Weasels, mad from rue, battling basilisks; a dragon, slain in Sussex; a dog, urinating on a farthingale; a deer, slaughtered by a princess; birds, singing after a rape; a satanic cat; a fishy native; tamed bears. These are a few of the early modern “animal encounters” that I’ll be discussing with my seminar participants next week in Vancouver, Canada at the 2015 annual meeting of the Shakespeare Association of America. I’ve partnered with Karl Steel (Brooklyn College, CUNY) in organizing and running a seminar on this topic, one of two on critical animal studies on the program. (The other is Karen Raber’s seminar on “animal materialism”—it’s a good year for those of us in the field). I’ll be tweeting from the conference (@trickyholly #shakeass15) but I’m also excited to post some preliminary thoughts in the hopes that you’ll join Karl and me this week as we begin our conversation here.
Despite the many “creatures” referenced and staged in his plays or baited in arenas nearby, Shakespeare references “animals” only 8 times in his plays. Our title "Animal Encounters" thus offers a provocation:
What does it mean to encounter “animals” in Shakespeare’s work?
Does an animal encounter in (and with) Shakespeare’s work shift the terrain and scope of our analysis, given the long history of reception of his plays as well as their role in colonial and postcolonial global exchange?
How useful is Shakespeare to understanding animals in past, given the super-sized claims about the Renaissance that tend to be made using his work?
We’re interested in discussing these questions, especially the usefulness of historical periodization in studying animals in the past (both real and imagined). Though most of us are literary critics whose scholarship and teaching focus on Shakespeare Studies, Karl and I have invited a few participants who work in different disciplines and time periods to hopefully encourage reflection on themes and approaches that extend beyond our individual research projects and embraces a transnational and transtemporal Shakespeare studies.
And we hope that you’ll share your thoughts as well, both here and on Twitter.
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Performing Humanity is proud to partner with Dr.'s Dugan and Steel in their work, and we encourage you to check back in the coming weeks for more discussion -- including work from other seminar members.
As always, you can join the conversation on Twitter as well. Dr. Holly Dugan (@trickyholly) and our editor Dr. Miranda Nesler (@PerformHumanity) will be engaging the hashtags #shakeass15 and #animalstudies for your thoughts.
Conversations at PH are never limited to academic participants. Be sure to join us!
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About Our Guest Contributor:
Holly Dugan is an Associate Professor of English at Geaorge Washington University. Her research and teaching interests explore relationships between history, literature, and material culture. Her scholarship focuses on questions of gender, sexuality, the boundaries of the body, and the role of the senses in late medieval and early modern England. She is currently working on a book-length project, co-authored with Scott Maisano that examines the pre-modern history of primatology through the lens of Shakespeare.