Looking at Animals in Human History
Linda Kalof(Author)
Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-0-8264-6098-1 (ISBN)
Description
This is a new and fully illustrated introduction to the philosophy of animals. Nonhuman animals carry substantial symbolic weight in human culture, providing a frame for our dance, art, and narrative for thousands of years. Human language is saturated with animal tropes and metaphors, and some of our most pernicious social problems, such as slavery, sexism, and environmental degradation, have been connected to the human-animal relationship, both theoretically and empirically. In "Looking at Animals in Human History", Linda Kalof explores the philosophical underpinnings of the conceptual boundaries that separate human from animal and discusses contemporary theoretical challenges to the maintenance of the human-animal boundary and its relationship to other dualistic, essentialist categories. The book examines historical narratives in the representation of animals as 'others' through key mediums of exhibition, from the Roman gladiatorial contests in the third century to contemporary naturalistic displays.
Kalof synthesizes the literature on the social and cultural messages encoded in the cultural representation of animals and examines the philosophical, theoretical and empirical links between human identity, concern for nonhuman others and the cultural representation of animals. The book concludes with a discussion of how changing our conceptualization of animals from 'other' to 'kin' is an essential first step at resolving some of our most serious social and environmental problems. This engaging and stimulating book introduces new research in a structured and accessible manner and serves as the ideal introduction to animal studies for undergraduate students.
Kalof synthesizes the literature on the social and cultural messages encoded in the cultural representation of animals and examines the philosophical, theoretical and empirical links between human identity, concern for nonhuman others and the cultural representation of animals. The book concludes with a discussion of how changing our conceptualization of animals from 'other' to 'kin' is an essential first step at resolving some of our most serious social and environmental problems. This engaging and stimulating book introduces new research in a structured and accessible manner and serves as the ideal introduction to animal studies for undergraduate students.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
50 illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-8264-6098-1 (9780826460981)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Linda Kalof is Associate Professor of Sociology at Michigan State University.