Beginning literary animal studies

William Welstead is an independent scholar whose research focuses on the interplay between culture, low-intensity agriculture and biodiversity. He lives on the Isle of Tiree

• Introduction1 Animal studies, a brief history2 Theory for animal studies in the humanities3 Posthumanism after Cary Wolfe: humans and animals in literary non-fiction4 Ecofeminism, intersectionality and animal studies in creative prose5 Bruno Latour and actor-network theory in animal studies6 Attentiveness and the poetic imagination7 Affect, empathy and altruism in animal fiction8 Reading animals in postcolonial literature9 Individuals and species in the sixth extinctionConclusionIndex

‘This is a rich, engaging volume which addresses key topics in animal studies and invites readers to consider the challenges facing the field.’—Danielle Sands, Royal Holloway, The University of London'Beginning Literary Animal Studies is a wide-ranging and erudite book that does an excellent job of introducing some very complex ideas in readable and unpretentious prose. It’s nicely pitched; the ‘stop and think’ sections provide useful prompts for teaching.’—John Miller, University of Sheffield