Animal Studies in the Archive
Detail of Plate No. 16, "Haus oder Hirten Hund" from Magnus Brasch's Vier und zwanzig Abbildungen verschiedener Hunde, 1789.
The interdisciplinary field of animal studies centers non-human animals in historical, ethical, sociological, and literary contexts. The emerging field is concerned with challenging speciesism and its associated forms of animal exploitation, recognizing animals as subjects rather than objects, and better understanding interspecies relations.
The items featured in this exhibit are examples of valuable historical materials for those interested in animal studies. Home to primary sources as varied as the oldest book on dogs featuring color illustrations (1789) and the political correspondence of mid-twentieth century Virginian activists, William & Mary’s Special Collections Research Center is an excellent starting place for your research in animal studies.
Conducting historical research in animal studies presents some unique challenges. Non-human animals did not leave diaries or letters behind for historians to piece together life from the animals' perspectives. Therefore, researchers have to rely on materials produced by humans to access the historical lives of animals.
One way to practice animal-centered historiography is to track animal presence in traditional archival materials, such as the visual representation of animals in books and paintings. Another way to center animals in their own history is to consider archival materials such as preserved animal tracks, photographed animal dwelling places, or human goods made from animal products as windows into the experience of a particular animal or group of animals in a given period.
Images of the exhibit are available from Swem Library on Flickr.
Curator: Linda Monahan, American Studies Graduate Student Apprentice. Exhibit design: Jennie Davy, Burger Archives Specialist; with assistance from Kelly Manno, Undergraduate Student Assistant.
For more about Linda's experience curating this exhibit, see her post on the Special Collections blog, An Acquired Taste: Centering animals in archival research.