From Farmyard to Pets: Our Evolving Relationship with Animals

Do you own pets? Perhaps it feels more like they own you. What do our current relationships with animals look like and how do they affect us? As we begin to treat animals such as dogs and cats as family members, what issues will arise and how will we resolve them?  This class will focus on our interactions with other species, starting with domestication before moving on to the many ways our life styles have impacted wildlife. With more and more species affected by climate change and habitat loss, do we have a moral responsibility to address their suffering? What is anthropomorphism and how does it factor into our treatment of other species? In Western society, why do we let dogs into our houses, but eat pigs? What does a factory farm look like and what dangers do they present? Should we be moving toward more sustainable sources of meat? These and other questions will be addressed as we make our way through the course. In addition to several non-fiction readings that address the above issues, we will explore the ways various animals are portrayed in film and fiction.