Canine Kinship: Dogs in Human Societies

Undergraduate / Graduate

This course takes a four-field anthropological approach to exploring the multifaceted relationships between dogs and humans across time and space. We will read ethnographic accounts of the various ways dogs have lived and worked in human societies, some of which trouble the ideal of "best friend" with which many students may be most familiar; other readings will suggest that human societies would not be what they are today if not for myriad canine contributions. Through discussions of these texts and intermittent lectures, this seminar style class will explore how humans and dogs have worked, guarded, bonded, patrolled, communicated, stratified, lived, loved and died together. Students will produce original term papers or projects at the end of the course, as well as actively participate in and periodically co-lead weekly seminar discussions.