L382-TH Zoo Ontologies
Mikita Brottman
mikita.brottman@gmail.com
L 382-TH B
460
M 9:00 am - 11:45 am
Wait list:
Dain Suh
Kailie Parrish
Emma Maatman
Sunny Oh
Lauren Snyder
Bryant Molloy
Nick Pfaff
Geewon Ahn
Julianne Chung
Course Description
This is a junior theory course in which students will
engage with the emerging field of animal studies. We will consider the
role played by non-humans in the field of cultural studies, social
theory, philosophy and literature. In particular, we will study the
history of animal representations in the Western literary tradition, in
film, and in popular culture. We will also consider the social and
cultural implications of pet-keeping, dog shows, animal sacrifice,
scientific experimentation, taxidermy, hunting, fur-wearing and
meat-eating. We will study recent films, short stories, and cultural
events that reveal how our interaction with non-human animals shapes
our understanding of the human. All these texts will discuss non-human
animals, whether as symbols, competitors, allies in the human struggle
for existence, fellow creatures with acknowledged moral standing, or
the subjects of suffering. We will consider what these varied
representations of animals can tell us about the different human voices
that produced them. We will also think about our own roles as animals,
and our relationship with non-human animals in aesthetic, activist,
environmental and biological contexts. The weekly readings will help us
to consider the role of scientific authority, and an exploration of the
species boundary.
Course Grading
In the first class, we will draw lots for
presentation dates. Each student will give a presentation on the week's
readings. The presentation will be 10-20 minutes long, and will count
for 20% of the final grade. There will be two multiple choice quizzes,
each worth 20%, and a final in-class written exam worth 40%.
| 2 Quizzes: |
40 |
| Presentation: |
20 |
| Final Exam: |
40 |
| Total: |
100 |
|
|
| 95-100=A+ |
66-70=C+ |
| 90-95=A |
60-65=C |
| 86-90=A- |
56-60=C- |
| 80-85=B+ |
50-55=D+ |
| 76-80=B |
46-50=D |
| 70-75=B- |
40-45=D- |
Required Reading
Linda Kaloff and Amy Fitzgerald, eds. The Animals Reader: The Essential Classic
and Contemporary Writings. New York: Berg.
Other texts available as weblinks.
Weekly Schedule
Animals
as Philosophical and Ethical Subjects
(1) August 22
From The Animals Reader:
1. Aristotle, The History of Animals
2. Bentham, Prinicples of
Morals and Legislation
(2) September 6
From The Animals Reader:
3. Marjorie Spiegel, In
Defense of Slavery
4. Martha Nussbaum, The
Moral Status of Animals
Animals as Reflexive Thinkers
(3) September 13
From The Animals Reader:
8. Michel de Montaigne, An Apology
for Raymond Sebond
9. Rene Descartes, From the Letters
of 1646 and 1649
Franz Kafka, A
Report for an Academy (1917)
(4) September 20
From The Animals Reader:
10. Clinton R. Sanders and Arnold Arluke, Speaking for Dogs
Movie Screening: Year of the Dog (Mike White, 2007)
Quiz
(5) September 27
From The Animals Reader:
12. Jeffrey Mousaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy, Grief, Sadness and the Bones of Elephants
George Orwell, Shooting
an Elephant (1936)
Animals as Domesticates: Pets and Food
(6) October 4
From The Animals Reader:
16. Yi-Fu Tuan, Animal Pets, Cruelty
and Affection
Saki (H.H. Munro), Sredni
Vashtar
Clip: Sredni Vashtar
(7) October 11
From The Animals Reader:
17. Plutarch, The Eating of Flesh
19. Carol J. Adams, The
Sexual Politics of Meat.
20. David Nibert, The Promotion of
"Meat" and its Consequences
Clip: Heaven's Gate,
Errol Morris
*Fall Break*
Animals as Spectacle and Sport
(8) October 25: Quiz
Movie Screening: Werner Herzog, Grizzly
Man (2005)
(10) October 24
From The Animals Reader:
23. Rhonda Evans et al, Dogfighting:
Symbolic Expression and Validation of Masculinity
24. Randy Malamud, Zoo Spectatorship.
Stevie Smith, The Zoo (1983)
Animals as Symbols
(11) November 8
From The Animals Reader:
25. John Berger, Why Look at Animals?
William Carlos Williams, The Farmer's
Daughters (1950)
Ted Hughes, The
Thought Fox
(12) November 15
From The Animals Reader:
28. Boria Sax, Animals as Tradition
Edgar Allan Poe, The
Black Cat
Rainer Maria Rilke, "The Panther" (1902)
(13) November 22
From The Animals Reader:
29. Steve Baker, What Is the Postmodern Animal?
(14) November 29
Movie: Film: Koko the Talking Gorilla
(Barbet Schroeder, 1978)
(15) December 6
From The Animals Reader:
30. Jonathan Burt, The Illumination of the Animal Kingdom.
Julio
Cortazor, Axolotl
(16) December 13
In-class Exam
ADA Compliance
In order to provide the highest quality educational experience for
every student, MICA is committed to compliance with the ADA and Section
504. Any student who has (or suspects he or she may have) a physical,
cognitive, or psychological disability and who wants to request
accommodations must immediately schedule an appointment to meet with
the Director of the Learning Resource Center, Dr. Kathryn Smith, by
calling the LRC Administrative Assistant, Mary Walsh, at (410)
669-3177. The LRC is MICA’s designated department for determining
reasonable accommodations based on legal requirements and will provide
the eligible student with an official Accommodation Verification letter
to the instructor. Each semester the student must formally request
accommodations from the LRC each semester, and format of the
Verification letters change each semester to ensure currency.
NOTE: Students with disabilities who want assistance during emergency
evacuations must register with the LRC within the first week of each
semester.
Health and Safety Compliance
MICA has developed policies and practices to ensure a healthful
environment and safe approaches to the use of equipment, materials, and
processes. It is the mutual responsibility of faculty and students to
review health and safety standards relevant to each class at the
beginning of each semester. Students should be aware of general fire,
health, and safety regulations posted in each area and course specific
polices, practices, and cautions. Students who have concerns related to
health and safety should contact the Environmental Health and Safety
Coordinator.The Environmental Health and Safety Coordinator, Quentin
Moseley, may
be reached at 410 225-0220 or by email at qmoseley@mica.edu.