CI1908W: Children and Other Talking Animals: Animal Tales in (Mostly) Children's Literature
3 CreditsFreshman SeminarBiological SciencesCivic Life and EthicsEnvironmentIntellectual CommunityWriting Intensive
Humans and animals coexisted for millennia until humanity exiled itself from nature in order to rule it. In this course we look at the tradition of animal tales as the never-entirely-suppressed memory of this kinship and a hope for our future. We explore how animal tales have been used through the ages to reflect diverse ethical conceptualizations of the human relationship with animals and the natural world. We study the connections between children and/as talking animals. We read a range of animal tales and consider their meanings for the environmentally threatened global world.