CI1908W: Children and Other Talking Animals: Animal Tales in (Mostly) Children's Literature

This course looks at animal tales as reflecting the never-entirely-suppressed memory of our kinship with animals and offering a hope for the future. We explore the benefits of reaching out and learning from the “Other” long excluded from conversation: animals, the natural world, and children. Starting from ancient myths and beast fables, through modern novels and films, we’ll study stories about talking animals, animal guides, and animal companions as reflecting the complex ethical and culturally-situated conceptualizations of the human relationship with the natural world. We’ll trace the changing perception of animals in these narratives and explore the deep human need for animal companionship. We’ll explore why young children talk to animals and to the world around them. Linking the child and the animal, we’ll seek answers to why the bulk of animal stories today can be found in children’s literature.

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