The Poetry of Animality: Romantic to Contemporary

Animals have always appealed to the human imagination. This course provides basic a rubric for analyzing a variety of animal poems in order (1) to make you better readers of poetry and (2) to examine some of the most pressing philosophical questions that have been raised in the growing field of animal studies. The animals that concern us here are not allegorical, the serpent as evil, the fox as cunning, the dove as a figure for love. Rather, they are creatures that, in their stubborn animality, provoke the imagination of the poet. On the theoretical side of things, we will examine: the concept of the autobiographical animal defined here as a creature that provides the poet with an opportunity for self-reflection; the ontology of nonhuman animals that remain 'other' and opaque to the questioning, curious human; the nature of animal aesthetics that emerge in creaturely poems; the nature of pathos and sympathy in the relation between humans and nonhuman animals; the ethics of animality; the 'rights of brutes' (animal rights), and transhumanism. Our goals will be: (1) To become a better reader of poetry; (2) to develop a critical skill set regarding the representation of animals; (3) to enjoy engaging in dynamic group discussion about ethic, aesthetic, and philosophical questions and issues.