Animals in Literature and Culture
Course Description:
In the past ten years, scholars
across various disciplines have become increasingly interested in what has been
termed “the question of the animal,” and are taking seriously the animals
around us, questioning not only the human-animal divide, but also the status of
animals more broadly. This field of “animal studies” interrogates
understandings of animal consciousness and animals as ethical subjects, while
also studying animals within culture and society. This class will thus examine
representations of animals within literature, poetry, film, paintings, and
other cultural formations from the eighteenth century to our own contemporary
moment, in an effort to interrogate what it means to be an animal, and what it
means to relate with animals. We will address issues of pet keeping, the animal
point of view, animality, human-animal differences, animal rights, meat eating,
and zoos, in order to understand the many ways animals exist in our society and
cultural imaginary. As we trace these themes, we will interrogate how
animals collide with other cultural and social issues, such as race, gender,
and colonialism. Along with novels, short stories, and poetry, we will read
contemporary philosophical work on animal studies in order to enhance our
analytical frameworks.
Requirements:
3 Close readings: 20%
3 film responses: 15%
Midterm Essay: 25%
Final Essay: 30%
Participation and Quizzes: 10%
Required Texts:
Karen Joy Fowler, We Are All Completely
Beside Ourselves
Barbara Gowdy, The White Bone
Virginia Woolf, Flush
Linda Hogan, Power
Alice Walker, The Chicken
Chronicles
Course Pack
Films to be Screened in Class:
David Lynch, The Elephant Man
Werner Herzog, Grizzly Man
Cindy Meehl, Buck