society, the world’s first and largest rabbit protection organization for over thirty years, acting as its President for 14 of those years. She has also published extensively on rabbits.

Prior to her work in the field of Anthrozoology, Dr. DeMello specialized in the interdisciplinary field of body studies and wrote the very first textbook in this field as well. She has published 13 books, with two new books coming out in 2021, and dozens of articles in both academic and mainstream publications. She’s currently working on a new book on cryptids.

Her skills are the first of its kind in the nation, bring a new focus in the qualitative social science and humanities, help the program grow even further.

Dr. DeMello moved to Helena with her husband, six Chihuahuas, four cats, and three house rabbits.

Dr. DeMello had two new books published this year. One is the second edition of one of her textbooks, Animals and Society: An Introduction to Human-Animal Studies(link is external), and the other is a new encyclopedia called On the Job: An Encyclopedia of Unique Occupations around the World(link is external).

Courses Taught

  • ANZ 107 -  Introduction to Anthrozoology
  • ANZ 108 - Survey of Animals in Society
  • ANZ 289 - Cross Cultural Anthrozoology
  • ANZ 309 - Research Methods in Anthrozoology
  • ANZ 389 - Animals in American History
  • ANZ 441 - The Science of Animal Welfare