Werewolves and shapeshifters are pervasive in today’s culture. The story of a human being who becomes a nonhuman animal is found in literature and other cultural representations from across the globe. What makes such transformations so compelling? What cultural debates or developments do such representations respond to? What can they tell us about the difference between people and animals, and what do they tell us about what it means to be a human?

Exploring a range of literatures, movies, and artworks from across the globe, we will examine the different meanings and functions of human-animal figures, and how they express social identities and configurations of power and dominion. Students will emerge from this course with new understandings of what different cultures tell us about how animals are perceived, but also what it means to be human.

This course begins with the lecture on Monday, January 8, 2018.

Course Requirements:

Requirements include regular brief writing assignments; midterm & final exams; engaged class participation; serious and regular attendance.