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Fellow Co-Edits Multi-Volume Historical Survey on Animals
30th August 2008
Fellow of the Centre, Professor Linda Kalof (together with Professor Brigitte Resl) are the general editors of a six volume set of books, titled A Cultural History of Animals, which provides the most authoritative and comprehensive survey available on animals through history. The volumes span more than 4,500 years of human-animal interaction. Volume editors include Bruce Boehrer, Matthew Senior, Kathleen Kete, Randy Malamud, Linda Kalof and Brigitte Resl. Each volume has chapters analysing the same issues and themes (the sacred and symbolic, hunting, domestication, entertainment and exhibitions, science and specimens, philosophical beliefs, and artistic representations), and each can be read individually to cover a specific period, and individual chapters can be read across volumes to follow a theme across history.
Published last September, the work has already received critical acclaim: “The Cultural History of Animals presents an innovative and compelling introduction to current scholarship about the historical relationships between people and other animals” commented Professor Harriet Ritvo. “An innovative and ambitious project that synthesizes knowledge of animals as living creatures and their symbolic representations… an invaluable contribution to our understanding… A combination of surprise and entertainment with serious research gives these volumes a place in the best tradition of accessible science” maintained Professor Bernd Hüppauf.
Professor Kalof commented: “It is now 4 years since I proposed the series to Berg Publishers as an interdisciplinary endeavour that would engage accomplished international scholars as editors and contributors from a variety of fields of historical study. For two years, 48 scholars from 17 different countries worked intensively to produce a handsomely illustrated and well-referenced multi-volume research series on the cultural history of animals, and we are all proud of the achievement.”