"Animal History after Its Triumph: Unexpected Animals, Evolutionary Approaches, and the Animal Lens". Issue 7 (July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Specht, Joshua
• Is Part Of: History compass. Volume 14:Issue 7(2016:Jul.)
• Page Start: 326
• Page End: 336
• Publication Date: 2016-07
• Subjects: World history -- Periodicals; History -- Periodicals; 900
• DOI: 10.1111/hic3.12322
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1478-0542

Abstract

Abstract: Part of a broad animal turn in the humanities, animal history is now a large, mature field. Taking the triumph of animal history as a starting point, this essay draws from scholarship on a diversity of places and time periods to provide a state of the field. The discussion opens with an account of a central theme in animal history: the "animal lens." This lens uses animals to explore broad historical phenomena, from industrialization to ideas about gender. Next is a discussion of two recent trends in animal history: (1) scholarship on "unexpected animals" and (2) evolutionary history, which examines how humans have shaped animal bodies over time. The overview closes with a discussion of agency, suggesting that the field abandons this paradigm.