Perceiving Animals—Humans and Beasts in Early Modern English Culture

Examining the representations of animals in law, religious and political writings, literature, and science, Fudge (English literary studies, Middlesex U., UK) argues that scholars of the early modern period (1558-1649) were focused on separating the human from the beast, but that the ways they determined human superiority or civilization were primarily external, such as property, education, and mastery of the natural world. She explores questions such as what it means to own an animal, what the emphasis on education in determining civilization means to those humans who are uneducated, and if science, or more specifically biology, offers an argument for human superiority over other animals. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)