ENG 255 E HEAR SPOT SPEAK: ANIMAL NARRATIVES IN A POSTHUMAN AGE

This course will look at a variety of texts centered around animals and animal experiences. Rather than simply analyzing the symbolic or cultural significance of these animals, however, this class seeks to challenge our perceptions by centering the animal itself, a task that raises several important questions about the relationship between language, subjectivity, and representation. How do we accurately represent/talk about nonhuman animals when our language itself is a human construction? Can we ever perceive the animal from a perspective that is not anthropocentric or anthropomorphic (and should we even attempt such a view)? Given our current state of ecological dismay, these questions have larger ramifications that shed light on how humans can better relate to the nonhuman world around us.