Human beings have long imagined their subjectivity, ethics, and ancestry with
and through animals, yet not until the mid-twentieth century did contemporary
thought reflect critically on animals´ significance in human self-conception.
Thinkers such as French philosopher Jacques Derrida, South African novelist J.
M. Coetzee, and American theorist Donna Haraway have initiated rigorous
inquiries into the question of the animal, now blossoming in a number of
directions. It is no longer strange to say that if animals did not exist, we
would have to invent them. This interdisciplinary and cross-cultural collection
reflects the growth of animal studies as an independent field and the rise of
animality as a critical lens through which to analyze society and culture, on
par with race and gender. Essays center on the role of animals in the human
imagination and the imagination of the human, a discourse that has evolved in
tandem with discussions of - and more robust concern for - animals in popular
culture. They consider the worldviews of several indigenous peoples, animal-
human mythology in early modern China, and political uses of the animal in
postcolonial India. They engage with the theoretical underpinnings of the
animal protection movement, representations of animals in children´s
literature, the depiction of animals in contemporary art, and the philosophical
positioning of the animal from Aristotle to Heidegger. The strength of this
companion lies in its timeliness and contextual diversity, which makes it
essential reading for students and researchers while further developing the
parameters of the discipline.
