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Humans and Animals: A Complex Relationship in Literature (and Film)

Susanne Scharnowski

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Humans have hunted, killed, and eaten other mammals for more than 2 million years. We see animals in prehistoric cave paintings; animals play crucial roles in myths and legends of ancient cultures. For thousands of years, humans have reared mammals and birds for food and utilised the physical strength of horses and oxen for work. Some animals are bred and kept as pets, put on display in zoos and trained as circus attractions. Other animals are regarded as pests or predators which must be controlled. Human history is in fact inconceivable without (non-human) animals. But while animals have played a role in the life sciences for a long time, cultural animal studies are a relatively new phenomenon. This course will serve as an introduction to this field. Program: We will study academic and literary texts from the 19th and 20th centuries and examine some of the most relevant ways in which humans have related to animals, perceiving or using them as prey, livestock, food, predators, or pests, and exploring similarities and differences between humans and non-human animals. Most of the texts were written by British, Canadian or US-American authors, one – a text by Franz Kafka – was originally written in German and translated into English; additionally, we will analyse Werner Herzog’s American documentary film Grizzly Man. Trigger Warning: Some of the texts contain features which sensitive students may find hard to process – hunting, slaughter, and other forms of killing animals (and humans). Is this the right course for you? The course is open to students from all fields, from the sciences as well as from the humanities. However, you should be able to read complex English texts, be prepared to study a wide variety of theoretical as well as literary texts and be interested in the topic as well as in in-depth analysis of texts and films. Workload and Assessment: To obtain 5 ECTS credits, you will have to study and engage with the course materials (an average of 15-20 pages of academic and/ or literary texts per week), pass a mid-term test before Christmas and sit a written exam at the end of the semester. If you want to participate, you must attend the first, at the latest the second session. Students must attend at least 85% of the classes (14 out of 16). Some of the materials will be available in digital form on Blackboard; additionally, students have to purchase the reader (a collection of photocopied texts in printed form) from the copy shop at Königin-Luise-Str. 39, near U-Bahnhof Dahlem Dorf. close