“KAri Weil plumbs our thick entanglements with nonhuman animals as companions, as W abjected others, as subjects of grief and mourning—those dense contact zones in which e il art and literature may well ‘think’ nonhuman animals better, or at least more patiently, than theory and philosophy. Anyone interested in love, life, and death across species will want to read this book.” —Cary Wolfe, author of Animal Rites: American Culture, the Discourse of Species, and the Post- humanist Theory Thinking Animals Kari Weil provides a critical introduction to the field of animal studies as well as an Th appreciation of its thrilling acts of destabilization. examining real and imagined confronta- tions between human and nonhuman animals, she charts the presumed lines of difference i n between human beings and other species and the personal, ethical, and political implica- W h y k tions of those boundaries. i Weil’s considerations recast the work of such authors as Kafka, Mann, Woolf, and Coe- n tzee, and such philosophers as Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida, Deleuze, agamben, Cixous, g A n i m A l and Hearne, while incorporating the aesthetic perspectives of such visual artists as Bill A Viola, Frank Noelker, and Sam Taylor-Wood and the “visual thinking” of the autistic animal n S t u d i e S scientist Temple Grandin. She addresses theories of pet keeping and domestication; the i importance of animal agency; the intersection of animal studies, disability studies, and eth- m ics; and the role of gender, shame, love, and grief in shaping our attitudes toward animals. a n oW ? exposing humanism’s conception of the human as a biased illusion, and embracing post- l s humanism’s acceptance of human and animal entanglement, Weil unseats the comfortable assumptions of humanist thought and its species-specific distinctions. W “Weil mApS the theoretical history of animal studies while setting a course for future stud- h ies. She makes challenging theoretical arguments accessible and inviting. the framework of y Kari Weil A ethics also offers a framework for abstract discussion that should include even those without n deep theoretical knowledge into the conversation.” im —teresa mangum, director, obermann Center for Advanced Studies at the university of iowa A l S “A deeply felt and keenly thought engagement with key philosophical questions that will t u stimulate seasoned scholars and beginning students alike. highly recommended.” d —Jane desmond, author of Staging Tourism: Bodies on Display from Waikiki to Sea World ie S n “A lively And Compelling introduction to essential debates shaping posthumanistic o animal theory today. Whether through ordinary expressions of grief at the death of pets or W ? by extreme fantasies of animal liberation through extinction, Weil argues, the problems of animal representation are proving increasingly difficult to separate from those of representing people. With original readings and nuanced translations, Thinking Animals emphasizes french poststructuralist and material feminist theory as pivotal to this so-called animal turn in the twenty-first century.” —Susan mchugh, author of Animal Stories and Dog C Kari Weil is University Professor of letters at Wesleyan University. o lu m Cover image: Photo by Brad Wilson. © Getty images b Cover design: Milenda Nan Ok lee ia ColumBiA univerSity preSS / neW yorK cup.columbia.edu printed in the u.S.A. THINKING ANIMALS Thinking Animals WHY ANIMAL STUDIES NOW? Kari Weil COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS NEW YORK Columbia University Press Publishers Since 1893 New York Chichester, West Sussex cup.columbia.edu Copyright © 2012 Columbia University Press All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Weil, Kari. Thinking animals : why animal studies now? / Kari Weil. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 978-0-231-14808-5 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-231-14809-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-9-231-51984-7 (ebook) 1. Animals (Philosophy) 2. Animals in literature. I. Title. B105.A55W45 2012 113'.8—dc23 2011035566 Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper. This book is printed on paper with recycled content. Printed in the United States of America c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 References to Internet Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared. For Michael, Sophie, and the animals we’ve loved One thing is necessary above all if one is to practice reading as an art. Something for which one has almost to be a cow and in any case not a modern man: rumination. —Friedrich Nietzsche, Genealogy of Morals, trans. Walter Kaufmann CONTENTS Acknowledgments xi Introduction xv PART I Why Animal Studies Now? 1 A Report on the Animal Turn 3 2 Seeing Animals 25 PART II Pet Tales 3 Is a Pet an Animal? Domestication and Animal Agency 53 4 Gendered Subjects/Abject Objects: Man(n)’s Best Friend 63