Love in a Time of Slaughters : : Human-Animal Stories Against Genocide and Extinction / / Susan McHugh.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Penn State University Press Complete eBook-Package 2019
• VerfasserIn: McHugh, Susan,
• Place / Publishing House: University Park, PA : : Penn State University Press, , [2021]; ©2019
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Series: AnthropoScene: The SLSA Book Series ; 3
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (240 p.)

Love in a Time of Slaughters examines a diverse array of contemporary creative narratives in which genocide and extinction blur species lines in order to show how such stories can promote the preservation of biological and cultural diversity in a time of man-made threats to species survival.From indigenous novels and Japanese anime to art installations and truth commission reports, Susan McHugh analyzes source material from a variety of regions and cultures to highlight cases where traditional knowledge works in tandem with modern ways of thinking about human-animal relations. In contrast to success stories of such relationships, the narratives McHugh highlights show the vulnerabilities of affective bonds as well as the kinds of loss shared when interspecific relationships are annihilated. In this thoughtful critique, McHugh explores the potential of these narratives to become a more powerful, urgent strategy of resistance to the forces that work to dehumanize people, eradicate animals, and threaten biodiversity. As we unevenly contribute to the sixth great extinction, this timely, compelling study sheds light on what constitutes an effective response from a humanities-focused, interdisciplinary perspective. McHugh’s work will appeal to scholars working at the crossroads of human-animal studies, literature, and visual culture, as well as artists and activists who are interested in the intersections of animal politics with genocide and indigeneity.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: When Species Meet on Killing Fields -- 1. Dying Animal Gods: Metaphysical Potentials -- 2. Taxidermy Remains: On the Vitality of Lifeless Bodies -- 3. Pacific Currents: Becoming Usefully Dead -- 4. Saharan Nonexistence: Edging near Death Camps -- 5. Arctic Nomadology: Inuit Stories of the Mountie Sled Dog Massacre -- 6. The Birds and the Bees, or Life After Sex -- Conclusion: Taking and Making Love Stories -- Notes -- Index