All of us who teach or plan to teach courses on human–animals relations (henceforth: HAR) owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Margo DeMello, editor of Teaching the Animal. She has produced a goldmine of a book. Containing essays commissioned specifically for this ambitious project, Teaching the Animal is a treasure trove of information, ideas, and advice for developing new courses or integrating HAR into existing courses. There has been a remarkable growth of interest in HAR in many academic disciplines, and a main function of this book is to encourage instructors to look beyond disciplinary boundaries and to borrow concepts, methodologies, theories, and resources to enhance their work. One of the many virtues of this book is that it is so well-organized. There are three sections: Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences.
Each chapter follows a consistent format: a history of how that particular discipline has viewed HAR, a summary of contemporary scholarship and theoretical issues, and suggestions for developing courses. Each chapter closes with very practical information, including at least one sample syllabus and a bibliography, and often strategies to stimulate student discussions and essays. Although each chapter focuses on a specific discipline, several topics are addressed in most of the essays. For example, there is wide agreement that HAR courses should encourage the analysis of traditional constructions, narratives, concepts, perceptions, and ideologies. In particular, courses should scrutinize the conventional and pervasive human–animal and culture–nature dichotomies. Other topics deserving attention are the anthropocentric nature of academic disciplines, and assumptions about the value of animals, about species boundaries, and about the parallel subordination of animals and marginalized humans.
Many of the book’s authors recommend that HAR scholars strive to generate new methods of analysis and new conceptual structures. Another common issue is the challenge of presenting material about inhumane treatment of animals to students who may become emotionally upset or who may resent feeling that their beliefs and behavior are being criticized. The authors describe strategies that have proved effective for them. Similarly, they offer helpful advice about how to “sell” HAR courses to administrators and colleagues who may be skeptical about the intellectual rigor of such courses, and may also be concerned that their purpose may be to promote activism rather than academic inquiry. Many of the authors require that students engage in off-campus learning, either by visiting animal facilities, such as zoos, livestock housing, and dog shelters, or by doing community service at animal facilities. Most of the authors recommend the use of films as part of the course material, and have included titles of films they have found useful. (I was surprised that no one recommended “The Pig Picture,” produced by the Humane Farming Association, a film which I have found very effective in presenting the issues surrounding modern methods of raising pigs.)
