Animals in Literature and Culture: 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 and gender. Along with novels, short stories, and poetry, we will read contemporary philosophical work on animal studies in order to enhance our analytical frameworks.
Required Texts:
Karen Joy Fowler, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves (2013)
Barbara Gowdy, The White Bone (1998)
Virginia Woolf, Flush (1933)
Ruth Ozeki, My Year of Meats (1998)
Alice Walker, The Chicken Chronicles (2012)
Course Pack available at Professional Image: 2633 King St (across from the 7-11).
Films:
Wernor Herzog, Grizzly Man (2005)
Kornél Mundruczó, White God (2015)
Cindy Meehl, Buck (2011)
Requirements:
Short Writing Assignments (3 close readings and 3 film responses)
Midterm Essay (4 pages)
Final Essay (6 pages)
Analysis and presentation of cultural object or outing
Participation and Reading Quizzes