Animal Acts

From the blood-soaked amphitheaters of the Roman Empire to tattooing and other forms of body modification, this course will explore how people, ancient and modern, view animals and what looking at animals reveals about what it means to be human. Examining evidence from a variety of disciplines (archaeology, religious studies, history, philosophy, art, and literature), we will investigate the problematic boundary between “man” and “animal” and challenge the presumed superiority of the “human”.