Beginning literary animal studies is an introduction to the rapidly developing field of human-animal studies in the humanities with particular emphasis on literature. The book introduces the foundations of this subject in science, theory and ethics, and its development in the close study of the relationship that humans have with other animal species. Human-animal studies are advancing across a very broad front, the book unpicks the various strands in this approach and demonstrates how they may be applied in practical examples of literary criticism of creative non-fiction, fiction and poetry. Growing interest in the part played by animals in our culture and of our culture’s impact on animals, has inspired contemporary writers. It has also led critics in the humanities to new interpretations of both contemporary and canonical works. This book introduces the whole field of literary animal studies in a way that enables students to choose how they will approach this important field of study.
Price: $21.95
Pages: 248
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Imprint: Manchester University Press
Series: Beginnings
Publication Date:
20 October 2026
ISBN: 9781807072285
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
LITERARY CRITICISM / Subjects & Themes / Nature, Literature: history and criticism, LITERARY CRITICISM / General, LITERARY CRITICISM / Comparative Literature, Animals in art, Literary theory, Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers
‘This is a rich, engaging volume which addresses key topics in animal studies and invites readers to consider the challenges facing the field.’
—Danielle Sands, Royal Holloway, The University of London
'Beginning Literary Animal Studies is a wide-ranging and erudite book that does an excellent job of introducing some very complex ideas in readable and unpretentious prose. It’s nicely pitched; the ‘stop and think’ sections provide useful prompts for teaching.’
—John Miller, University of Sheffield
William Welstead is an independent scholar where he lives on the Isle of Tiree where he follows his interests as an independent scholar in the interplay between culture, low intensity agriculture and biodiversity.
Introduction
1 Animal studies, a brief history
2 Theory for animal studies in the humanities
3 Posthumanism after Cary Wolfe: humans and animals in literary non-fiction
4 Ecofeminism, intersectionality and animal studies in creative prose
5 Bruno Latour and actor-network theory in animal studies
6 Attentiveness and the poetic imagination
7 Affect, empathy and altruism in animal fiction
8 Reading animals in postcolonial literature
9 Individuals and species in the sixth extinction
Conclusion
Index
