Critical Social Inquiry 0148 - Thinking with Animals: An Introduction to Cultural Animal Studies

Across the world, humans have viewed animals as: ancestors, teachers, friends, members of the family, meat, workers, pests, and threats. Everywhere, the 'human' is defined in relation to the 'animal.' Yet this relation is construed in diverse and contradictory ways. Ideas about what it means to 'be (an) animal' have long structured visions of belonging and otherness, as well as violence, racism, and oppression. As nonhuman animals vanish or recede from humananimal settlements, their images proliferate around us. Drawing on cultural, legal, and gender studies, multispecies ethnography, literature, and history, this seminar looks at varied human relationships to animals, animals' diverse roles in society, history, and the arts, and how ideas about 'animals' shape our sense of 'being human.' While we will write and research regularly, major assignments include: a personal essay, a report on a site observation, and a final reflexive essay. Keywords: animals, animal studies, multispecies, anthropology, ethnography. Keywords:Animals, Animal Studies, Anthropology, Ethnography, Multispecies

Environments and Change Students should expect to spend 8 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time