Where do humans belong on the animal spectrum? How do we interact with our animal counterparts as we begin to move into spaces on the globe that were once empty? How can we use our interactions with animals to better understand who we are as humans?
The 2018 Themester podcast series challenges us to think more deeply about our relationship with animals. In a series of interviews with College of Arts and Sciences faculty, the podcast explores a range of topics that fall within that subject. From the arctic north to the jungles of sub-Saharan Africa, this year’s topic examines our interactions with animals as a way to define what makes us human.
Dr. Stephanie Kane studies water. As a professor in the School of Global and International Studies, she researches how humans interact with waterways and flooding and how they shape the development of our living spaces and economies. Dr. Kane discusses how animals and humans are adapting in the arctic, a region that’s in a state of flux.
Listen to Stephanie Kane
Dr. Brandon Barker wants to know why we distrust snakes. As a folklorist and lecturer in the Department of Folklore, Dr. Barker examines the myths we build around animals and why we attach human characteristics to them. He also looks at how these myths have influenced our modern perceptions of animals.
Listen to Brandon Barker
Dr. Ivan Kreilkamp studies pets. As a professor in the Department of English, he researches animal representation in Victorian-era literature, with a special focus on the domestication of dogs and other pets. He also studies the earliest days of the animal rights movement and how it influenced literature of the era (and vice versa).
Listen to Ivan Kreilkamp
Dr. Jonathan Crystal wants to know how rats think. Dr. Crystal is a professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, and he studies how rats think and learn and how they’re affected by degenerative neurological diseases.
Listen to Jonathon Crystal
Dr. Michael Wasserman wants you to know that you are what you eat. As a researcher in the Department of Anthropology, he studies how hominids' diets influence their behavior and change throughout the millennia.
Listen to Michael Wasserman
Dr. Jeanne Sept takes us on a journey from animal to human. Dr. Sept, a professor in the Department of Anthropology, looks at our evolution from our earliest hominid ancestors to modern-day humans. By examining our past, she takes us on a journey that will help us understand who we are today and who we may become in the future.
Listen to Jeanne Sept
Our podcast hosts are Clay Catlin and Jonah Chester. Clay is a senior in the Department of History. Jonah is a senior in The Media School.
The College of Arts