Nana Moraes

About

I’m a Ph.D. candidate in Sociocultural Anthropology at the University of California, Davis. My research explores human–animal relationships through the intersections of affect, communication, care, and behavioral transformation. Drawing on multispecies ethnography, I investigate how practices of animal rehabilitation shape not only the lives of animals but also the ways humans perceive, regulate, and transform their own behaviors and emotions.

My ethnographic fieldwork in California has included the Dog Psychology Center in Santa Clarita, where I studied Cesar Millan’s approach to canine rehabilitation and the concept of calm-assertive energy; The Gentle Barn, an animal sanctuary dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating animals through practices of care and compassion; and the Yolo County Animal Services Shelter, where I examined institutional practices of animal care, rehabilitation, and interspecies communication. Across these distinct settings, I explore how relationships between humans and animals are shaped by different forms of knowledge, authority, emotional engagement, and ethical responsibility.

My broader research interests include multispecies ethnography, animal ethics, affect theory, human–animal communication, media, and the emotional and ethical dimensions of interspecies relationships.