Criticism on animal allegories?

[Wilde woman]

I'm trying to put together a syllabus for a college freshmen level writing course around the topic of animal allegories. I've got a nice list of actual texts to read, but I'm in need of some criticism (not so much for the students, but for me to continue thinking about the topic before I actually teach the class).

Could anyone recommend some books/articles for me? It could be on a certain literary work or more general. Thanks in advance.

[AlfredtheGreat]

I think Animal Farm would be the obvious answer. But maybe Jack London books also.

[kelby_lake]

I can't think of any specific criticism as such. What books are you studying? Presumably Animal Farm. Life of Pi? Watership Down?

[B. Laumness]

Many medievalists work on the bestiary and on the allegory. I’m not an expert in this field, but I suppose you should find a good bibliography at the library of your college. In philosophy, what Deleuze wrote on the animals (particularly in Kafka’s short stories) is worthy of reading.

[Wilde woman]

What books are you studying? Presumably Animal Farm. Life of Pi? Watership Down?

I suppose I should've listed the texts I'm planning to teach. I think I'll start off with a number of Aesop's fables and possibly some medieval bestiaries, then move into children's literature (Charlotte's Web, Bambi, Black Beauty, 101 Dalmations). And then move into the slightly darker/more mature stuff:

selections from the Jungle Book
selections from the Sword in the Stone
selections from the Romance of Reynard
The Golden A s s (perhaps)
Watership Down
Call of the Wild
Volpone (perhaps)
The Metamorphosis (perhaps)
Animal Farm

And I just finished the new David Sedaris book Squirrel Meets Chipmunk, which handles pretty adult themes and I might consider using. And since these texts are all Western, I've started looking into some episodes from Asian and Middle Eastern epics too. Kelby, I haven't read the Life of Pi, though I just borrowed it from my friend, so it's another possibility.

Obviously, I don't need anymore texts...the list is ample and actually needs to be cut down. That's why I'm looking for some criticism I can read to help me focus the course more and break it down into sections where I can tailor the texts to certain themes like environmentalism, satire, or political allegory.


In philosophy, what Deleuze wrote on the animals (particularly in Kafka’s short stories) is worthy of reading.

This sounds promising. Can you give me the title?

I remember talking to a professor from UCLA about this topic when I was applying for grad school, but I can't for the life of me remember his name. He wrote a book or a chapter(?) on animals in Shakespeare, I believe. Has anyone read or heard of this book?

[Jeremydav]

http://www.jstor.org/pss/1208222

[B. Laumness]

This sounds promising. Can you give me the title?


Kafka and Mille Plateaux (two different books). Not sure it perfectly fits with your course, but it won’t be bad for your personal reflection. That’s a difficult reading, and needless to say the struggle will be harder if you don’t know well Kafka and if you don’t have some philosophical abilities.

[Kyriakos]

No one has mentioned Aesop yet?