module

Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ANT2117: Dogs and Cats: Anthropological Subjects

This module descriptor refers to the 2022/3 academic year.

Overview

The module explores human-dog and human-cat interactions, and some academic approaches to these interactions, which build upon issues raised but not explored in ‘Animals and Society’. More specifically, in ‘Dogs and Cats: Anthropological subjects’, you will consider what theoretical and analytical approaches have emerged in the past few decades which help both academic and lay audiences understand the key and unique role played by dogs and cats in human societies, and why it can be said that dogs and cats are particularly potent anthropological subjects. You will also explore some topical issues related to human-dog and human-cat interactions, such as the impact of cats on biodiversity, zoonotic transmission in the home, the flexible personhood of companion animals, dog culling and biopolitics, the connection between the concept of breed and that of race, the controversial consumption of cats and dogs in various parts of the world, or the ubiquitous presence of dogs and cats on social media.