Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Karen Raber is Professor of English at the University of Mississippi. Her most recent book is Animal Bodies, Renaissance Culture.
Monica Mattfeld is Assistant Professor of English Literature and History at the University of Northern British Columbia and the author of Becoming Centaur: Eighteenth-Century Masculinity and English Horsemanship, also published by Penn State University Press.
<p>âTen terrific essays in animal studies from the perspective of performance.â</p><p>âHenry S. Turner <i>SEL: Studies in English Literature</i></p>
<p>âThis superb collection brings together leading scholars and historians to explore cutting-edge questions surrounding animal agency and performativity. Employing theoretical frameworks ranging from animal studies to the new materialisms, these essays demonstrate that the varied and various sites of animal performance are among the most fecund places from which to think about relations between humanity and animality.â</p><p>âMatthew Calarco, author of <i>Thinking Through Animals: Identity, Difference, Indistinction</i></p>
From bears on the Renaissance stage to the equine pageantry of the nineteenth-century hunt, animals have been used in human-orchestrated entertainments throughout history. The essays in this volume present an array of case studies that inspire new ways of interpreting animal performance and the role of animal agency in the performing relationship.
In exploring the human-animal relationship from the early modern period to the nineteenth century, Performing Animals questions what it means for an animal to âperform,â examines how conceptions of this relationship have evolved over time, and explores whether and how human understanding of performance is changed by an animalâs presence. The contributors discuss the role of animals in venues as varied as medieval plays, natural histories, dissections, and banquets, and they raise provocative questions about animalsâ agency. In so doing, they demonstrate the innovative potential of thinking beyond the boundaries of the present in order to dismantle the barriers that have traditionally divided human from animal.
From fleas to warhorses to animals that âperformâ even after death, this delightfully varied volume brings together examples of animals made to âactâ in ways that challenge obvious notions of performance. The result is an eye-opening exploration of human-animal relationships and identity that will appeal greatly to scholars and students of animal studies, performance studies, and posthuman studies.
In addition to the editors, the contributors are Todd Andrew Borlik, Pia F. Cuneo, Kim Marra, Richard Nash, Sarah E. Parker, Rob Wakeman, Kari Weil, and Jessica Wolfe.
A collection of essays that explore the role of performing animals in literature, theater, art, and other media prior to the twentieth century, and discuss recent theoretical work in animal studies, materialism, and posthumanism.
Contents
List of Illustrations
Introduction
Karen Raber and Monica Mattfeld
1 Animals at the Table: Performing Meat in Early Modern England and Europe Karen Raber
2 Intra-Active Performativity: Rethinking the Early Modern Equestrian Portrait Pia F. Cuneo
3 Past Performances: Gleanings from the Archives About Early Modern Equine Athletic Performance Richard Nash
4 âI See Them Galloping!â: War, Affect, and Performing Horses in Matthew Lewisâs Timour the Tartar Monica Mattfeld
5 Peaceable Kingdom: The Place of the Dog at the Nativity Scene Rob Wakeman
6 Performing Pain: The Suffering Animal in Early Modern Experiment Sarah E. Parker
7 Circus Minimus: The Early Modern Theater of Insects Jessica Wolfe
8 Shakespeareâs Insect Theater: Fairy Lore as Elizabethan Folk Entomology Todd Andrew Borlik
9 Miss Mazeppa and the Horse with No Name Kari Weil
10 Horses Queer the Stage and Society of Shenandoah Kim Marra
Bibliography
List of Contributors
Index
Books in the series share a fascination not only with the importance of animals in human life, but also with how thinking about animals can give us insights into human cultures, in different temporal and geographical contexts.
Animalibus: Of Animals and Cultures is an exciting new book series, edited by historian Nigel Rothfels, and published by the Pennsylvania State University Press. Books in the series share a fascination not only with the importance of animals in human life, but also with how thinking about animals can give us insights into human cultures, in different temporal and geographical contexts. Moreover, they represent a wide range of disciplinary perspectives in the humanities and social sciences, including history, anthropology, social and cultural geography, environmental studies, and literary and art criticism. Books in the series use original research and innovative analysis; demonstrate an awareness of the existing literature in animal studies; eschew disciplinary-specific jargon to serve a wide range of audiences; and have a clear focus on learning something new about human cultures.
Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Karen Raber is Professor of English at the University of Mississippi. Her most recent book is Animal Bodies, Renaissance Culture.
Monica Mattfeld is Assistant Professor of English Literature and History at the University of Northern British Columbia and the author of Becoming Centaur: Eighteenth-Century Masculinity and English Horsemanship, also published by Penn State University Press.