HAS Courses in Anthropology
Molly Mullin
Animals & Human Societies
Examines animal-human relationships in a cross-cultural, historical perspective. Considers the politics of classification, how animals have served as a mirror for human identities, how animal-human relationships can provide a convenient window from which to study human societies, and how ideas about animals and human-animal relationships have changed over time. Specific cases include cockfighting in Bali, rabies eradication and anti-vivisection campaigns in 19th Century England, Sea World, slaughterhouses in France, and xenotransplantation in Sweden.
Nerissa Russell
Humans and Animals
University College of Cape Breton
Tracey Smith-Harris
Animals & People
A critical and comparative examination of the relationship between people and animals. This course explores human attitudes toward animals by examining such topics as animal representations in art, literature and popular culture, as well as the social and cultural constructions of legal, political, economic and philosophical issues pertaining to animals. Much of the focus is on the controversies surrounding this complex social relationship.
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Jane Desmond
The Culture of Nature
Ideas of "the natural" and "the cultural" underpin many of our beliefs, laws, and social practices. This course examines the relationship between these two mutually-defining concepts with an emphasis on the construction of notions of a "natural world." We will see how this concept has varied over time and among different social groups .Emphasis will be on cultural groups and practices within the U.S. but students will be encouraged to relate these issues to their work on other parts of the world as appropriate. Topics will include the idea of "landscape" and of "nature" as a resource to be used, appreciated, articulated, or enjoyed. In addition, at least half of the course will be devoted to analyzing our relationships to animals including the use of animals for entertainment, food, sports, science and education, and in the arts, and in the law. We will discuss the rise of zoos, the American humane movement, contentious debates about factory farming and animal rights, and the ubiquitous family pet. Films, local field trips or guest speakers, and activities will supplement in-class discussion and assigned readings. This course is especially useful for students in anthropology, but will also benefit students interested in ecology, environmental studies, cultural geography, public leisure, farming, animal sciences, and cultural studies approaches to literary representation, art, and social history.
Patricia K. Anderson
Anthrozoology
This course examines the symbolic, economic, ecological, and social consequences of human-animal interaction in a variety of cross-cultural contexts, ranging from small-scale (nonindustrial) societies to the modern industrial world. A global perspective is used to help students better understand world trends regarding modernization and its consequences to animals and their habitats. This course provides a cross-cultural understanding of the concept of animal by examining how our relationship with animals is mediated by culture, and thus how belief systems contribute to current animal and environmental-related social problems. Key topics include domestication and neotenization, the use of animals in entertainment and food production, companion animals, invasive species, and the connection between violence against animals and humans.
Christina Marran
The Animal
Ecological Science: Origins, Findings, and Ethical Issues
Beginning with a brief history of the philosophical underpinnings of scientific thought and the culture in which it arose, the course will proceed to examine exactly how, from a current scientific perspective, the environment sustains us and how its different components function as a system that has the ability to react dynamically to changes. The course will also compare what the science of ecology tells us as to how some non-western primal societies (Australian Aborigine, Native American) view the natural world and its cycles of growth, death, and renewal. The ways in which the values of western thought and those of primal societies differ vis a vis the natural world, and the consequences of those differences in the past and present will also be examined. Laboratory experience will consist of several directed inquiry studies and field trips to local areas of interest. Cannot be counted toward a biology major. Also listed as Environmental Studies 122.
Ruth E. Chodrow
Animal Welfare
An examination of the biological basis of animal welfare. Topics include the evolution of domestic animals, physiological and behavioral measurements of stress, welfare assessment and pain perception. Case studies examine the use of animals for companionship, food, medical research and entertainment.
Robert Eckstein
Animals and Society
Explores a variety of issues regarding the relationship between human and non-human animals. Topics include animals in research and education; philosophies of animal rights and animal use; animals in entertainment, agriculture and wildlife issues; pet ownership; and cross-cultural comparisons. Discussions revolve around ideas introduced through readings, videos, and presentations by guest speakers.
