Human-Animal Relationships in Historical Perspective

Catalog description

We live in a paradoxical moment in the history of people's relationships with animals. Certain species suffer today more than ever due to environmental degradation and modern food production practices. Yet other mammalian species are subject to a degree of sentimental attention (perhaps) unprecedented in history. This paradox is related to an unresolved tension in Western cultures: do the commonalities that bind humans to other animals unite them more or less than the differences that divide them? The course is organized around three main segments: animal domestication; modes of interaction (hunting, husbandry, pets, science) in early modern Europe; and contemporary science. We will conclude with a consideration of current philosophical and ethical perspectives of our treatment of non-human animals. By considering a variety of disciplinary approaches but with an emphasis on historians' methodologies, we will investigate these questions through careful reading of primary sources as well as secondary sources.