INTRODUCTION TO ANIMAL STUDIES

The course introduces students to animal studies, a multidisciplinary field that investigates relations
between human and nonhuman animals across historical periods, political regimes, cultural contexts, and
institutional settings. Beginning with the foundational concepts of animal studies and moving toward
contemporary debates, the course traces how animals have been mediated through philosophy, science,
and law, as well as cultural artifacts. Through readings of classic and contemporary texts—from Aristotle,
Descartes, and Bentham to Peter Singer, Carol J. Adams, and Donna J. Haraway—the course examines
how ideas concerning animal nature, moral worth, legal status, and political inclusion are produced,
contested, and transformed.