120691 PS Proseminar Cultural and Media Studies (2023W)

In this course we will explore cultural and medial representations of communication between humans and other animals. Specifically, we will focus on the tropes of the scientist as ambassador for nonhuman animals and scientific progress as a means for improving human-animal relationships. Hugh Lofting’s classic novel series, begun with The Story of Doctor Dolittle (1920), will serve as our main point of reference. We may re-encounter its protagonist Doctor Dolittle in various adaptations, ranging from Lotte Reiniger’s 1928 pioneering silhouette animation film and Richard Fleischer’s 1967 musical film to the several more recent cinematic versions. Other references in popular culture we might explore include a PlayStation video game and the alternative rock album Doolittle (1989) by the band Pixies. We will investigate what role the image of the joyful Victorian veterinary has played in medial representations of the many popular attempts at communicating with our cousin species in the second half of the twentieth century – most prominently, the case of Koko the gorilla, who was taught American Sign Language. With the advent of AI, the prospect of true reciprocal communication with even more distant species, such as sperm whales, now seems more realistic than ever. But how will opening this Pandora’s box change human treatment of other animals? Simon Amstell’s mockumentary Carnage (2017) imagines a not-so-distant future where technology will endow us all with the linguistic gift of Doctor Dolittle. This satirical but also drastically serious vision of a multi-species society will form the coda to our exploration of the very human desire to speak to other animals.

In our discussions of literary fiction, film, music, and other cultural phenomena, we will familiarise ourselves with seminal texts in the academic field of human animal studies. Depending on the medium under discussion, we will employ different methodological tools in our analysis. Participants are encouraged to revise their notes from the literary theory and cultural studies lectures in preparation of this course.

This course will familiarise students with key techniques of academic research and text production. During this course, students will plan a research project resulting in a short final paper. This course will rely on the theoretical concepts conveyed in the literary and cultural studies introductory lectures.

Students must own and use the course reader containing essential primary and secondary reading (will be available at FACULTAS am Campus). Films and additional resources will be made available on Moodle. Furthermore, students will be responsible for researching and sharing with class additional readings relating to the topic of their respective specialist session.